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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Costume Society Of America Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 237362574
GA · NTEE A82Z
FY ending 2024-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Kristen Miller Zohn, Executive Director / CEO ($62,219) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 102 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 42nd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Kristen Miller Zohn — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

102 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 102 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$3,291 total compensation of comparable organizations → $175,107 $62,219
$34,60710th
$49,97925th
$64,893Median
$85,75975th
$99,84090th
$62,219This org · 42nd
p10$34,607
p25$49,979
p50$64,893
p75$85,759
p90$99,840
$62,219

Comparable organizations

Each figure is Form 990 Part VII columns D + F (reportable pay plus other compensation and benefits; column F may include amounts from related organizations), normalized to GA cost of living (BEA RPP, 2023) and to its filing year (CPI-U); the reported amount is on each linked 990.

OrganizationStateRevenueMatched titleComp
(reported)
Comp
(adjusted)
FY
Solvang Heritage Associates Inc CA$408,728 Former Executive Director $98,345 $86,953 2023
Hamburg Natural History Society Inc NY$409,251 Executive Director $65,345 $58,725 2024
Skagit County Historical Society WA$410,330 Executive Director $62,353 $55,521 2024
Little Compton Historical Society Inc RI$401,753 Executive Director $87,405 $85,816 2023
Historical Society Of NY$398,815 Executive Dir. $59,039 $51,690 2025
Washington County Historical Society OR$397,757 Co-director $80,923 $74,740 2024
Gilpin County Historical Society CO$396,148 Executive Director $46,452 $44,299 2024
Delaware River Mill Society NJ$395,448 Executive Di $78,577 $71,835 2023
Suffolk County Historical Society NY$416,792 Executive Director $95,567 $88,423 2023
Laporte County Historical Steam IN$416,851 General Mana $87,208 $91,464 2024
Ninth Judicial Circuit Historical CA$416,854 Executive Dir. $119,304 $102,457 2024
Hanover Tavern Foundation VA$395,039 Executive Director $114,000 $109,472 2024
Oldham County Historical Society Inc KY$419,260 Executive Director $62,600 $66,889 2024
Goodhue County Historical MN$419,837 Executive Director $63,357 $62,262 2024
Historic Madison Inc IN$419,926 President/ E $5,524 $5,794 2024
Bartholomew County Historical Society IN$422,075 Executive Director $68,664 $72,015 2024
Ephraim Historical Foundation Inc WI$387,051 Executive Director $61,208 $63,575 2024
Cumberland County Historical Society NJ$386,672 Treasurer $3,600 $3,291 2023
Maryland & Pennsylvania Railroad Preservation Society PA$386,454 Treasurer $5,150 $5,108 2024
Woodstock History Center Inc VT$382,213 Executive Director $72,950 $73,026 2024
Preservation Mass MA$381,477 President $68,438 $62,970 2023
Columbus Landmarks Foundation OH$380,250 Ceo $73,500 $77,423 2024
Wyoming Historical & Geological Society PA$377,257 Executive Director $50,385 $51,447 2023
Delaware County Historical Association NY$376,471 Executive Dir. $48,845 $45,194 2023
Museum Of The American Railroad TX$438,959 Ceo $88,480 $90,624 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to GA cost of living and 2024 dollars. Click any organization to verify the figure on ProPublica.

Methodology

Comparable organizations were drawn from electronically filed IRS Form 990 returns and matched on sector (NTEE code), budget (a size-adaptive revenue band that tightens as the organization grows), and geography (same-state first, broadening only when too few peers qualify); every organization within the band forms the peer set. To compare fairly across regions and years, peer compensation is normalized to GA cost of living (BEA Regional Price Parities, 2023) and to the subject's filing year (CPI-U). The figure benchmarked is Form 990 Part VII, Section A, columns D + F — reportable pay plus other compensation, benefits, and deferred amounts (column F may include amounts from related organizations) — with the chief executive matched by role. Related-organization amounts (column E) and institutional trustees are excluded. Full methodology: peerbasis.org/methodology.

Sample, role match & sensitivity

Sensitivity — the subject's percentile under alternative compensation definitions:

BasisSubject percentile
Total compensation (D + F), cost-of-living + inflation adjusted — the PeerBasis default42nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)39th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted42nd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted38th

If the percentile moves materially across these definitions, the result is sensitive to methodology choices, and the board should weigh which basis best fits its facts.

Rebuttable presumption of reasonableness · 26 CFR 53.4958-6

Compensation paid by a tax-exempt organization is presumed reasonable — shifting the burden to the IRS — when three requirements are met. This report supplies the comparability data for the second. The board should record the following in its minutes concurrently with its decision:

Draft board minutes — executive compensation

  1. The compensation of the Executive Director / CEO (Kristen Miller Zohn) was approved in advance by [the Board / Compensation Committee], composed of members with no conflict of interest with respect to the arrangement.
  2. Prior to its determination, the authorized body obtained and relied upon appropriate comparability data, namely the PeerBasis Compensation Comparability Determination dated June 9, 2026, comparing compensation against 102 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A82), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $62,219 is reasonable (approximately the 42nd percentile of comparable organizations) and documented the basis for this determination concurrently, on [date], by a vote of [__ for / __ against].

Sources: IRS Form 990 e-file data (apps.irs.gov); IRS Business Master File (NTEE classification). Every figure traces to an original public filing — click any organization above to verify it on ProPublica. PeerBasis is a service of Prismind Analytics; its methodology is published, was commissioned for independent adversarial review, and discloses its own limitations. This report is comparability data to support a board's good-faith determination under IRC 4958; it is not legal or tax advice. Generated by PeerBasis on June 9, 2026.