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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Spencer-penn School Preservation Organization Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 270108974
VA · NTEE A50
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Susan Sabin, Executive Director / CEO ($46,700) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 83 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 53rd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Susan Sabin — reported title “Executive Director”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

83 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 83 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$665 total compensation of comparable organizations → $148,315 $46,700
$13,18110th
$25,37125th
$40,665Median
$62,78075th
$86,64190th
$46,700This org · 53rd
p10$13,181
p25$25,371
p50$40,665
p75$62,780
p90$86,641
$46,700

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 VA 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
Lawndale Pop-up Spot IL$216,211 Treasurer $26,000 $25,714 2024
Annie E Woodman Institute Inc NH$213,068 Executive Director $55,847 $53,407 2023
Rpm Foundation WA$220,604 Exec Director, Rpm $115,940 $104,422 2024
Ilwaco Heritage Foundation WA$211,656 Executive Director $43,655 $39,318 2024
Harriet Tubman Museum Of Cape May NJ$226,855 Executive Di $26,000 $25,028 2022
Laurens County Museum Association SC$228,620 Museum Direc $10,000 $10,805 2023
Texas Agricultural Education & TX$203,776 Director $27,192 $27,363 2024
International Towing & Recovery TN$202,073 Executive Director $13,846 $14,641 2024
Three Oaks Spokes Bicycle Club MI$232,222 President & Executive Director $48,000 $49,840 2024
Tennessee History For Kids TN$232,658 Executive Director $143,973 $148,315 2025
Illinois Rock & Roll Museum On IL$199,486 President $30,200 $30,750 2023
The Newberry Museum SC$234,063 Museum Executive Director $42,708 $46,145 2023
Foundation Advancing Creation Truth MT$235,119 President $48,406 $52,490 2024
Cincinnati Fire Museum OH$235,503 Executive Director $78,000 $85,562 2023
Hale Puna HI$196,791 Treasurer $21,224 $19,115 2024
National Museum Of Gospel Music IL$196,675 President And Executive Director $68,750 $67,993 2024
Sappington House Foundation MO$195,939 Resident Manager And Promoter $2,600 $2,770 2024
Wornall-majors House Museums Inc MO$240,200 Acting Executive Director $49,780 $54,606 2023
Museum Of Art And Digital Entertainment CA$240,306 Fmr Ex Dir $42,031 $36,510 2024
Museum Association Of East OH$192,109 President $2,615 $2,786 2024
Over-the-rhine Museum OH$240,782 Director Of Museum Administration $47,960 $51,100 2024
The National Voice Of America Museum OH$189,869 Executive Dir. $60,000 $65,817 2023
San Antonio Fire Museum Society Inc TX$189,832 President/ceo $13,000 $13,082 2024
Steamboat Era Museum Inc VA$188,985 Executive Di $36,224 $35,185 2024
Modern And Contemporary Art Support Corp NY$187,869 Secretary $43,041 $40,281 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to VA cost of living and 2023 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 VA 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 default53rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)53rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted53rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted48th

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 (Susan Sabin) 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 83 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A50), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $46,700 is reasonable (approximately the 53rd 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.