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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Colonial Theater Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 272159587
ME · NTEE A82
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Kathi Wall, Executive Director / CEO ($30,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 25 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 56th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

25 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 25 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,500 total compensation of comparable organizations → $58,122 $30,000
$8,92010th
$18,04825th
$28,595Median
$43,59075th
$51,79890th
$30,000This org · 56th
p10$8,920
p25$18,048
p50$28,595
p75$43,590
p90$51,798
$30,000

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 ME 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
Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association CA$88,893 Executive Director $33,500 $28,060 2024
Tioga County Historical Society PA$86,949 Managing Director $28,891 $28,772 2023
Ohio To Erie Trail Fund OH$83,119 Exec Director-non Voting $36,000 $36,986 2024
Sewickley Valley Historical Society PA$81,939 Executive Director $41,167 $40,998 2023
Marquette Range Iron Mining MI$80,308 Director/man $14,263 $14,702 2023
Haddam Historical Society Inc CT$79,914 Exec Directo $44,837 $41,983 2023
Lewis & Clark National Park Association OR$101,962 Executive Director $56,787 $51,154 2024
National Society Of The Sons Of The American Revolution PA$78,057 President & Registrar $3,504 $3,389 2024
Montgomery Co Historical Society IN$103,557 Exec Directo $24,621 $25,186 2024
Preservation Of Historic Winchester Inc VA$76,418 Executive Director $24,314 $22,772 2024
Swiss Heritage Society Inc IN$105,467 President $18,692 $19,121 2024
Historic Windsor Inc VT$69,919 Exec.director $50,262 $49,073 2024
The Society Of Mayflower Descendants ME$66,399 Governor $1,500 $1,500 2023
Ss Columbia Project NY$65,891 Chairwoman $20,000 $18,048 2023
Burnett County Historical Society Inc WI$116,296 Executive Director $6,719 $7,008 2023
Mchenry Museum & Historical Society CA$64,708 Officer $71,227 $58,122 2025
Westminster Preservation Trust Inc MD$63,453 President $13,000 $11,789 2024
Centre Park Historic District Inc PA$61,927 Executive Direc $18,000 $17,412 2024
Historic Lexington Foundation VA$119,424 Executive Director $22,238 $20,828 2024
Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion Inc PA$121,034 Exec Dir -1/1/23 To 9/12/23 $45,311 $45,125 2023
Codington County Historical Society SD$123,793 Museum Director $49,778 $54,863 2023
Captain Avery Museum Inc MD$124,562 Executive Director $46,688 $43,590 2023
Southwest Seattle Historical Society WA$128,815 Executive Dir. $60,138 $52,227 2024
Dwight D Eisenhower Society PA$132,722 Executive Dir. $41,074 $39,732 2024
Abraham Lincoln Association IL$133,129 Executive Manager $29,125 $28,595 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to ME 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 ME 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 default56th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)52nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted56th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted52nd

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 (Kathi Wall) 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 25 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A82), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $30,000 is reasonable (approximately the 56th 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.