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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Lambda Archives Of San Diego

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 330402620
CA · NTEE A82Z
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Nicole Verdes, Executive Director / CEO ($81,671) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 105 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 66th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Nicole Verdes — reported title “Managing Direct”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

105 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 105 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,641 total compensation of comparable organizations → $203,899 $81,671
$15,19110th
$45,84625th
$69,061Median
$90,15475th
$104,74090th
$81,671This org · 66th
p10$15,191
p25$45,846
p50$69,061
p75$90,154
p90$104,740
$81,671

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 CA 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
Carousel Society Of The Niagara NY$310,499 Executive Director $64,395 $69,378 2023
Fort Ross Conservancy CA$313,041 Executive Dir. $65,000 $65,000 2024
Ross County Historical Society Inc OH$305,685 Executive Director $69,182 $87,363 2023
Oneida County Historical Society Inc NY$302,691 Executive Director $66,992 $70,105 2024
Highlands Historical Society PA$301,090 Executive Director $58,333 $69,357 2023
Albany County Historical Association NY$320,977 Executive Director $57,689 $62,153 2023
Amador Livermore Valley Historical Society CA$323,760 Executive Director $90,273 $92,939 2023
Prickett's Fort Memorial Foundation WV$323,890 Executive Di $51,450 $64,513 2024
Historic Boulder Inc CO$325,467 Executive Di $42,120 $46,772 2024
Atlanta Preservation Center Inc GA$328,685 Executive Director $157,007 $182,823 2024
Preservation Greensboro Inc NC$291,437 Executive Dir. $43,321 $51,838 2024
Mifflin County Historical Society PA$291,294 Assistant Treasurer $16,817 $18,921 2025
Aurora Historical Society IL$330,531 Executive Di $90,686 $103,248 2024
Folsom Historical Society CA$288,947 Exec Director $105,000 $108,101 2023
Daly Mansion Preservation Trust MT$331,585 Executive Director $28,982 $36,179 2024
Sherborn Community Center Foundation Inc MA$286,631 Function And Operations Manager $30,000 $30,416 2025
Lake Jackson Historical Association TX$286,570 Executive Dir. $55,623 $64,436 2024
Waseca County Historical Society MN$285,423 Executive Dir. $34,024 $40,084 2023
Anoka County Historical Society MN$283,591 Executive Di $73,458 $84,059 2024
Historic Cherry Hill NY$282,305 Exec Director $50,602 $52,953 2024
Wichita County Heritage Society TX$340,597 Executive Direc $37,400 $42,209 2025
Crested Butte Mountain Heritage CO$278,634 Executive Di $52,845 $57,169 2025
Chenango County Historical Society NY$277,540 Executive Director $60,152 $62,947 2024
Dana-thomas House Foundation Inc IL$344,076 Executive Director $50,502 $57,498 2024
Utah Heritage Foundation UT$344,820 Executive Di $77,447 $91,795 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CA 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 CA 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 default66th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)77th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted69th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted65th

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 (Nicole Verdes) 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 105 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A82), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $81,671 is reasonable (approximately the 66th 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.