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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Swiss Heritage Society Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 351631990
IN · NTEE A82Z
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Ernie Steiner, Executive Director / CEO ($18,692) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 26 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 12th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

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

How comparable organizations were selected

26 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 26 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$3,314 total compensation of comparable organizations → $138,091 $18,692
$17,36710th
$27,56225th
$38,545Median
$50,60175th
$56,94990th
$18,692This org · 12th
p10$17,367
p25$27,562
p50$38,545
p75$50,601
p90$56,949
$18,692

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 IN 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
Montgomery Co Historical Society IN$103,557 Exec Directo $24,621 $24,621 2024
Lewis & Clark National Park Association OR$101,962 Executive Director $56,787 $50,007 2024
Burnett County Historical Society Inc WI$116,296 Executive Director $6,719 $6,850 2023
Historic Lexington Foundation VA$119,424 Executive Director $22,238 $20,361 2024
Colonial Theater Inc ME$90,527 Executive Director $30,000 $29,327 2023
Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion Inc PA$121,034 Exec Dir -1/1/23 To 9/12/23 $45,311 $44,113 2023
Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association CA$88,893 Executive Director $33,500 $27,431 2024
Codington County Historical Society SD$123,793 Museum Director $49,778 $53,633 2023
Tioga County Historical Society PA$86,949 Managing Director $28,891 $28,127 2023
Captain Avery Museum Inc MD$124,562 Executive Director $46,688 $42,613 2023
Ohio To Erie Trail Fund OH$83,119 Exec Director-non Voting $36,000 $36,157 2024
Southwest Seattle Historical Society WA$128,815 Executive Dir. $60,138 $51,056 2024
Sewickley Valley Historical Society PA$81,939 Executive Director $41,167 $40,079 2023
Marquette Range Iron Mining MI$80,308 Director/man $14,263 $14,372 2023
Haddam Historical Society Inc CT$79,914 Exec Directo $44,837 $41,042 2023
Dwight D Eisenhower Society PA$132,722 Executive Dir. $41,074 $38,841 2024
National Society Of The Sons Of The American Revolution PA$78,057 President & Registrar $3,504 $3,314 2024
Abraham Lincoln Association IL$133,129 Executive Manager $29,125 $27,954 2023
Preservation Of Historic Winchester Inc VA$76,418 Executive Director $24,314 $22,262 2024
Peterborough Historical Society NH$136,828 Executive Direc $68,827 $60,264 2024
Hillforest Historical Foundation Inc IN$137,979 Executive Director - Left Mid-year $28,697 $28,697 2024
Brown County Historical Society WI$143,537 Executive Director $61,500 $60,905 2024
Hunterdon County Historical Society NJ$150,272 Executive Adminstrator $60,000 $50,799 2024
Westport Historical Society Inc CT$153,112 Executive Di $155,315 $138,091 2024
Warren County Historical Society PA$155,664 Executive Director $39,287 $38,248 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to IN 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 IN 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 default12th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)12th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted12th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted12th

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 (Ernie Steiner) 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 26 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A82), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $18,692 is reasonable (approximately the 12th 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.