Live preview — download the board-ready PDF to attach to your minutes.Download the free PDF
Email yourself a copy:
PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Sandcastles A Lake Michigan Childrens Museum

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 352340348
MI · NTEE A52
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 10, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Kristin Korendyke, Executive Director / CEO ($64,594) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 23 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 83rd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

23 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 23 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$8,031 total compensation of comparable organizations → $93,542 $64,594
$12,75110th
$24,44925th
$50,140Median
$57,00875th
$76,75590th
$64,594This org · 83rd
p10$12,751
p25$24,449
p50$50,140
p75$57,008
p90$76,755
$64,594

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 MI 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
Childrens Museum Of Yuma County Inc AZ$291,227 Ceo $54,130 $50,436 2023
Des Moines Childrens Museum IA$306,163 Current Exc Dir $23,274 $24,689 2023
Habitot Childrens Museum CA$263,010 Executive Dir. $9,600 $8,031 2023
Tag Children's Museum Of St Augustine FL$256,850 Executive Director $90,400 $79,916 2024
Kids Discovery Factory Inc IN$337,260 Executive Director $53,993 $55,164 2023
Scioto County Childrens Museum Inc OH$339,664 Director $67,472 $67,249 2024
Aha A Hands On Adventure OH$344,152 Executive Di $55,000 $54,819 2024
Hands On Childrens Museum Inc FL$345,304 Director $11,000 $10,012 2023
Children's Museumlab Advancement PA$240,009 Treasurer $35,562 $33,373 2024
Amuse'um Columbia Childrens Museum TN$235,294 Executive Di $28,000 $27,697 2024
The Children's Museum LA$234,765 Executive Director $58,235 $62,126 2023
Raven Hill Discovery Center MI$360,028 Executive Dir. $24,923 $24,208 2024
Mighty Childrens Museum OH$229,820 Director $13,980 $13,934 2024
Neighborhood North Museum Of Play PA$219,690 Executive Director $51,897 $50,140 2023
Chesapeake Childrens Museum MD$216,428 President $19,500 $18,386 2022
Playzeum Yuba-sutter CA$377,489 Executive Dir. $99,959 $79,132 2025
The Urban Educational Project-jersey Explorer Children's Museum NJ$201,068 Executive Dir $58,449 $49,109 2024
Children's Museum Of Montana MT$393,318 Executive Director $54,827 $57,258 2023
Children's Museum Of Findlay OH$394,125 Executive Di $54,300 $54,121 2024
Amelia Park Children's Museum Inc MA$402,328 Executive Director $14,306 $12,455 2023
Flip Museum Inc OR$405,336 Executive Director $66,667 $56,758 2025
San Luis Obispo Children's Museum CA$432,411 Executive Dir. $111,814 $93,542 2023
Wonderfeet Kids Museum Inc VT$441,108 Executive Di $47,500 $46,320 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MI 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 MI 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 default83rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)78th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted78th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted78th

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 (Kristin Korendyke) 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 10, 2026, comparing compensation against 23 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A52), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $64,594 is reasonable (approximately the 83rd 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 10, 2026.