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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Aurora Historical Society

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 362348569
IL · NTEE A82Z
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of John Jaros, Executive Director / CEO ($90,686) 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 86th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: John Jaros — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, 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

$1,441 total compensation of comparable organizations → $179,091 $90,686
$13,34310th
$41,08225th
$60,937Median
$79,18575th
$93,20190th
$90,686This org · 86th
p10$13,343
p25$41,082
p50$60,937
p75$79,185
p90$93,201
$90,686

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 IL 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
Daly Mansion Preservation Trust MT$331,585 Executive Director $28,982 $31,777 2024
Atlanta Preservation Center Inc GA$328,685 Executive Director $157,007 $160,579 2024
Historic Boulder Inc CO$325,467 Executive Di $42,120 $41,082 2024
Prickett's Fort Memorial Foundation WV$323,890 Executive Di $51,450 $56,664 2024
Amador Livermore Valley Historical Society CA$323,760 Executive Director $90,273 $81,631 2023
Albany County Historical Association NY$320,977 Executive Director $57,689 $54,591 2023
Wichita County Heritage Society TX$340,597 Executive Direc $37,400 $37,073 2025
Dana-thomas House Foundation Inc IL$344,076 Executive Director $50,502 $50,502 2024
Utah Heritage Foundation UT$344,820 Executive Di $77,447 $80,626 2024
Fort Ross Conservancy CA$313,041 Executive Dir. $65,000 $57,091 2024
Kennebunkport Historical Society ME$348,424 Executive Di $63,902 $65,087 2024
Carousel Society Of The Niagara NY$310,499 Executive Director $64,395 $60,937 2023
Frankenmuth Historical Association MI$350,718 Executive Di $57,263 $60,120 2024
Lambda Archives Of San Diego CA$310,154 Managing Direct $81,671 $71,734 2024
Ross County Historical Society Inc OH$305,685 Executive Director $69,182 $76,734 2023
American Society For Eighteenth Century OR$357,871 Executive Director $89,592 $84,629 2024
Oneida County Historical Society Inc NY$302,691 Executive Director $66,992 $61,575 2024
Hampton Community Library PA$359,860 Director $59,800 $60,659 2024
Highlands Historical Society PA$301,090 Executive Director $58,333 $60,918 2023
Landmark West Inc NY$360,533 Exec Director $118,410 $108,836 2024
Morris Jumel Mansion Inc NY$366,499 Executive Director $96,635 $88,822 2024
Oaklands Association Inc TN$367,420 Executive Director $72,985 $78,035 2024
Anne Frank Center Usa Inc NY$368,364 Chief Executive Officer $173,077 $159,083 2024
Preservation Greensboro Inc NC$291,437 Executive Dir. $43,321 $45,531 2024
Smithtown Historical Museums NY$369,725 Executive Director $110,923 $101,954 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to IL 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 IL 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 default86th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)85th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted68th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted86th

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 (John Jaros) 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 $90,686 is reasonable (approximately the 86th 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.