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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Charnley-persky House Museum

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 364181603
IL · NTEE A540
FY ending 2023-09-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Pauline Saliga, Executive Director / CEO ($6,193) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 58 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 3rd percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Pauline Saliga — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR - TERM”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

58 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 58 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,547 total compensation of comparable organizations → $116,994 $6,193
$15,18610th
$26,58825th
$39,046Median
$54,35175th
$66,80990th
$6,193This org · 3rd
p10$15,186
p25$26,588
p50$39,046
p75$54,351
p90$66,809
$6,193

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
The Museum Of North Texas History TX$148,127 Executive Director $27,692 $27,368 2024
Center For Documentary Expression UT$151,368 Executive Di $54,000 $56,217 2023
Mississippi Industrial Heritage Museum Inc MS$151,523 Sec Treas And Executive Director $57,200 $64,800 2023
Haverhill Historical Society MA$152,088 Director And Curator $34,356 $29,716 2025
Warbirds Of Glory Museum MI$154,634 President $50,058 $52,556 2023
South Carolina Cotton Museum Inc SC$155,011 Executive Di $33,692 $35,753 2023
Sanford-springvale Historical Society ME$142,583 Executive Director $29,175 $28,120 2025
Heritage Museum Of Montgomery County TX$142,402 Executive Director $20,946 $20,701 2024
Scottsboro-jackson Heritage Center AL$141,493 Director $20,196 $21,557 2024
Milan Historical Museum Inc OH$158,097 Executive Drector $71,428 $74,745 2024
The William E Swigart Jr Automobile Museum PA$140,026 Treasurer $9,855 $9,709 2024
Museum Of Ceramics Foundation OH$159,251 Key Employee $21,325 $22,315 2024
The Glenn L Martin MD$136,329 Executive Dir. $69,396 $64,100 2024
Historic Palmyra Inc NY$135,713 Executive Director $37,035 $33,063 2024
Sag Harbor Whaling & Historical NY$164,616 Board Member $4,000 $3,571 2024
Shoreline Historical Museum WA$167,149 Executive Di $55,538 $49,127 2024
River Valley Pioneer Museum TX$131,346 Executive Dir. $37,000 $36,567 2024
North Texas Society Of History & Culture TX$131,331 Executive Director $15,500 $15,318 2024
Harrington House Foundation TX$167,951 Manager $50,000 $50,874 2023
Museum Of The West Texas Frontier TX$128,710 Director $10,615 $10,490 2024
General John A Logan Museum IL$128,680 Executive Di $27,300 $27,300 2023
Cimarron Heritage Center OK$128,001 Director $30,000 $31,796 2025
Destin Fishing Museum Foundati FL$126,655 Executive Dir $45,444 $42,178 2024
Amesbury Carriage Museum Inc MA$126,485 Executive Director $37,800 $33,560 2024
The Star Spangled Banner MD$126,011 Executive Director $56,923 $52,579 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 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 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 default3rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)5th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted0th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted95th

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 (Pauline Saliga) 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 58 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A54), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $6,193 is reasonable (approximately the 3rd 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.