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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Brown County Historical Society

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 390884495
WI · NTEE A82Z
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Christine Dunbar, Executive Director / CEO ($61,500) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 47 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 81st percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Christine Dunbar — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

47 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 47 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$6,917 total compensation of comparable organizations → $139,439 $61,500
$20,22810th
$28,60225th
$39,220Median
$52,90375th
$64,76990th
$61,500This org · 81st
p10$20,228
p25$28,602
p50$39,220
p75$52,903
p90$64,769
$61,500

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 WI 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
Hillforest Historical Foundation Inc IN$137,979 Executive Director - Left Mid-year $28,697 $28,977 2024
Peterborough Historical Society NH$136,828 Executive Direc $68,827 $60,853 2024
Hunterdon County Historical Society NJ$150,272 Executive Adminstrator $60,000 $51,295 2024
Westport Historical Society Inc CT$153,112 Executive Di $155,315 $139,439 2024
Abraham Lincoln Association IL$133,129 Executive Manager $29,125 $28,227 2023
Dwight D Eisenhower Society PA$132,722 Executive Dir. $41,074 $39,220 2024
Warren County Historical Society PA$155,664 Executive Director $39,287 $38,622 2023
Kenilworth Historical Society IL$157,577 Director $53,998 $52,333 2023
Southwest Seattle Historical Society WA$128,815 Executive Dir. $60,138 $51,555 2024
Delaware County Historical Society PA$159,182 Acting Executive Director $56,000 $53,473 2024
The Clifton Forge Company VA$161,429 Executive Director $26,570 $25,290 2023
Captain Avery Museum Inc MD$124,562 Executive Director $46,688 $43,029 2023
Stevens County Historical Society MN$162,560 Executive Dir. $34,226 $33,339 2023
Codington County Historical Society SD$123,793 Museum Director $49,778 $54,157 2023
Gf County Historical Society ND$163,424 Executive Director $36,729 $38,594 2024
The Woman's Club Of Dayton Foundation OH$164,202 Exec Director $30,800 $32,159 2023
Quincy Historical Society MA$164,769 Executive Di $20,000 $17,209 2024
Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion Inc PA$121,034 Exec Dir -1/1/23 To 9/12/23 $45,311 $44,544 2023
Griffin Spalding Historical Society GA$166,413 Executive Director $20,430 $20,250 2023
Historic Lexington Foundation VA$119,424 Executive Director $22,238 $20,560 2024
Vicksburg Foundation For Historic Preservation MS$169,122 Executive Director $65,742 $68,302 2025
Clarke County Historical Society AL$169,305 Museum Director And Coordinator $38,275 $38,572 2025
Burnett County Historical Society Inc WI$116,296 Executive Director $6,719 $6,917 2023
Carpinteria Valley CA$172,123 Exec Dir & C $95,610 $79,052 2024
Ligonier Valley Historical Society PA$174,053 Director $63,110 $62,042 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to WI 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 WI 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 default81st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)81st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted85th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted98th

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 (Christine Dunbar) 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 47 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A82), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $61,500 is reasonable (approximately the 81st 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.