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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Waupaca Historical Society

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 391096279
WI · NTEE A80
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Tracy Behrendt, Executive Director / CEO ($24,473) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 29 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 62nd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Tracy Behrendt — reported title “DIRECTOR”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

29 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 29 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$221 total compensation of comparable organizations → $207,414 $24,473
$1,03010th
$10,62825th
$21,175Median
$26,21175th
$42,99390th
$24,473This org · 62nd
p10$1,030
p25$10,628
p50$21,175
p75$26,211
p90$42,993
$24,473

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
Hartford Preservation Alliance Inc CT$66,165 Executive Dir. $21,000 $19,410 2023
Heath Community Arts Council OH$67,989 Executive Di $40,000 $41,764 2023
Friends Of Col Ben Stephenson House IL$68,398 Museum Director $44,318 $42,951 2023
Center For Civil War Photograp PA$63,774 Exec Director $5,400 $5,156 2024
The John P Parker Historical Society Inc OH$63,235 Docent $10,179 $10,628 2023
Hawaii Japanese Center HI$61,982 President $24,700 $21,175 2024
Reflections Of Manatee Inc FL$61,848 Executive Director $5,000 $4,631 2023
Central European History Society GA$72,068 Editor Of Ce $1,000 $992 2023
Vision Historic Preservation Founda TX$59,350 Treasurerdirector $9,167 $8,780 2024
Appelo Archives Center WA$73,356 Administration $23,914 $21,106 2023
The Legacy Project Inc VA$57,462 Executive Director $16,540 $15,744 2023
Fort Preservation Society CA$75,251 Executive Director $14,880 $12,667 2023
216 E Washington Blvd Foundation IN$56,979 Treasurer $1,000 $1,040 2023
Story Preservation Initiative NH$55,576 Executive Director $26,918 $24,502 2023
Historic Poole Forge Inc PA$77,468 Director $45,200 $43,160 2024
The Society For The Restoration Of The Gary Bathing Beach Aquatorium IN$54,419 Manager $12,962 $13,475 2023
Electrical Workers Historical Society DC$81,472 President (Eff. 1/4/23) $239,765 $207,414 2023
The Nolumbeka Project Inc MA$83,733 President $250 $221 2023
Friends Of Lyndon B Johnson National Historical Park TX$48,419 Executive Director $22,851 $21,887 2024
Jackson County Historical Society IA$84,497 Curator $25,000 $26,211 2024
Mainstreet Las Vegas Inc NM$85,591 Executive Director $25,000 $25,747 2024
Whitesville Historical Society Inc KY$86,210 Executive Di $21,012 $22,255 2023
Dublin Community Center NH$87,586 Center Director $24,999 $22,103 2024
1893 Land Run Historical Center Inc OK$44,642 Opeations Manage $12,130 $12,789 2024
Crawford Family Historical Museum Inc TX$87,830 Secretary-treasurer $29,952 $29,536 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 default62nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)59th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted66th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted62nd

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 (Tracy Behrendt) 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 29 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A80), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $24,473 is reasonable (approximately the 62nd 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.