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

Sauk Prairie Area Historical Society Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 391633909
WI · NTEE A540
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Jack Berndt, Executive Director / CEO ($13,520) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 141 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 46th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

How comparable organizations were selected

141 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 141 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$458 total compensation of comparable organizations → $100,834 $13,520
$2,25210th
$5,85025th
$14,982Median
$27,03475th
$48,52890th
$13,520This org · 46th
p10$2,252
p25$5,850
p50$14,982
p75$27,034
p90$48,528
$13,520

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.

OrganizationStateTotal revenueTotal compSource
1893 Land Run Historical Center IncOK $44,642$12,422 990
Canton Madison Historical SocietyMS $44,182$4,410 990
Spokane FavsWA $43,979$30,862 990
Winter Park University IncFL $45,000$4,682 990
Kosciuszko Polish LanguageMA $45,128$5,850 990
Oregon Newspapers Foundation IncOR $43,648$20,311 990
Philadelphia Stories IncPA $45,283$4,638 990
Chinese Gospel Broadcasting Center IncNY $43,522$53,035 990
Cupertino Chinese SchoolCA $45,480$7,228 990
Potters House Community DeveloFL $43,271$22,936 990
Josephine County Historical SocietyOR $46,070$23,156 990
Far Star Action FundWA $46,140$11,593 990
Delaware Sports Museum AndDE $46,267$21,564 990
Marika Foundation IncorporatedMA $46,320$564 990
Goethe House Wisconsin IncWI $42,578$20,889 990
Sciart ExchangeTX $46,436$39,074 990
Greater Buckeye Lake Historical SocietyOH $42,419$20,283 990
Alliance Arts CouncilNE $47,151$7,601 990
Combat Diver FoundationFL $41,576$1,835 990
Chinkapin Craftstead IncTN $47,401$17,110 990
Michael S Rosen FoundationNY $41,453$25,958 990
Decatur Fine Arts Academy IncGA $41,280$9,040 990
The H B Playwrights Foundation IncNY $47,703$5,249 990
Broadway Sacramento FoundationCA $48,005$25,557 990
Kritya Foundation IncNY $48,114$3,857 990

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 default46th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)43rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted55th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted42nd

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 (Jack Berndt) 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 141 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (A), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $13,520 is reasonable (approximately the 46th 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). 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.