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

Wisconsin Museum Of Quilts & Fiber Arts Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 391787705
WI · NTEE A400
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Melissa Wraalstad, Executive Director / CEO ($79,064) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 87 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 78th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

87 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 87 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,912 total compensation of comparable organizations → $154,716 $79,064
$31,82510th
$47,31525th
$63,541Median
$76,96275th
$90,06590th
$79,064This org · 78th
p10$31,825
p25$47,315
p50$63,541
p75$76,962
p90$90,065
$79,064

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
Iowa Arts In Education IA$464,535 Executive Director $57,001 $59,761 2024
Trickster Art Gallery IL$470,137 Executive Director $70,000 $67,842 2023
Lanesboro Arts Center MN$471,626 Executive Di $60,500 $57,241 2024
The Luminary Inc MO$472,141 Executive Dir. $79,685 $80,813 2024
Art & Creativity For Healing CA$475,839 Exec Dir/member $68,400 $58,225 2023
Dallas Architecture Forum TX$448,181 Executive Director $95,000 $90,993 2024
Northeast Minneapolis Arts Assoc MN$445,132 Executive Director $75,354 $73,401 2023
Los Angeles Art Association CA$442,183 Executive Dir. $92,800 $78,995 2023
Dirt Palace Public Projects RI$485,962 Co-executive Director $49,658 $45,593 2024
Open Studio Project Inc IL$438,996 Executive Di $69,250 $63,509 2025
Participant Inc NY$488,032 Founder/director $35,385 $30,617 2024
Piedmont Craftsmen Inc NC$433,757 President An $47,125 $46,624 2024
Galveston Arts Center TX$433,471 Executive Director $54,250 $51,962 2024
Center For Contemporary Printmaking CT$497,747 Executive Di $72,000 $64,640 2024
Summerfair Cincinnati Inc OH$498,021 Executive Director $74,044 $77,311 2023
More Art Inc NY$424,215 Executive Dir. $40,000 $34,610 2024
Waco Creative Art Center TX$502,765 Executive Director $41,023 $39,293 2024
Rubys Clay Studio & Gallery CA$504,281 Operations Dir $78,000 $64,492 2024
Daylight Community Arts NY$510,406 President $84,300 $72,940 2024
The Center For Emerging Visual Artists Ltd PA$412,739 Executive Director $91,948 $90,392 2023
Floyd Community Center For The Arts VA$412,595 Executive Director $58,117 $53,731 2024
Center For Exploratory & Perceptual Arts NY$409,364 Former Executive Director $46,158 $41,117 2023
Art Feminism Inc MD$407,503 Executive Director $93,320 $83,539 2024
Wave Pool Corp OH$403,451 Interim Executive Director $71,738 $72,754 2024
Charlotte Art League Inc NC$402,149 Executive Dir. $13,077 $12,938 2024

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 default78th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)69th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted83rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted76th

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 (Melissa Wraalstad) 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 87 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A40), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $79,064 is reasonable (approximately the 78th 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.