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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Milwaukee Preservation Alliance

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 432026706
WI · NTEE A80
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Emelia K Rudd, Executive Director / CEO ($50,671) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 125 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 40th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Emelia K Rudd — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIR.”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

125 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 125 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,488 total compensation of comparable organizations → $165,049 $50,671
$15,06710th
$35,68325th
$57,916Median
$77,20875th
$93,99290th
$50,671This org · 40th
p10$15,067
p25$35,683
p50$57,916
p75$77,208
p90$93,992
$50,671

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
Great Basin Heritage Area NV$413,585 Executive Di $103,086 $98,941 2023
Historic Downtown Chelan Association WA$413,780 Executive Dir. $95,250 $79,312 2024
Gig Harbor Waterfront Alliance WA$413,983 Executive Director $73,944 $61,572 2024
Uncommon Friends Foundation Inc FL$414,906 Executive Director $80,000 $69,897 2024
Theodore Roosevelt Association NY$418,767 Ceo $66,000 $55,467 2024
The Sandy Hook Foundation Inc NJ$401,760 Executive Di $113,000 $93,834 2024
North-south Skirmish Association Inc VA$419,866 Property Manager $60,991 $56,388 2023
Historic Fourth Ward School Foundation NV$400,141 Executive Director $73,987 $68,975 2024
The Adam Leventhal Memorial School And CA$422,992 Executive Director $64,780 $53,561 2023
Assoc For Preservation Of Historic LA$395,264 Treasurer $3,050 $3,123 2024
Washington County Historical PA$426,056 Executive Di $45,169 $41,893 2024
Historic Homestake Opera House SD$392,649 Executive Di $33,288 $34,168 2024
Carousel Of Happiness Inc CO$392,609 Executive Director $64,942 $57,916 2024
El Campanil Theatre Preservation CA$391,222 Executive Dir. $68,846 $55,290 2024
Model T Ford Club Of America IN$387,385 Executive Director $62,800 $61,593 2024
Heart Of The Civil War Heritage Area Inc MD$385,446 Executive Director $86,959 $75,612 2024
Blackpastorg WA$385,282 Executive Director $70,000 $60,009 2023
Friends Of Moorefields NC$436,170 Executive Director $7,000 $6,727 2024
Honor And Remember Inc VA$436,643 Chairman $87,000 $80,434 2023
Patriotic Productions Inc NE$380,942 President $75,000 $77,240 2023
Friends Of The Chennault Aviation & LA$440,956 Director $43,680 $46,054 2023
Presque Isle Light Station PA$379,832 Executive Director $62,500 $59,679 2023
Historic Riverside Cemetery GA$378,369 President $85,605 $77,990 2025
Oregon Black Pioneers Corporation OR$376,648 Executive Director $67,708 $60,206 2023
Information Age Learning Center NJ$448,553 Ceo $34,452 $28,609 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 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 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 default40th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)35th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted41st
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted37th

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 (Emelia K Rudd) 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 125 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A80), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $50,671 is reasonable (approximately the 40th 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.