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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

St Charles History Museum

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 510168405
IL · NTEE A54
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Alexander Cullum, Executive Director / CEO ($58,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 77 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: Alexander Cullum — reported title “Executive Dir.”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

77 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 77 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$100 total compensation of comparable organizations → $120,449 $58,000
$10,47910th
$28,17625th
$43,995Median
$56,35875th
$72,97690th
$58,000This org · 78th
p10$10,479
p25$28,176
p50$43,995
p75$56,358
p90$72,976
$58,000

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 IL 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
Dayton International Peace Museum OH$186,358 Executive Di $66,650 $73,926 2023
Museum Assn Of The American Frontier NE$185,679 Executive Director $39,000 $42,667 2024
Old Independence Regional Museum AR$189,731 Museum Director $36,040 $41,206 2024
Millville Army Air Field Museum Inc NJ$185,125 Executive Director $51,124 $47,801 2023
Spnea Connecticut Inc MA$191,365 President $85,871 $78,490 2024
The Black Cowboy Museum TX$192,088 Chief Executive Officer $36,000 $36,630 2024
Society For The Preservation Of The MI$192,803 General Manager $36,082 $37,882 2024
Bush Family Home Foundation TX$180,724 Executive Director $67,500 $73,608 2022
Northwest Carriage Museum WA$179,961 Sec / Director $43,036 $39,192 2024
Austin History Center Association Inc TX$195,201 Exec Director $64,099 $65,220 2024
Everett Museum Of History WA$179,646 Executive Director $37,090 $33,777 2024
Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation NJ$195,484 Board Chairman And President $39,260 $35,655 2024
Fort Dodge Historical Foundation IA$200,110 Executive Di $48,961 $56,140 2023
Seneca Museum Of Waterways And Industry NY$200,967 Executive Director $58,458 $53,731 2024
Mt Hood Cultural Center And Museum OR$202,350 Director $1,638 $1,593 2023
Historic Fallsington Inc PA$202,623 Executive Di $55,560 $56,358 2024
Golden Ball Tavern Trust MA$205,085 Exec. Direct $131,715 $120,394 2024
Taos Historic Museums Inc NM$206,410 Treasurer $14,000 $15,316 2024
Harrington House Foundation TX$167,951 Manager $50,000 $52,377 2023
International Women's Air & Space OH$207,319 Executive Di $45,424 $48,937 2024
Shoreline Historical Museum WA$167,149 Executive Di $55,538 $50,577 2024
Alamance County Historical Museum Inc NC$209,161 Executive Director $52,714 $55,403 2024
Marietta Museum Of History Inc GA$210,201 Director $50,000 $51,138 2024
Sag Harbor Whaling & Historical NY$164,616 Board Member $4,000 $3,677 2024
Minnesota Fishing Museum & MN$210,554 Executive Di $44,914 $46,476 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to IL 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 IL 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)77th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted79th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted77th

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 (Alexander Cullum) 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 77 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A54), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $58,000 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.