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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Harrisonburg-rockingham Historical

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 541017712
VA · NTEE A82Z
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Penelope Imeson, Executive Director / CEO ($65,025) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 91 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 73rd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

91 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 91 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,468 total compensation of comparable organizations → $163,502 $65,025
$18,61410th
$35,04425th
$51,515Median
$67,58875th
$82,09490th
$65,025This org · 73rd
p10$18,614
p25$35,044
p50$51,515
p75$67,588
p90$82,094
$65,025

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 VA 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
Geneva Historical Society IL$233,566 Executive Dir. $74,888 $76,251 2024
Milton Historical Society WI$235,066 Executive Director $43,160 $48,062 2023
Historic Preservation Trust Of PA$235,874 Director $1,380 $1,468 2023
Garfield Heritage Society IL$236,787 Executive Director $3,338 $3,399 2024
Washington County Historical MD$231,361 Executive Di $30,601 $29,630 2024
Berea Historical Society OH$230,863 Key Employee $9,894 $10,853 2024
Crawford County Historical Society PA$239,650 Executive Director $35,907 $38,181 2023
Kankakee County Historical Society IL$227,254 Executive Dir. $50,594 $51,515 2024
Lelooska Foundation WA$241,645 President $12,253 $11,362 2024
Montgomery County Historical NY$223,779 Executive Di $29,955 $28,034 2024
Island County Historical Society WA$223,467 Executive Director $36,982 $35,304 2023
Colonial Pennsylvania Farmstead PA$244,925 Vice President $1,841 $1,957 2023
Schoharie County Historical Society NY$245,308 Curator $64,789 $60,634 2024
Fort Mill Economic Partners SC$221,807 Executive Director $35,005 $38,939 2023
Buffalo Bill Dam Visitor Center WY$220,679 General Manager $28,488 $31,594 2024
West Des Moines Historical Society IA$247,603 Executive Di $52,986 $60,087 2024
Lombard Historical Society IL$248,983 Costanzo $53,045 $55,606 2023
Lakewood Historical Society OH$249,834 Executive Di $67,600 $72,243 2025
Friends Of Clermont Inc NY$250,561 Executive Di $3,432 $3,212 2024
Peerless Rockville Historic Preservation Ltd MD$216,963 Executive Director $93,116 $92,824 2023
Fort Mifflin On The Delaware PA$216,140 Executive Di $66,200 $70,392 2023
Chippewa County Historical Society MN$215,141 Executive Di $39,640 $40,567 2024
Rangeley Lakes Region Historical Society ME$254,765 Executive Director $85,828 $89,010 2024
Furnace Town Foundation Inc MD$256,119 Executive Di $59,289 $57,408 2024
Mount Gulian Society NY$256,383 Executive Di $97,804 $94,236 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to VA 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 VA 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 default73rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)77th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted75th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted71st

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 (Penelope Imeson) 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 91 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A82), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $65,025 is reasonable (approximately the 73rd 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.