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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Hanover Tavern Foundation

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 541559861
VA · NTEE A82Z
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of David Deal, Executive Director / CEO ($114,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 98 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 96th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

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

How comparable organizations were selected

98 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 98 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2,479 total compensation of comparable organizations → $182,350 $114,000
$34,32810th
$51,20125th
$67,369Median
$88,38775th
$99,24090th
$114,000This org · 96th
p10$34,328
p25$51,201
p50$67,369
p75$88,387
p90$99,240
$114,000

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 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
Delaware River Mill Society NJ$395,448 Executive Di $78,577 $74,807 2023
Gilpin County Historical Society CO$396,148 Executive Director $46,452 $46,131 2024
Washington County Historical Society OR$397,757 Co-director $80,923 $77,831 2024
Historical Society Of NY$398,815 Executive Dir. $59,039 $53,829 2025
Little Compton Historical Society Inc RI$401,753 Executive Director $87,405 $89,366 2023
Ephraim Historical Foundation Inc WI$387,051 Executive Director $61,208 $66,205 2024
Cumberland County Historical Society NJ$386,672 Treasurer $3,600 $3,427 2023
Maryland & Pennsylvania Railroad Preservation Society PA$386,454 Treasurer $5,150 $5,319 2024
Costume Society Of America Inc GA$406,052 Executive Director $62,219 $64,793 2024
Woodstock History Center Inc VT$382,213 Executive Director $72,950 $76,046 2024
Preservation Mass MA$381,477 President $68,438 $65,575 2023
Solvang Heritage Associates Inc CA$408,728 Former Executive Director $98,345 $90,550 2023
Hamburg Natural History Society Inc NY$409,251 Executive Director $65,345 $61,155 2024
Columbus Landmarks Foundation OH$380,250 Ceo $73,500 $80,626 2024
Skagit County Historical Society WA$410,330 Executive Director $62,353 $57,817 2024
Wyoming Historical & Geological Society PA$377,257 Executive Director $50,385 $53,575 2023
Delaware County Historical Association NY$376,471 Executive Dir. $48,845 $47,063 2023
Suffolk County Historical Society NY$416,792 Executive Director $95,567 $92,081 2023
Laporte County Historical Steam IN$416,851 General Mana $87,208 $95,248 2024
Ninth Judicial Circuit Historical CA$416,854 Executive Dir. $119,304 $106,695 2024
Oldham County Historical Society Inc KY$419,260 Executive Director $62,600 $69,655 2024
Goodhue County Historical MN$419,837 Executive Director $63,357 $64,838 2024
Historic Madison Inc IN$419,926 President/ E $5,524 $6,033 2024
Smithtown Historical Museums NY$369,725 Executive Director $110,923 $103,810 2024
Anne Frank Center Usa Inc NY$368,364 Chief Executive Officer $173,077 $161,978 2024

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 default96th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)94th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted97th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted94th

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 (David Deal) 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 98 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A82), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $114,000 is reasonable (approximately the 96th 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.