Executive Director / CEO
This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Denise Mcdonald, Executive Director / CEO ($65,430) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 104 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.
Compensation sits at approximately the 42nd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range
Benchmarked executive: Denise Mcdonald — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.
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.
| Organization | State | Revenue | Matched title | Comp (reported) | Comp (adjusted) | FY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Huntington Historical Society | NY | $461,277 | Executive Director | $75,500 | $68,631 | 2024 |
| Trustees Of Bloomfield Academy | ME | $462,993 | Treasurer | $5,004 | $4,911 | 2025 |
| California Preservation Foundation | CA | $464,454 | Executive Director | $103,600 | $89,993 | 2024 |
| Presser Arts Center | MO | $455,037 | Exec Dir | $73,500 | $78,312 | 2024 |
| Hallockville Inc | NY | $454,068 | Executive Di | $86,539 | $78,666 | 2024 |
| Historic Augusta Inc | GA | $446,258 | Executive Di | $88,726 | $89,745 | 2024 |
| Gracie Mansion Conservancy | NY | $445,340 | Executive Director | $200,000 | $177,119 | 2025 |
| Noah Webster House Inc | CT | $477,253 | Executive Director | $40,884 | $38,562 | 2024 |
| Norwalk Seaport Association Inc | CT | $478,246 | Business Manger | $85,800 | $83,318 | 2023 |
| Museum Of The American Railroad | TX | $438,959 | Ceo | $88,480 | $91,666 | 2023 |
| Maine Preservation | ME | $482,319 | Executive Di | $107,039 | $105,043 | 2025 |
| Campton Historic Agricultural Lands Inc | IL | $484,579 | Executive Director | $67,713 | $66,967 | 2024 |
| Hammond-harwood House Association Inc | MD | $485,274 | Executive Director | $70,000 | $65,835 | 2024 |
| Historic Manassas Inc | VA | $487,916 | Executive Director | $94,490 | $94,490 | 2023 |
| Greenbrier Historical Society Inc | WV | $492,312 | Executive Director | $38,643 | $42,090 | 2024 |
| Bartholomew County Historical Society | IN | $422,075 | Executive Director | $68,664 | $72,843 | 2024 |
| Historic Madison Inc | IN | $419,926 | President/ E | $5,524 | $5,861 | 2024 |
| Goodhue County Historical | MN | $419,837 | Executive Director | $63,357 | $62,977 | 2024 |
| Oldham County Historical Society Inc | KY | $419,260 | Executive Director | $62,600 | $67,657 | 2024 |
| Ninth Judicial Circuit Historical | CA | $416,854 | Executive Dir. | $119,304 | $103,634 | 2024 |
| Laporte County Historical Steam | IN | $416,851 | General Mana | $87,208 | $92,515 | 2024 |
| Suffolk County Historical Society | NY | $416,792 | Executive Director | $95,567 | $89,439 | 2023 |
| Santa Ynez Valley Historical Society | CA | $508,146 | Director | $76,865 | $68,742 | 2023 |
| Washington County Historical Society Inc | WI | $508,700 | Executive Director | $87,144 | $91,554 | 2024 |
| Skagit County Historical Society | WA | $410,330 | Executive Director | $62,353 | $56,158 | 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 2023 dollars. Click any organization to verify the figure on ProPublica.
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.
Sensitivity — the subject's percentile under alternative compensation definitions:
| Basis | Subject percentile |
|---|---|
| Total compensation (D + F), cost-of-living + inflation adjusted — the PeerBasis default | 42nd |
| Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments) | 41st |
| Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted | 43rd |
| All sources (D + E + F), adjusted | 38th |
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.
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
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.