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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Highland Historical Society

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 541778354
VA · NTEE A80
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Lori Botkin, Executive Director / CEO ($19,240) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 47 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 21st percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Lori Botkin — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

47 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 47 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$239 total compensation of comparable organizations → $261,802 $19,240
$7,94510th
$21,04225th
$28,836Median
$50,84275th
$79,57390th
$19,240This org · 21st
p10$7,945
p25$21,042
p50$28,836
p75$50,842
p90$79,573
$19,240

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
Shelton Historical Society Inc CT$111,059 Executive Director $24,445 $23,738 2024
Johnson House Historic Site PA$112,477 Executive Director $21,000 $21,689 2024
The Lafayette Trail Inc PA$112,945 President $70,000 $74,433 2023
Straus Historical Society NY$115,721 Executive Director $42,000 $39,307 2024
The George Joseph And Susie Ezzell Atta Memorial Library Inc AL$118,265 Director, President $2,555 $2,859 2024
Goldfield Superstition Historical Society Inc AZ$102,180 Clerk $29,200 $29,084 2024
Exchange Arts PA$99,483 Executive Director $51,674 $54,946 2023
Historic St Mary's Mission Inc MT$97,317 Executive Director $24,249 $27,072 2024
Listening Point Foundation MN$126,150 Executive Director $24,960 $26,298 2023
Old Santa Fe Association Inc NM$96,670 Executive Di $69,783 $77,734 2024
San Antonio Conservation Society TX$127,075 Executive Director $13,380 $14,271 2023
Columbia County Historical & Genealogical Society PA$130,316 Executive Director $5,000 $5,164 2024
Historic Marion Revitalization SC$91,900 Executive Dir. $27,394 $28,836 2025
Capitol Historic Trust Inc DC$131,573 President $25,000 $23,392 2023
Historical Society Of Perry County PA$91,041 Employee $930 $961 2024
T Thomas Fortune Foundation NJ$132,664 Executive Di $34,588 $31,984 2024
Craik-patton Inc WV$134,149 Executive Director $40,000 $44,855 2024
Crawford Family Historical Museum Inc TX$87,830 Secretary-treasurer $29,952 $31,947 2023
California History Center Foundation CA$135,627 Program Director (Fhda Instructor) $292,740 $261,802 2024
Dublin Community Center NH$87,586 Center Director $24,999 $23,907 2024
Whitesville Historical Society Inc KY$86,210 Executive Di $21,012 $24,071 2023
Mainstreet Las Vegas Inc NM$85,591 Executive Director $25,000 $27,848 2024
Jackson County Historical Society IA$84,497 Curator $25,000 $28,350 2024
The Nolumbeka Project Inc MA$83,733 President $250 $239 2023
Natl Washington-rochambeau Rev Rt A MD$139,631 Executive Di $32,800 $31,759 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 default21st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)23rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted28th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted17th

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 (Lori Botkin) 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 47 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A80), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $19,240 is reasonable (approximately the 21st 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.