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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Steamboat Era Museum Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 541945448
VA · NTEE A50
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Gus Kasper, Executive Director / CEO ($36,224) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 64 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: Gus Kasper — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

64 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 64 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$685 total compensation of comparable organizations → $152,696 $36,224
$13,17010th
$26,29725th
$40,975Median
$62,30575th
$82,03390th
$36,224This org · 42nd
p10$13,170
p25$26,297
p50$40,975
p75$62,305
p90$82,033
$36,224

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
San Antonio Fire Museum Society Inc TX$189,832 President/ceo $13,000 $13,468 2024
The National Voice Of America Museum OH$189,869 Executive Dir. $60,000 $67,761 2023
Modern And Contemporary Art Support Corp NY$187,869 Secretary $43,041 $41,470 2023
Denver Museum Of Miniatures Dolls & Toys CO$187,017 Museum Director $58,320 $59,629 2023
Museum Association Of East OH$192,109 President $2,615 $2,869 2024
American Hungarian Foundation NJ$183,773 Executive Director $79,895 $73,879 2024
The Walt Disney Hometown Museum MO$182,848 Director $12,000 $13,163 2024
Eubie Blake National Jazz Institute & Cultural Center MD$182,763 Executive Director $3,350 $3,340 2023
Sappington House Foundation MO$195,939 Resident Manager And Promoter $2,600 $2,852 2024
National Museum Of Gospel Music IL$196,675 President And Executive Director $68,750 $70,001 2024
Hale Puna HI$196,791 Treasurer $21,224 $19,680 2024
North Franklin Heritage Museum WA$178,823 President $19,980 $19,074 2023
Venango Museum Of Art Science And Industry PA$178,746 Executive Director $34,014 $35,130 2024
Illinois Rock & Roll Museum On IL$199,486 President $30,200 $31,658 2023
Friends Of The Kenfield Gallery NE$177,474 Executive Di $36,000 $40,102 2024
International Towing & Recovery TN$202,073 Executive Director $13,846 $15,073 2024
Texas Agricultural Education & TX$203,776 Director $27,192 $28,171 2024
Friends Of The Museums Of Florida FL$173,934 Museum Direc $2,110 $2,113 2023
Alamosa Chamber Of Commerce CO$171,865 Executive Dir. $54,590 $55,814 2023
Columbus Ohio Firefighters Museum Inc OH$171,440 Executive Director $33,000 $36,199 2024
Space Shuttle Exhibition Gallery WA$170,000 Ceo, Museum Of Flight Fdn $34,413 $31,910 2024
Tri-motor Heritage Foundation OH$169,054 Curator $30,000 $33,880 2023
Ilwaco Heritage Foundation WA$211,656 Executive Director $43,655 $40,479 2024
The Legacy Project IL$166,064 Executive Director $51,095 $53,561 2023
Annie E Woodman Institute Inc NH$213,068 Executive Director $55,847 $54,985 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 default42nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)44th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted44th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted38th

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 (Gus Kasper) 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 64 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A50), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $36,224 is reasonable (approximately the 42nd 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.