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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Rowan Museum Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 560625409
NC · NTEE A540
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Evin Burleson, Executive Director / CEO ($34,431) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 111 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 22nd percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Evin Burleson — reported title “EXEC DIR (PR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

111 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 111 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$95 total compensation of comparable organizations → $172,875 $34,431
$20,00910th
$39,74225th
$52,249Median
$69,93875th
$85,02590th
$34,431This org · 22nd
p10$20,009
p25$39,742
p50$52,249
p75$69,938
p90$85,025
$34,431

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 NC 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
Motts Military Museum Inc OH$356,253 Executive Director $60,542 $62,059 2024
Michigan Heroes Museum MI$353,034 Executive Di $72,260 $72,183 2024
Colorado Model Railroad Museum CO$353,007 Executive Director $42,606 $39,539 2024
George L Carter Railroad Musuem Inc TN$348,858 Assistant Director $41,750 $42,472 2024
Old Jail Museum And Heritage Center Inc PA$348,412 Secretary / Tour Guide / Manager $52,300 $50,476 2024
West Virginia Mine Wars Museum WV$364,225 Executive Director $66,619 $69,809 2024
Heritage Museum Of Orange County CA$365,000 Executive Dir. $52,500 $43,874 2024
Sandusky Area Maritime Association OH$345,605 Executive Di $46,500 $47,665 2024
Aliceville Museum Inc AL$366,684 Executive Director $81,834 $85,562 2024
Nichols House Museum Inc MA$367,783 Executive Di $102,202 $88,884 2024
Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum Inc WI$367,963 Administrative Executive D $44,200 $44,675 2024
America On Wheels Inc PA$342,357 Executive Di $13,846 $13,363 2024
Natural History Institute AZ$370,062 Executive Dir. $96,726 $92,688 2023
National Museum Of Americans In Wartime VA$341,265 Ceo $185,000 $172,875 2024
Tillamook County Pioneer Museum OR$373,195 Executive Dir. $52,576 $48,649 2023
The Castle Museum OH$374,119 Executive Di $65,157 $66,789 2024
Penasco Valley Historical NM$336,487 Executive Di $45,096 $46,942 2024
Wilmington Railroad Museum Foundation Inc NC$335,734 Executive Director $63,500 $63,500 2024
The Museum - Greenwood South SC$382,009 Executive Di $53,820 $58,238 2022
Loudoun Heritage Farm Museum VA$329,260 Executive Di $53,049 $49,572 2024
Conrad Mansion Directors Inc MT$328,213 Museum Director $51,900 $55,743 2023
Christiansburg Institute Inc VA$328,051 Executive Director $75,151 $70,226 2024
Museum Village Of Old Smith's Clove Inc NY$327,502 Executive Director $28,434 $25,601 2023
New Castle Senior Center Inc DE$325,580 Executive Director $90,716 $83,750 2025
Matheson History Museum FL$325,091 Executive Director $46,872 $42,615 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NC 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 NC 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 default22nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)22nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted22nd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted19th

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 (Evin Burleson) 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 111 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A54), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $34,431 is reasonable (approximately the 22nd 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.