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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Griffin Spalding Historical Society

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 581078324
GA · NTEE A82Z
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Taylor Watson, Executive Director / CEO ($20,430) 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 14th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Taylor Watson — reported title “Executive Director”, 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

$1,369 total compensation of comparable organizations → $140,676 $20,430
$12,62610th
$29,04525th
$41,490Median
$56,17375th
$65,78690th
$20,430This org · 14th
p10$12,626
p25$29,045
p50$41,490
p75$56,173
p90$65,786
$20,430

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 GA 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
Quincy Historical Society MA$164,769 Executive Di $20,000 $17,361 2024
The Woman's Club Of Dayton Foundation OH$164,202 Exec Director $30,800 $32,444 2023
Vicksburg Foundation For Historic Preservation MS$169,122 Executive Director $65,742 $68,908 2025
Clarke County Historical Society AL$169,305 Museum Director And Coordinator $38,275 $38,915 2025
Gf County Historical Society ND$163,424 Executive Director $36,729 $38,936 2024
Stevens County Historical Society MN$162,560 Executive Dir. $34,226 $33,635 2023
The Clifton Forge Company VA$161,429 Executive Director $26,570 $25,515 2023
Carpinteria Valley CA$172,123 Exec Dir & C $95,610 $79,753 2024
Delaware County Historical Society PA$159,182 Acting Executive Director $56,000 $53,947 2024
Ligonier Valley Historical Society PA$174,053 Director $63,110 $62,592 2023
Downtown Asheboro Inc NC$174,078 Executive Director $9,390 $9,132 2025
Preserve Clarksville Inc TX$174,600 President $30,000 $29,846 2023
Kenilworth Historical Society IL$157,577 Director $53,998 $52,797 2023
Western North Carolina Historical Association Inc NC$176,258 Executive Director $73,782 $73,645 2024
Warren County Historical Society PA$155,664 Executive Director $39,287 $38,965 2023
The Scituate Historical Society MA$178,481 Trustee $27,900 $23,595 2025
Westport Historical Society Inc CT$153,112 Executive Di $155,315 $140,676 2024
Worthington Historical Society Inc OH$180,212 Executive Director $37,377 $37,257 2025
Madison County Historical Society NY$181,584 Executive Director $27,639 $24,126 2024
Hunterdon County Historical Society NJ$150,272 Executive Adminstrator $60,000 $51,750 2024
Texas Wendish Heritage Society Inc TX$182,746 Executive Director $20,479 $20,374 2023
Mower County Historical Society MN$186,707 Executive Director $52,824 $50,422 2024
Portage County Historical Society Inc WI$188,224 Executive Director $43,333 $45,009 2023
Brown County Historical Society WI$143,537 Executive Director $61,500 $62,046 2024
Historic General Dodge House Inc IA$190,891 Executive Director $46,125 $48,788 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to GA cost of living and 2023 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 GA 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 default14th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)13th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted16th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted13th

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 (Taylor Watson) 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 (A82), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $20,430 is reasonable (approximately the 14th 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.