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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Iredell Museums Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 581466377
NC · NTEE A520
FY ending 2025-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Justyn Kissam, Executive Director / CEO ($48,585) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 604 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 77th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Justyn Kissam — reported title “PROGRAMS OPREATIONS MANAGER”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

604 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 604 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1 total compensation of comparable organizations → $442,833 $48,585
$4,13910th
$12,40225th
$26,096Median
$46,33275th
$65,60090th
$48,585This org · 77th
p10$4,139
p25$12,402
p50$26,096
p75$46,332
p90$65,600
$48,585

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
Emerald Hills Institute UT$109,609 Director $3,000 $3,050 2024
Torah Lishmah Institute Inc NY$109,422 President $100,000 $89,768 2024
Art In The Atrium Inc NJ$110,017 Ceo $54,985 $48,770 2024
Waynesboro Community Theatre Project Inc PA$109,329 Director $29,879 $29,600 2024
Persephone Productions Inc VA$109,079 Ceo $80,506 $77,220 2024
Elivy Youth Performing Arts Institute IL$109,056 Treasurer $3,120 $3,048 2024
The Etruscan Foundation MI$108,868 Exec. Direct $52,000 $53,319 2024
The Arts Project Inc MD$110,552 Executive Director $24,559 $22,809 2024
Denizen Theatre Inc NY$110,746 Secretary/treasurer $19,980 $17,936 2024
The Midwest Writing Center IL$110,753 Executive Director $33,497 $33,681 2023
Holland Childrens Movement NE$110,791 Ceo $42,825 $47,108 2023
Nashville Ballet Foundation TN$108,590 Artistic Director/ceo $4,054 $4,233 2024
Fairhope Film Festival Inc AL$108,523 Executive Director $16,000 $17,678 2023
Philadelphia Dance Projects PA$111,022 Executive Di $4,000 $3,861 2025
Trilogy An Opera Company NJ$111,031 Artisticexecutive Director $19,150 $16,986 2024
Shelton Historical Society Inc CT$111,059 Executive Director $24,445 $22,769 2024
Parkway High School Band Boosters Inc LA$108,314 Main Treasurer $24,000 $26,253 2024
Belton Center For The Arts SC$111,131 Executive Director $35,077 $36,353 2024
Trent House Association Inc NJ$111,226 Interim Executive Director $6,000 $5,479 2023
Huntington African American Museum Inc NY$107,966 Executive Director $26,522 $23,808 2024
Opheliasmedia Films Inc GA$111,500 Director $45,950 $45,898 2024
Highland Historical Society VA$111,650 Executive Di $19,240 $18,455 2024
Committee For A Better New Orleans LA$107,720 Executive Director $80,000 $87,511 2024
Susquehanna Museum Of Havre De MD$111,710 Executive Di $48,866 $45,384 2024
Bronzeville Children's Museum IL$111,780 President $6,000 $6,033 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NC cost of living and 2025 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 default77th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)76th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted79th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted73rd

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 (Justyn Kissam) 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 604 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (A), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $48,585 is reasonable (approximately the 77th 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.