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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Story Preservation Initiative

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 611674034
NH · NTEE A80
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Mary Kuechenmeister, Executive Director / CEO ($26,918) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 22 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 82nd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Mary Kuechenmeister — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

22 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 22 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$529 total compensation of comparable organizations → $227,863 $26,918
$1,21510th
$6,46125th
$14,427Median
$23,84975th
$47,05690th
$26,918This org · 82nd
p10$1,215
p25$6,461
p50$14,427
p75$23,849
p90$47,056
$26,918

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 NH 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
The Society For The Restoration Of The Gary Bathing Beach Aquatorium IN$54,419 Manager $12,962 $14,804 2023
216 E Washington Blvd Foundation IN$56,979 Treasurer $1,000 $1,142 2023
The Legacy Project Inc VA$57,462 Executive Director $16,540 $17,296 2023
Vision Historic Preservation Founda TX$59,350 Treasurerdirector $9,167 $9,646 2024
Reflections Of Manatee Inc FL$61,848 Executive Director $5,000 $5,087 2023
Hawaii Japanese Center HI$61,982 President $24,700 $23,262 2024
Friends Of Lyndon B Johnson National Historical Park TX$48,419 Executive Director $22,851 $24,045 2024
The John P Parker Historical Society Inc OH$63,235 Docent $10,179 $11,676 2023
Center For Civil War Photograp PA$63,774 Exec Director $5,400 $5,665 2024
Hartford Preservation Alliance Inc CT$66,165 Executive Dir. $21,000 $21,324 2023
Waupaca Historical Society WI$66,228 Director $24,473 $26,886 2024
1893 Land Run Historical Center Inc OK$44,642 Opeations Manage $12,130 $14,050 2024
Heath Community Arts Council OH$67,989 Executive Di $40,000 $45,882 2023
Friends Of Col Ben Stephenson House IL$68,398 Museum Director $44,318 $47,186 2023
The Centralia Area Historical IL$39,167 Executive Di $8,554 $8,847 2024
Central European History Society GA$72,068 Editor Of Ce $1,000 $1,089 2023
Beavercreek Historical Society OH$38,924 Director $1,680 $1,872 2024
Thiokol Memorial Project GA$38,496 Adviser $500 $529 2024
Appelo Archives Center WA$73,356 Administration $23,914 $23,187 2023
Fort Preservation Society CA$75,251 Executive Director $14,880 $13,915 2023
Historic Poole Forge Inc PA$77,468 Director $45,200 $47,415 2024
Electrical Workers Historical Society DC$81,472 President (Eff. 1/4/23) $239,765 $227,863 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NH 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 NH 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 default82nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)82nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted86th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted82nd

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 (Mary Kuechenmeister) 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 22 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A80), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $26,918 is reasonable (approximately the 82nd 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.