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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

James Whites Fort

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 620843399
TN · NTEE A82Z
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Sam Maynard, Executive Director / CEO ($33,715) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 83 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 31st percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Sam Maynard — reported title “Trustee”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

83 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 83 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,348 total compensation of comparable organizations → $138,540 $33,715
$15,85510th
$30,67325th
$47,320Median
$61,37375th
$71,67890th
$33,715This org · 31st
p10$15,855
p25$30,673
p50$47,320
p75$61,373
p90$71,678
$33,715

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 TN 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
Wellesley Historical Society Inc MA$209,961 Executive Director $56,154 $49,424 2023
Napa County Historical Society CA$209,695 Executive Dir $80,000 $64,025 2025
Edisto Historical Preservation SC$206,694 Director $63,000 $62,527 2024
Chippewa County Historical Society MN$215,141 Executive Di $39,640 $37,263 2024
Fort Mifflin On The Delaware PA$216,140 Executive Di $66,200 $64,660 2023
Shaker Historical Society OH$204,842 Executive Di $62,344 $62,819 2024
Peerless Rockville Historic Preservation Ltd MD$216,963 Executive Director $93,116 $85,265 2023
Lowell Area Historical Museum MI$201,437 Executive Director $38,103 $37,415 2024
Buffalo Bill Dam Visitor Center WY$220,679 General Manager $28,488 $29,021 2024
Historic Huntsville Foundation Inc AL$200,653 Executive Director $61,279 $64,841 2023
Cortland County Historical Society Inc NY$200,438 Director $58,500 $50,290 2024
Fort Mill Economic Partners SC$221,807 Executive Director $35,005 $35,768 2023
Island County Historical Society WA$223,467 Executive Director $36,982 $32,430 2023
Montgomery County Historical NY$223,779 Executive Di $29,955 $25,751 2024
Kankakee County Historical Society IL$227,254 Executive Dir. $50,594 $47,320 2024
Historic General Dodge House Inc IA$190,891 Executive Director $46,125 $48,047 2024
Berea Historical Society OH$230,863 Key Employee $9,894 $9,969 2024
Washington County Historical MD$231,361 Executive Di $30,601 $27,217 2024
Portage County Historical Society Inc WI$188,224 Executive Director $43,333 $44,325 2023
Geneva Historical Society IL$233,566 Executive Dir. $74,888 $70,042 2024
Harrisonburg-rockingham Historical VA$234,085 Executive Director $65,025 $59,730 2024
Mower County Historical Society MN$186,707 Executive Director $52,824 $49,657 2024
Milton Historical Society WI$235,066 Executive Director $43,160 $44,149 2023
Historic Preservation Trust Of PA$235,874 Director $1,380 $1,348 2023
Garfield Heritage Society IL$236,787 Executive Director $3,338 $3,122 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to TN 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 TN 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 default31st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)27th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted33rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted30th

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 (Sam Maynard) 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 83 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A82), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $33,715 is reasonable (approximately the 31st 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.