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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Historic Huntsville Foundation Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 630719717
AL · NTEE A82Z
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Donna Castellano, Executive Director / CEO ($61,279) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 79 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 84th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

79 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 79 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,274 total compensation of comparable organizations → $130,929 $61,279
$13,72410th
$27,31825th
$41,111Median
$56,79375th
$67,62890th
$61,279This org · 84th
p10$13,724
p25$27,318
p50$41,111
p75$56,793
p90$67,628
$61,279

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 AL 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
Cortland County Historical Society Inc NY$200,438 Director $58,500 $47,528 2024
Lowell Area Historical Museum MI$201,437 Executive Director $38,103 $35,360 2024
Shaker Historical Society OH$204,842 Executive Di $62,344 $59,368 2024
Edisto Historical Preservation SC$206,694 Director $63,000 $59,092 2024
Napa County Historical Society CA$209,695 Executive Dir $80,000 $60,508 2025
Wellesley Historical Society Inc MA$209,961 Executive Director $56,154 $46,709 2023
Historic General Dodge House Inc IA$190,891 Executive Director $46,125 $45,407 2024
James Whites Fort TN$210,761 Trustee $33,715 $31,863 2024
Portage County Historical Society Inc WI$188,224 Executive Director $43,333 $41,890 2023
Mower County Historical Society MN$186,707 Executive Director $52,824 $46,928 2024
Chippewa County Historical Society MN$215,141 Executive Di $39,640 $35,216 2024
Fort Mifflin On The Delaware PA$216,140 Executive Di $66,200 $61,108 2023
Peerless Rockville Historic Preservation Ltd MD$216,963 Executive Director $93,116 $80,581 2023
Texas Wendish Heritage Society Inc TX$182,746 Executive Director $20,479 $18,962 2023
Madison County Historical Society NY$181,584 Executive Director $27,639 $22,455 2024
Buffalo Bill Dam Visitor Center WY$220,679 General Manager $28,488 $27,427 2024
Worthington Historical Society Inc OH$180,212 Executive Director $37,377 $34,675 2025
Fort Mill Economic Partners SC$221,807 Executive Director $35,005 $33,803 2023
The Scituate Historical Society MA$178,481 Trustee $27,900 $21,960 2025
Island County Historical Society WA$223,467 Executive Director $36,982 $30,648 2023
Montgomery County Historical NY$223,779 Executive Di $29,955 $24,337 2024
Western North Carolina Historical Association Inc NC$176,258 Executive Director $73,782 $68,543 2024
Preserve Clarksville Inc TX$174,600 President $30,000 $27,778 2023
Downtown Asheboro Inc NC$174,078 Executive Director $9,390 $8,499 2025
Ligonier Valley Historical Society PA$174,053 Director $63,110 $58,255 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to AL 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 AL 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 default84th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)72nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted85th
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 (Donna Castellano) 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 79 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A82), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $61,279 is reasonable (approximately the 84th 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.