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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

North Franklin Heritage Museum

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 731644350
WA · NTEE A50
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Shelly Harper, Executive Director / CEO ($19,980) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 65 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 22nd percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Shelly Harper — reported title “PRESIDENT”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

65 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 65 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$717 total compensation of comparable organizations → $159,951 $19,980
$12,04310th
$22,82425th
$39,375Median
$58,89075th
$80,24390th
$19,980This org · 22nd
p10$12,043
p25$22,824
p50$39,375
p75$58,890
p90$80,243
$19,980

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 WA 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
Venango Museum Of Art Science And Industry PA$178,746 Executive Director $34,014 $36,799 2024
Friends Of The Kenfield Gallery NE$177,474 Executive Di $36,000 $42,007 2024
Eubie Blake National Jazz Institute & Cultural Center MD$182,763 Executive Director $3,350 $3,498 2023
The Walt Disney Hometown Museum MO$182,848 Director $12,000 $13,789 2024
Friends Of The Museums Of Florida FL$173,934 Museum Direc $2,110 $2,214 2023
American Hungarian Foundation NJ$183,773 Executive Director $79,895 $77,389 2024
Alamosa Chamber Of Commerce CO$171,865 Executive Dir. $54,590 $58,466 2023
Columbus Ohio Firefighters Museum Inc OH$171,440 Executive Director $33,000 $37,919 2024
Denver Museum Of Miniatures Dolls & Toys CO$187,017 Museum Director $58,320 $62,461 2023
Space Shuttle Exhibition Gallery WA$170,000 Ceo, Museum Of Flight Fdn $34,413 $33,426 2024
Modern And Contemporary Art Support Corp NY$187,869 Secretary $43,041 $43,441 2023
Tri-motor Heritage Foundation OH$169,054 Curator $30,000 $35,490 2023
Steamboat Era Museum Inc VA$188,985 Executive Di $36,224 $37,945 2024
San Antonio Fire Museum Society Inc TX$189,832 President/ceo $13,000 $14,108 2024
The National Voice Of America Museum OH$189,869 Executive Dir. $60,000 $70,980 2023
The Legacy Project IL$166,064 Executive Director $51,095 $56,106 2023
Museum Association Of East OH$192,109 President $2,615 $3,005 2024
Buffalo Bill Museum Of Le Claire IA$164,459 Exec Director $21,500 $25,539 2024
The Museum Of Carousel Art & History OH$163,984 Executive Director $52,100 $61,635 2023
Jenney House Museum Inc MA$162,953 President $78,000 $78,288 2023
The New Bedford Museum Of Glass Inc MA$161,979 President $27,622 $28,860 2022
Sappington House Foundation MO$195,939 Resident Manager And Promoter $2,600 $2,987 2024
National Museum Of Gospel Music IL$196,675 President And Executive Director $68,750 $73,328 2024
Hale Puna HI$196,791 Treasurer $21,224 $20,615 2024
Pa Museums PA$159,147 Executive Director, Ex Officio $49,500 $55,135 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to WA 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 WA 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 default22nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)22nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted25th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted17th

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 (Shelly Harper) 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 65 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A50), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $19,980 is reasonable (approximately the 22nd 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.