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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Appelo Archives Center

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 800576752
WA · NTEE A80
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Annika Kay, Executive Director / CEO ($23,914) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 29 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 41st percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

29 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 29 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$251 total compensation of comparable organizations → $235,004 $23,914
$1,16710th
$12,04225th
$25,214Median
$30,46675th
$50,63290th
$23,914This org · 41st
p10$1,167
p25$12,042
p50$25,214
p75$30,466
p90$50,632
$23,914

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
Central European History Society GA$72,068 Editor Of Ce $1,000 $1,123 2023
Fort Preservation Society CA$75,251 Executive Director $14,880 $14,351 2023
Historic Poole Forge Inc PA$77,468 Director $45,200 $48,901 2024
Friends Of Col Ben Stephenson House IL$68,398 Museum Director $44,318 $48,665 2023
Heath Community Arts Council OH$67,989 Executive Di $40,000 $47,320 2023
Waupaca Historical Society WI$66,228 Director $24,473 $27,729 2024
Hartford Preservation Alliance Inc CT$66,165 Executive Dir. $21,000 $21,992 2023
Electrical Workers Historical Society DC$81,472 President (Eff. 1/4/23) $239,765 $235,004 2023
Center For Civil War Photograp PA$63,774 Exec Director $5,400 $5,842 2024
The John P Parker Historical Society Inc OH$63,235 Docent $10,179 $12,042 2023
The Nolumbeka Project Inc MA$83,733 President $250 $251 2023
Jackson County Historical Society IA$84,497 Curator $25,000 $29,697 2024
Hawaii Japanese Center HI$61,982 President $24,700 $23,991 2024
Reflections Of Manatee Inc FL$61,848 Executive Director $5,000 $5,246 2023
Mainstreet Las Vegas Inc NM$85,591 Executive Director $25,000 $29,172 2024
Whitesville Historical Society Inc KY$86,210 Executive Di $21,012 $25,214 2023
Vision Historic Preservation Founda TX$59,350 Treasurerdirector $9,167 $9,948 2024
Dublin Community Center NH$87,586 Center Director $24,999 $25,043 2024
Crawford Family Historical Museum Inc TX$87,830 Secretary-treasurer $29,952 $33,465 2023
The Legacy Project Inc VA$57,462 Executive Director $16,540 $17,838 2023
216 E Washington Blvd Foundation IN$56,979 Treasurer $1,000 $1,178 2023
Historical Society Of Perry County PA$91,041 Employee $930 $1,006 2024
Story Preservation Initiative NH$55,576 Executive Director $26,918 $27,762 2023
Historic Marion Revitalization SC$91,900 Executive Dir. $27,394 $30,205 2025
The Society For The Restoration Of The Gary Bathing Beach Aquatorium IN$54,419 Manager $12,962 $15,268 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 default41st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)45th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted45th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted41st

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 (Annika Kay) 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 29 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A80), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $23,914 is reasonable (approximately the 41st 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.