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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Western Maine Play Museum

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 800959538
ME · NTEE A50
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Nikki Dustin, Executive Director / CEO ($22,077) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 30 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 50th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Nikki Dustin — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

30 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 30 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2,291 total compensation of comparable organizations → $62,819 $22,077
$3,90210th
$9,73225th
$25,029Median
$36,18675th
$46,61590th
$22,077This org · 50th
p10$3,902
p25$9,732
p50$25,029
p75$36,186
p90$46,615
$22,077

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 ME 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
Moclips By The Sea Historical Society WA$88,622 Director/curator $4,500 $4,023 2024
Koshare Indian Museum Inc CO$89,322 Manger $50,000 $47,880 2024
El Paso Holocaust Museum Foundation TX$86,514 Museum Exec Dir $2,227 $2,291 2023
The National Museum Of The PA$85,055 Curator & Mu $8,875 $9,100 2023
Ukrainian American MI$83,474 Executive Di $36,000 $38,204 2023
Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation CA$81,667 President $22,500 $19,403 2024
Patten Lumbermen's Museum Inc ME$81,354 Secretary/treasurer $31,905 $31,905 2024
Stuart Heritage Inc FL$96,465 Recording Se $6,336 $6,120 2023
Basketball Museum Of Illinois Inc IL$79,243 Executive Dir. $4,000 $3,927 2024
Camp Ritchie Museum Inc MD$77,205 Director $30,330 $28,318 2024
Cowboy Hall Of Fame Affiliated Fund Of OK$76,727 Secretary $25,864 $29,282 2023
Home Of Sliced Bread Corporation MO$75,168 Secretary $5,685 $5,858 2025
Akin Hall Association NY$103,447 Curator $23,400 $21,740 2023
C Grier Beam Truck Museum NC$73,082 Secretary $36,400 $37,560 2024
Nebraska Firefighters Foundation NE$104,208 Executive Director $31,800 $34,157 2024
Missouri Veterinary Medical MO$70,046 Executive Di $3,473 $3,674 2024
Stanley Museum Inc ME$67,395 Executive Director $15,683 $16,146 2023
Interior And Arctic Alaska Aeronautical Foundation AK$65,366 Operations Director $29,959 $28,604 2024
Louholtz Upper Ohio Valley Hall Of OH$60,276 Board Member $45,100 $46,474 2025
Aviation Hall Of Fame And Museum Of New Jersey NJ$116,623 Executive Director $40,700 $36,290 2024
Water Mill Museum NY$119,739 Director/mgr $39,179 $35,356 2024
Florida Association Of Museums FL$120,156 Executive Director $55,650 $53,751 2023
Mennonite Heritage & Agrcltr Museum KS$120,970 Museum Director/curator $18,915 $21,010 2023
The Sam Houston Masonic Library And Museum Association TX$121,623 Treasurer $3,000 $2,920 2025
Bluegrass Heritage Museum Inc KY$121,829 Executive-di $38,016 $40,788 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to ME 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 ME 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 default50th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)43rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted53rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted40th

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 (Nikki Dustin) 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 30 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A50), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $22,077 is reasonable (approximately the 50th 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.