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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

New York City Fire Museum

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 811254850
NY · NTEE A54
FY ending 2024-06-30
June 10, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Jennifer Brown, Executive Director / CEO ($120,934) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 88 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 94th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

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

How comparable organizations were selected

88 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 88 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$15,280 total compensation of comparable organizations → $197,676 $120,934
$31,67110th
$50,85525th
$68,617Median
$85,63475th
$104,10890th
$120,934This org · 94th
p10$31,671
p25$50,855
p50$68,617
p75$85,634
p90$104,108
$120,934

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 NY 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
Historic Crab Orchard Museum VA$489,648 Executive Director $52,814 $56,433 2024
Duluth Children's Museum Inc MN$495,301 Executive Director $27,270 $29,820 2024
Tangier American Legation Institute For Moroccan Studies MD$481,242 Executive Director $150,094 $155,290 2024
El Paso Holocaust Museum TX$495,728 Executive Dir. $83,152 $92,049 2024
Mcminn County Living Heritage TN$498,328 Executive Di $45,000 $52,346 2024
Early Music America Inc PA$505,039 Executive Director $78,750 $84,667 2025
Diaspora Connections Unlimited MO$507,045 Executive Director $95,625 $115,393 2023
Burlesque Hall Of Fame Inc NV$469,581 Executive Director $62,130 $68,919 2024
War Veterans Memorial Shrine IN$512,271 Member $18,161 $21,194 2024
Fruitlands Museum Inc MA$512,905 Director $20,395 $20,282 2024
Western Museum Of Mining & Industry CO$514,518 Executive Di $86,793 $94,821 2023
Texas Maritime Museum Association TX$517,438 Executive Director $65,000 $74,080 2023
Fredericksburg Area Museum & VA$522,620 President & $100,792 $110,879 2023
Dunham Tavern Museum & Gardens OH$453,355 Executive Di $73,008 $85,574 2024
World Museum Of Mining MT$524,974 Museum Director $63,600 $75,869 2024
Russian History Foundation NY$449,129 Executive Director $54,240 $54,240 2024
Virginia African American Cultural Center VA$531,422 Executive Director $88,378 $97,223 2023
Securities And Exchange Commission DC$443,864 Executive Director $194,516 $188,898 2024
Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center WA$535,559 Executive Director $60,583 $60,025 2024
The History Center TX$537,990 Executive Dir. $135,938 $150,483 2024
Kenosha Military Museum Ltd IL$436,579 Vice President $74,720 $81,293 2024
Lompoc Museum Associates Inc CA$433,480 Director $53,068 $49,404 2025
Poplar Grove Foundation Inc NC$430,892 Executive Dir. $50,750 $59,745 2023
Museum Of American Heritage CA$428,902 Former Executive Director $80,588 $77,009 2024
American Helicopter Museum & Educat PA$550,094 Executive Di $90,058 $99,387 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NY 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 NY 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 default94th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)94th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted97th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted92nd

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 (Jennifer Brown) 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 10, 2026, comparing compensation against 88 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A54), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $120,934 is reasonable (approximately the 94th 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 10, 2026.