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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Colorado Freedom Memorial Fndtn

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 841572691
CO · NTEE A80
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Rick Crandall, Executive Director / CEO ($45,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 76 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: Rick Crandall — reported title “PRESIDENT”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

76 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 76 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2,879 total compensation of comparable organizations → $263,622 $45,000
$11,64310th
$23,16225th
$43,569Median
$67,41975th
$86,46090th
$45,000This org · 50th
p10$11,643
p25$23,162
p50$43,569
p75$67,419
p90$86,460
$45,000

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 CO 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
Historical Society Of Southern CA$167,089 Executive Director $23,400 $21,072 2024
Sunrise Historic And Prehistoric WY$165,662 Principal In $6,000 $6,700 2024
Great Bridge Battlefield VA$169,994 Executive Director $63,907 $66,252 2023
Spring Grove Area Historical PA$165,010 Executive Di $57,335 $59,628 2024
Shelby County Historical Society IN$171,028 Executive Dir. $43,269 $47,587 2024
Wilsons Creek National Battlefield Foundation MO$162,963 Executive Director $46,230 $51,065 2024
Northwest Arkansas African American Heritage Association Inc AR$172,408 President $23,000 $26,962 2024
The Allen County Courthouse Preservation Trust Inc IN$161,074 Executive Director $90,789 $99,848 2024
Saint Petersburg Preservation Inc FL$159,952 Executive Director $84,621 $82,904 2024
Elizabethtown Preservation Associat PA$175,372 Director $30,800 $32,032 2024
Montana Cowboy Hall Of Fame And Western MT$176,282 Executive Director $30,000 $34,721 2023
North London Mill Preservation Inc CO$176,818 Executive Director $17,493 $17,493 2024
East Tennessee Historical Society Foundation TN$157,780 President/ceo $13,361 $14,647 2024
Hidalgo Foundation TX$157,430 Pres./exec. Dir $44,083 $45,988 2024
City Tavern Preservation Foundation DC$178,682 Executive Director $23,333 $21,984 2023
Norwalk Historical Society Inc CT$156,068 Executive Dir. $48,000 $46,935 2024
The Locals Inc MN$179,163 President $5,000 $5,305 2023
Quakertown Alive PA$155,888 Executive Director $67,022 $69,703 2024
Gretna Historical Society LA$179,802 Caretaker Assistant $8,470 $10,014 2023
Heritage Alliance Of Ne Tn & Sw Va TN$155,315 Director $45,478 $51,326 2023
Westerly Armory Restoration Inc RI$155,312 Treasurer $26,250 $26,250 2024
Ponca City Mainstreet Inc OK$152,974 Executive Di $54,014 $62,027 2024
The Grand Foundation Inc NE$152,532 Vice President $13,000 $14,582 2024
Santa Monica Conservancy CA$183,514 Executive Director $94,500 $85,100 2024
Lovell Historical Society ME$151,332 President $19,815 $21,303 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CO 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 CO 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)53rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted51st
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted46th

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 (Rick Crandall) 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 76 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A80), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $45,000 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.