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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Taos Historic Museums Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 850162279
NM · NTEE A540
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Daniel Barela, Executive Director / CEO ($14,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 83 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 11th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

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

How comparable organizations were selected

83 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 83 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$92 total compensation of comparable organizations → $110,097 $14,000
$11,15410th
$29,41925th
$46,231Median
$60,03975th
$70,31990th
$14,000This org · 11th
p10$11,154
p25$29,419
p50$46,231
p75$60,039
p90$70,319
$14,000

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 NM 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
International Women's Air & Space OH$207,319 Executive Di $45,424 $44,731 2024
Golden Ball Tavern Trust MA$205,085 Exec. Direct $131,715 $110,047 2024
Alamance County Historical Museum Inc NC$209,161 Executive Director $52,714 $50,641 2024
Historic Fallsington Inc PA$202,623 Executive Di $55,560 $51,514 2024
Marietta Museum Of History Inc GA$210,201 Director $50,000 $46,743 2024
Mt Hood Cultural Center And Museum OR$202,350 Director $1,638 $1,456 2023
Minnesota Fishing Museum & MN$210,554 Executive Di $44,914 $42,482 2023
Seneca Museum Of Waterways And Industry NY$200,967 Executive Director $58,458 $49,113 2024
Fort Dodge Historical Foundation IA$200,110 Executive Di $48,961 $51,315 2023
Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation NJ$195,484 Board Chairman And President $39,260 $32,590 2024
Austin History Center Association Inc TX$195,201 Exec Director $64,099 $59,615 2024
Packard Museum Association OH$218,808 Executive Dir $61,205 $60,272 2024
New Americans Museum Inc CA$219,841 Executive Dir. $133,200 $110,097 2023
Society For The Preservation Of The MI$192,803 General Manager $36,082 $34,626 2024
The Black Cowboy Museum TX$192,088 Chief Executive Officer $36,000 $33,481 2024
Historic Georgetown Inc CO$221,096 Executive Di $67,083 $59,806 2024
Spnea Connecticut Inc MA$191,365 President $85,871 $71,744 2024
Old Independence Regional Museum AR$189,731 Museum Director $36,040 $37,665 2024
The Haverstraw African American NY$225,077 Maintenance $1,500 $1,260 2024
St Charles History Museum IL$187,467 Executive Dir. $58,000 $53,015 2024
Dayton International Peace Museum OH$186,358 Executive Di $66,650 $67,573 2023
Museum Assn Of The American Frontier NE$185,679 Executive Director $39,000 $39,000 2024
Millville Army Air Field Museum Inc NJ$185,125 Executive Director $51,124 $43,693 2023
Butler County Historical Society OH$228,610 Executive Dir. $40,837 $40,214 2024
Newcomb Historical Museum NY$230,909 Museum Director $52,800 $45,670 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NM 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 NM 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 default11th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)11th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted12th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted8th

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 (Daniel Barela) 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 83 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A54), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $14,000 is reasonable (approximately the 11th 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.