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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Penasco Valley Historical

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 871266382
NM · NTEE A54
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Jose Lopez, Executive Director / CEO ($45,096) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 105 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 39th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

105 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 105 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$92 total compensation of comparable organizations → $166,077 $45,096
$21,19010th
$37,98425th
$47,808Median
$66,03375th
$76,48690th
$45,096This org · 39th
p10$21,190
p25$37,984
p50$47,808
p75$66,033
p90$76,486
$45,096

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
Wilmington Railroad Museum Foundation Inc NC$335,734 Executive Director $63,500 $61,003 2024
National Museum Of Americans In Wartime VA$341,265 Ceo $185,000 $166,077 2024
America On Wheels Inc PA$342,357 Executive Di $13,846 $12,838 2024
Loudoun Heritage Farm Museum VA$329,260 Executive Di $53,049 $47,623 2024
Conrad Mansion Directors Inc MT$328,213 Museum Director $51,900 $53,551 2023
Christiansburg Institute Inc VA$328,051 Executive Director $75,151 $67,464 2024
Museum Village Of Old Smith's Clove Inc NY$327,502 Executive Director $28,434 $24,595 2023
Sandusky Area Maritime Association OH$345,605 Executive Di $46,500 $45,791 2024
New Castle Senior Center Inc DE$325,580 Executive Director $90,716 $80,457 2025
Matheson History Museum FL$325,091 Executive Director $46,872 $40,939 2024
Houston Aeronautical Heritage TX$324,772 Director $18,438 $17,148 2024
Old Jail Museum And Heritage Center Inc PA$348,412 Secretary / Tour Guide / Manager $52,300 $48,491 2024
George L Carter Railroad Musuem Inc TN$348,858 Assistant Director $41,750 $40,802 2024
Delmarva Discovery Center & Museum Inc MD$323,477 Coo $55,000 $47,808 2024
Diplomacy Center Foundation DC$323,376 President $157,500 $128,502 2024
Colorado Model Railroad Museum CO$353,007 Executive Director $42,606 $37,984 2024
Michigan Heroes Museum MI$353,034 Executive Di $72,260 $69,345 2024
Heritage Museum Foundation At Grissom Air Reserve Base IN$318,389 Executive Director $68,500 $67,163 2024
Rowan Museum Inc NC$355,798 Exec Dir (Pr $34,431 $33,077 2024
Motts Military Museum Inc OH$356,253 Executive Director $60,542 $59,619 2024
The Gunflint Trail Historical MN$315,116 Executive Di $30,616 $28,127 2024
Grand Traverse Lighthouse Museum MI$314,482 Executive Director $75,772 $72,715 2024
The Lawson Boating Heritage Center On Chautauqua Lake NY$314,302 Trustee $4,150 $3,487 2024
California Heritage Museum CA$314,102 Executive Director $42,959 $35,508 2023
Ninepipes Museum Of Early Montana MT$311,614 Exective Director $29,974 $30,927 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 default39th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)31st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted40th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted37th

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 (Jose Lopez) 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 105 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A54), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $45,096 is reasonable (approximately the 39th 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.