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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Historic Fourth Ward School Foundation

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 880463462
NV · NTEE A80
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Theodora Stefu, Executive Director / CEO ($73,987) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 122 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 65th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Theodora Stefu — reported title “Executive Director”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

122 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 122 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,597 total compensation of comparable organizations → $177,041 $73,987
$15,80010th
$36,81225th
$60,504Median
$82,23375th
$100,76090th
$73,987This org · 65th
p10$15,800
p25$36,812
p50$60,504
p75$82,233
p90$100,760
$73,987

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 NV 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
The Sandy Hook Foundation Inc NJ$401,760 Executive Di $113,000 $100,652 2024
Assoc For Preservation Of Historic LA$395,264 Treasurer $3,050 $3,351 2024
Historic Homestake Opera House SD$392,649 Executive Di $33,288 $36,651 2024
Carousel Of Happiness Inc CO$392,609 Executive Director $64,942 $62,124 2024
El Campanil Theatre Preservation CA$391,222 Executive Dir. $68,846 $59,308 2024
Milwaukee Preservation Alliance WI$410,530 Executive Dir. $50,671 $54,353 2023
Model T Ford Club Of America IN$387,385 Executive Director $62,800 $66,069 2024
Great Basin Heritage Area NV$413,585 Executive Di $103,086 $106,131 2023
Historic Downtown Chelan Association WA$413,780 Executive Dir. $95,250 $85,076 2024
Gig Harbor Waterfront Alliance WA$413,983 Executive Director $73,944 $66,046 2024
Heart Of The Civil War Heritage Area Inc MD$385,446 Executive Director $86,959 $81,106 2024
Uncommon Friends Foundation Inc FL$414,906 Executive Director $80,000 $74,976 2024
Blackpastorg WA$385,282 Executive Director $70,000 $64,370 2023
Theodore Roosevelt Association NY$418,767 Ceo $66,000 $59,498 2024
Patriotic Productions Inc NE$380,942 President $75,000 $82,852 2023
North-south Skirmish Association Inc VA$419,866 Property Manager $60,991 $60,486 2023
Presque Isle Light Station PA$379,832 Executive Director $62,500 $64,016 2023
Historic Riverside Cemetery GA$378,369 President $85,605 $83,657 2025
The Adam Leventhal Memorial School And CA$422,992 Executive Director $64,780 $57,453 2023
Oregon Black Pioneers Corporation OR$376,648 Executive Director $67,708 $64,581 2023
Washington County Historical PA$426,056 Executive Di $45,169 $44,937 2024
The Finca Vigia Foundation Inc MA$368,460 Executive Director $156,037 $139,885 2024
The Plano Conservancy For Historic Preservation I TX$365,451 Executive Director $58,516 $56,891 2025
Friends Of Moorefields NC$436,170 Executive Director $7,000 $7,216 2024
Honor And Remember Inc VA$436,643 Chairman $87,000 $86,279 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NV 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 NV 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 default65th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)67th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted70th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted61st

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 (Theodora Stefu) 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 122 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A80), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $73,987 is reasonable (approximately the 65th 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.