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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Southwest Seattle Historical Society

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 911297010
WA · NTEE A82Z
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Elizabeth Rudrud, Executive Director / CEO ($60,138) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 41 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 76th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

41 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 41 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$8,069 total compensation of comparable organizations → $162,654 $60,138
$23,55710th
$29,50125th
$44,994Median
$59,83575th
$72,37190th
$60,138This org · 76th
p10$23,557
p25$29,501
p50$44,994
p75$59,835
p90$72,371
$60,138

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 WA 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
Dwight D Eisenhower Society PA$132,722 Executive Dir. $41,074 $45,750 2024
Captain Avery Museum Inc MD$124,562 Executive Director $46,688 $50,193 2023
Abraham Lincoln Association IL$133,129 Executive Manager $29,125 $32,926 2023
Codington County Historical Society SD$123,793 Museum Director $49,778 $63,173 2023
Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion Inc PA$121,034 Exec Dir -1/1/23 To 9/12/23 $45,311 $51,960 2023
Peterborough Historical Society NH$136,828 Executive Direc $68,827 $70,984 2024
Hillforest Historical Foundation Inc IN$137,979 Executive Director - Left Mid-year $28,697 $33,801 2024
Historic Lexington Foundation VA$119,424 Executive Director $22,238 $23,983 2024
Burnett County Historical Society Inc WI$116,296 Executive Director $6,719 $8,069 2023
Brown County Historical Society WI$143,537 Executive Director $61,500 $71,739 2024
Hunterdon County Historical Society NJ$150,272 Executive Adminstrator $60,000 $59,835 2024
Swiss Heritage Society Inc IN$105,467 President $18,692 $22,017 2024
Westport Historical Society Inc CT$153,112 Executive Di $155,315 $162,654 2024
Montgomery Co Historical Society IN$103,557 Exec Directo $24,621 $29,000 2024
Warren County Historical Society PA$155,664 Executive Director $39,287 $45,052 2023
Lewis & Clark National Park Association OR$101,962 Executive Director $56,787 $58,902 2024
Kenilworth Historical Society IL$157,577 Director $53,998 $61,045 2023
Delaware County Historical Society PA$159,182 Acting Executive Director $56,000 $62,375 2024
The Clifton Forge Company VA$161,429 Executive Director $26,570 $29,501 2023
Stevens County Historical Society MN$162,560 Executive Dir. $34,226 $38,890 2023
Gf County Historical Society ND$163,424 Executive Director $36,729 $45,020 2024
The Woman's Club Of Dayton Foundation OH$164,202 Exec Director $30,800 $37,513 2023
Quincy Historical Society MA$164,769 Executive Di $20,000 $20,074 2024
Griffin Spalding Historical Society GA$166,413 Executive Director $20,430 $23,621 2023
Colonial Theater Inc ME$90,527 Executive Director $30,000 $34,544 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to WA 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 WA 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 default76th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)83rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted76th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted76th

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 (Elizabeth Rudrud) 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 41 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A82), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $60,138 is reasonable (approximately the 76th 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.