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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

International Institute For Mesopotamian Area Studies

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 953217524
CA · NTEE A72Z
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Federico Buccellati, Executive Director / CEO ($18,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 1204 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 25th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

1,204 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 1,204 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$291 total compensation of comparable organizations → $322,321 $18,000
$5,88610th
$18,64425th
$38,234Median
$59,57575th
$78,72690th
$18,000This org · 25th
p10$5,886
p25$18,644
p50$38,234
p75$59,575
p90$78,726
$18,000

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 CA 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
Yara Arts Group NY$150,689 Artistic Director & Board Member $20,750 $21,092 2024
Cleveland Art Association OH$150,890 Director/secretary $3,705 $4,414 2024
Hispanics Avanzando Hispanics -- Dba Hispanic Chamber Cincinnati Foundation OH$150,551 Board Of Directors $7,200 $8,831 2023
Orchestra 2001 Inc PA$150,514 Executive Director $98,059 $109,997 2024
Organizacion De Tlaxcaltecas Usa Inc CA$150,947 President $40,000 $38,852 2024
Juggerknot Theatre Corporation FL$151,050 President/director $60,000 $63,403 2024
Hunterdon County Historical Society NJ$150,272 Executive Adminstrator $60,000 $60,259 2024
Lovell Historical Society ME$151,332 President $19,815 $22,978 2023
Center For Documentary Expression UT$151,368 Executive Di $54,000 $64,004 2023
The Heidelberg Project MI$151,440 Executive Di $96,000 $111,460 2024
Parlez-vous Francais Inc NJ$151,485 President $43,063 $42,133 2025
Mississippi Industrial Heritage Museum Inc MS$151,523 Sec Treas And Executive Director $57,200 $73,777 2023
Inta Inc NY$149,778 Artistic Director $83,662 $87,550 2023
Stockyards Plaza Inc SD$149,752 Executive Director $76,301 $94,722 2024
Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra Inc WI$151,804 Managing Director $3,460 $4,185 2023
Polska Szkola Im Marii Konopckiej Nfp IL$149,506 President $5,300 $5,861 2024
African American Heritage Society TN$149,506 Executive Dir. $27,440 $33,403 2023
Bruce Lee Foundation Inc CA$149,396 Executive Director $100,248 $100,248 2023
Haverhill Historical Society MA$152,088 Director And Curator $34,356 $33,832 2025
The Charnley-persky House Museum IL$149,312 Executive Director - Term $6,193 $7,051 2023
Elnu Abenaki Inc VT$152,261 Secretary/treas $62,914 $71,231 2024
Enchantment Theatre Company PA$152,282 Director $39,200 $43,972 2024
Carole Kneeland Project For TX$149,007 Executive Director $70,000 $81,091 2023
The Grand Foundation Inc NE$152,532 Vice President $13,000 $15,728 2024
District One Community Education PA$148,914 Executive Di $35,000 $38,249 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CA cost of living and 2023 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 CA 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 default25th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)26th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted26th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted23rd

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 (Federico Buccellati) 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 1204 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (A), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $18,000 is reasonable (approximately the 25th 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.