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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Community Leadership Development Program

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 161244398
NY · NTEE W70Z
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Elizabeth Zulawski, Executive Director / CEO ($76,758) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 27 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 59th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

27 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 27 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$6,485 total compensation of comparable organizations → $153,517 $76,758
$11,66610th
$18,26625th
$69,714Median
$92,65375th
$117,35990th
$76,758This org · 59th
p10$11,666
p25$18,266
p50$69,714
p75$92,653
p90$117,359
$76,758

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 NY 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
Heartland Center For Leadership NE$183,296 President $75,275 $84,784 2025
American Leadership Forum Tacoma WA$198,320 President $24,700 $23,158 2025
Technical College Directors Association GA$204,001 Executive Dir. $120,000 $129,695 2024
Bold Leadership Network SC$206,208 Secretary $18,540 $21,405 2023
Shannon Leadership Institute MN$208,093 Executive Director (Through July 2024) $12,500 $13,276 2024
Catawba Valley Leadership Foundation Inc NC$212,187 Foundation Director $42,375 $47,064 2024
Deep Democracy Institute OR$158,227 President $68,700 $70,603 2023
Georgia Athletic Directors Association GA$214,748 Executive Director $6,000 $6,485 2024
Mclaran Leadership Foundation OR$217,633 Executive Director $15,154 $15,127 2024
Move For America MN$220,083 Executive Director $7,500 $8,201 2023
Nebraska Human Resources Research NE$148,321 Executive Director $22,824 $27,167 2023
Leadership Lorain County Inc OH$224,812 President & Ceo $75,800 $86,297 2024
Hope Anchor & Crew Inc IN$226,571 President $38,077 $44,437 2023
Rise Up Woman International IN$226,790 President $10,500 $12,254 2023
Lideramos CO$227,132 Executive Dir. $102,451 $105,597 2024
Leading For Change Inc AZ$231,487 President & Ceo $109,740 $113,445 2024
Greater Missouri Leadership MO$235,713 Executive Di $95,000 $111,351 2023
The Serving Way PA$240,190 President $10,667 $11,772 2023
Purposequest International Inc PA$242,579 President/chairman $10,428 $11,508 2023
Leadership Training International VA$247,977 President/ce $81,292 $84,370 2024
Women Of Color Roar Media CA$249,608 President $65,000 $60,331 2024
Leadership Ashtabula County Inc OH$252,148 Executive Director $63,059 $73,912 2023
Black Leadership & Legacies Inc IN$256,064 President $61,500 $69,714 2024
The Jackson Institute Inc GA$256,657 Chairman $142,041 $153,517 2024
Ventura County Leadership Academy CA$258,726 Executive Director $136,277 $123,229 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NY 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 NY 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 default59th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)67th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted63rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted52nd

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 Zulawski) 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 27 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (W70), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $76,758 is reasonable (approximately the 59th 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.