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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Duluth Area Family Ymca Heritage

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 200956455
MN · NTEE P27
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Sara Cole, Executive Director / CEO ($45,235) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 29 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 21st percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

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

How comparable organizations were selected

29 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 29 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$8,739 total compensation of comparable organizations → $101,039 $45,235
$35,22410th
$48,45325th
$66,085Median
$78,53775th
$95,09190th
$45,235This org · 21st
p10$35,224
p25$48,453
p50$66,085
p75$78,537
p90$95,091
$45,235

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 MN 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
Ywca Of San Francisco & Marin CA$507,005 Chief Financial Officer $43,056 $37,626 2023
The Young Men's Christian AL$463,386 Executive Di $52,000 $55,222 2024
Rathbun Lake Area Young Mens Christ IA$453,841 Ceo $44,245 $49,028 2023
Atlanta Ymca Westside Qalicb Inc GA$450,871 Chief Executive Officer $36,068 $36,702 2023
Young Mens Christian Association Of Jackson Area OH$436,285 Executive Director $42,000 $45,020 2023
Camp Sunshine MI$430,570 Executive Dir $68,025 $69,019 2024
Ywca Of Darien Norwalk Inc CT$410,083 Chair $81,154 $72,869 2025
Ywca Allentown PA$569,120 Executive Director $98,789 $96,841 2024
Santa Monica Ymca Endowment Fund CA$578,670 Chief Executive Officer $21,167 $17,967 2024
Long Branch Area Young Men's Christian Association MO$578,679 Chief Executive Officer $68,905 $71,740 2024
Young Mens Christian Association Of The Coosa Valley Inc AL$396,829 Executive Director $53,516 $58,511 2023
Young Womens Christian Association IN$605,938 Executive Director $47,500 $49,239 2024
Safe Children Coalition Foundation Inc FL$366,926 Ceo $31,740 $29,310 2024
Bertie County Ymca NC$616,088 Ceo $96,383 $95,373 2025
Union County Ymca SC$620,297 Ceo $69,037 $70,797 2024
Schuylkill Ymca PA$626,867 Executive Di $62,027 $60,803 2024
White County United Way Inc IN$350,430 Executive Di $45,400 $48,453 2023
Switzerland County Young Men's IN$630,259 Ceo $63,750 $66,085 2024
Ywca Of Lincoln NE$339,689 Executive Director $95,566 $101,039 2024
Young Mens Christian Association HI$656,344 Director $92,896 $81,756 2024
Young Women's Christian Association Of Elyria Oh OH$659,575 Executive Director $65,207 $69,895 2023
Young's Men's Christian Assn Of Lafayette La Inc LA$668,275 Executive Director $72,831 $81,162 2023
Scott County Family Ymca IN$675,243 Ceo $65,000 $67,381 2024
Young Womens Christian Association SC$695,068 Executive Dir. $60,563 $62,107 2024
Ymca Of San Diego County Housing CA$714,699 Secretary $56,711 $48,137 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MN 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 MN 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 default21st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)24th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted0th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted93rd

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 (Sara Cole) 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 29 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (P27), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $45,235 is reasonable (approximately the 21st 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.