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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Cal State University Fullerton

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 330038884
CA · NTEE B11
FY ending 2023-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of William Cole, Executive Director / CEO ($56,403) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 16 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 63rd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: William Cole — reported title “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

16 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 16 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$18,717 total compensation of comparable organizations → $600,310 $56,403
$23,99210th
$33,79725th
$46,731Median
$78,63075th
$165,85590th
$56,403This org · 63rd
p10$23,992
p25$33,797
p50$46,731
p75$78,630
p90$165,855
$56,403

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
Luis & Linda Nieves Family Foundation CA$314,060 University Director $600,310 $600,310 2023
East Side Union High School District CA$315,403 Executive Dir. $25,000 $24,283 2024
Riverside County Office Of CA$324,521 Director $75,947 $73,768 2024
Rudolph And Florence Nadbath CA$289,684 Trustee $25,815 $25,074 2024
K-love & Air1 Foundation CA$328,960 Ceo/director (Ended 5/15/24) $48,455 $47,065 2024
Whitecaps Baseball Academy CA$333,957 President $42,797 $41,569 2024
El Sol Academy Foundation CA$345,291 Exec. Dir. Of El Sol Academy $48,053 $48,053 2023
Charter Facilities Support Corp CA$353,153 Ceo $36,704 $36,704 2023
Santa Clara City Library CA$246,620 Executive Dir. $95,968 $93,215 2024
Santiago Canyon College Foundation CA$246,541 Interim Executive Director (April '23-jun '23) $59,204 $59,204 2023
Ontario-montclair Schools Foundation CA$246,287 Omsf Director $46,396 $46,396 2023
Cencal Youth Sports CA$219,561 Executive Director $24,400 $23,700 2024
City Of Orange Public Library Foundation CA$218,507 Executive Director $42,000 $40,795 2024
Musd Holding Corp CA$452,888 President $19,780 $18,717 2025
The Berkeley Institute CA$452,970 Executive Director, Treasu $125,190 $121,598 2024
The Partners Program CA$453,969 Director/head Of School $210,112 $210,112 2023

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 default63rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)63rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted0th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted50th

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 (William 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 16 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B11) + CA + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $56,403 is reasonable (approximately the 63rd 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.