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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Council Of Public Liberal Arts Colleges

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 411921743
NC · NTEE B99Z
FY ending 2024-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Dr Cole Woodcox, Executive Director / CEO ($40,148) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 433 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 33rd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

433 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 433 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$122 total compensation of comparable organizations → $274,806 $40,148
$13,33610th
$31,99625th
$55,567Median
$79,28675th
$106,89490th
$40,148This org · 33rd
p10$13,336
p25$31,996
p50$55,567
p75$79,286
p90$106,894
$40,148

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 NC 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
Pivot Leadership Group TX$360,303 Executive Director $95,940 $92,880 2024
Foundation For Mo County Free Libraries CA$359,452 Executive Director $78,121 $65,286 2024
Scottsdale Leadership Inc AZ$359,383 Executive Director $93,090 $89,204 2023
Heartlight Center Inc CO$359,354 Executive Dir. $91,975 $87,875 2023
Maryland Pesticide Education MD$361,636 Executive Di $80,000 $74,523 2023
Open Storehouse Incorporated FL$361,786 President $70,000 $63,643 2024
Ohio Association For College OH$361,788 Executive Ad $32,657 $33,475 2024
Wild Horses Building Champions Inc SD$358,584 Director $18,000 $19,794 2023
Ifees Inc MD$358,493 Secretary $195,256 $181,887 2023
Manners Of The Heart Inc LA$357,842 Chief Visionary Opfficer $60,000 $63,941 2024
Literacy Connections Hudson NY$363,025 Executive Di $75,002 $63,901 2025
Rural Aspirations Project ME$363,803 Executive Director $83,428 $83,238 2023
Quality Care Community Service Inc VA$356,347 Supervisor $99,085 $92,591 2024
22nd Judicial District Casa Inc OK$364,430 Exec Dir $66,285 $68,818 2025
Lyric Performing Arts Company Inc TX$356,051 Director $56,250 $56,064 2023
Summer On The Cuyahoga OH$364,717 Executive Di $70,350 $72,113 2024
Apereo Foundation Incorporated OR$364,789 Secretary, Executive Director $81,136 $72,922 2024
Natural Stone Foundation OH$355,833 Executive Director $35,233 $37,183 2023
Patient Safety Movement Foundation CA$365,177 Coo $210,873 $171,684 2025
Lily Creek Farms OH$365,276 Executive Director $42,000 $43,052 2024
W5yi Licensing Services Inc TX$365,305 President $29,015 $28,090 2024
Rome Institute Of Liberal Arts Inc CA$354,988 President $127,532 $106,579 2024
North Korea Human Rights Watch OH$365,913 Program Dire $80,000 $84,427 2023
South Carolina Foundation For SC$354,508 Executive Di $34,000 $33,444 2025
The Hive Dgo CO$366,407 Executive Dir. $54,248 $50,343 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NC 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 NC 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 default33rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)32nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted0th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted95th

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 (Dr Cole Woodcox) 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 433 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B99), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $40,148 is reasonable (approximately the 33rd 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.