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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Sarasota University

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 460764321
FL · NTEE B50
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Michael Levens, Executive Director / CEO ($27,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 670 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 41st percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

670 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 670 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1 total compensation of comparable organizations → $469,728 $27,000
$5,77410th
$15,25325th
$33,914Median
$58,44675th
$85,64390th
$27,000This org · 41st
p10$5,774
p25$15,253
p50$33,914
p75$58,446
p90$85,643
$27,000

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 FL 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
Alumni Association Of The DC$117,622 Executive Director $40,204 $38,665 2023
Liberty University Foundation VA$118,139 Director/president $17,026 $18,016 2023
Trinity Classical Christian Academy WA$116,920 Director $31,847 $30,351 2024
Hope United Inc OK$118,852 Executive Director $48,383 $58,387 2023
Little Shepherd Preschool The RI$118,895 Director $32,400 $34,048 2023
Association Of Internet Researchers IL$118,897 Associate Coordinator $13,328 $13,948 2024
Golden Ciphers OH$116,132 Executive Director $33,120 $37,341 2024
Council On Youth Programs For NY$119,498 President/treas./director $37,449 $36,022 2024
Healing Vine Harbor Inc NC$119,646 Executive Director $53,192 $60,233 2023
Capitan Public Library Volunteer NM$119,679 Treasurer $2,492 $2,853 2024
Marietta Johnson School Of Organic AL$115,900 Board Member $10,900 $12,535 2024
Tri It For Life NC$119,808 Executive Director $23,450 $25,793 2024
Sustained Leaders TX$115,736 Ceo $15,305 $15,876 2025
William Paterson University Of NJ$119,945 Executive Director $48,380 $47,339 2023
Nw Laborers United Training Center WA$120,000 President $90,957 $86,686 2024
Kipp Dc Supporting Corp DC$115,564 President, Kipp Dc Pcs (Eff 8/2022) $5,754 $5,534 2023
Blue Grass Resource Center VA$120,150 Executive Director $26,302 $27,033 2024
Nevada Christian Institute NV$115,276 Secretary $10,500 $11,204 2024
Sierra Stem CA$120,511 Education Director $21,812 $20,049 2024
Georgia College & State University GA$120,519 Executive Director, Ex-officio Gcsu $5,946 $6,364 2024
Fulton Public Schools Foundation MO$120,573 Executive Di $18,000 $20,294 2024
Jitegemee Inc MA$114,999 Director $29,852 $29,399 2023
Aliveo Learning Center Inc MN$114,928 Asst Gmg Mgr/director $33,390 $36,158 2023
Hoover City Schools Foundation AL$114,734 Executive Director $22,663 $26,832 2023
California Reading Association CA$114,669 Admin Assistant $16,546 $15,658 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to FL 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 FL 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 default41st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)43rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted56th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted33rd

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 (Michael Levens) 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 670 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (B), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $27,000 is reasonable (approximately the 41st 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.