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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Universities Council On Water

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 470617822
IL · NTEE B034
FY ending 2023-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Karl Willard, Executive Director / CEO ($104,938) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 73 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 89th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Karl Willard — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

73 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 73 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$274 total compensation of comparable organizations → $207,336 $104,938
$7,08510th
$20,98425th
$42,761Median
$80,85375th
$105,01490th
$104,938This org · 89th
p10$7,085
p25$20,984
p50$42,761
p75$80,853
p90$105,014
$104,938

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 IL 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
Schuylkill Community Education Council PA$273,566 Executive Direc $103,805 $105,296 2023
California Association Of CA$269,871 Executive Dir. $217,913 $185,908 2024
Midwest Principals Center Inc IL$276,507 Co-director $47,532 $46,168 2024
Mass Assoc For Health Physical MA$267,123 Executive Di $65,611 $58,251 2024
North Texas Chapter Of The National TX$263,912 Executive Dir. $85,500 $86,995 2023
Consortium For Entrepreneurship WV$283,070 Ceo $75,000 $82,600 2023
New Jersey Association For College NJ$263,150 Exe. Assist. $22,353 $20,300 2023
Southeast Missouri Preparatory School MO$261,800 President $30,666 $31,262 2025
National Association Of Corporate Directors - Chicago Chapter IL$260,305 Executive Director $130,004 $126,274 2024
Maine Music Educators Association ME$259,983 Executive Director $20,602 $20,984 2023
Washington State Music Teachers WA$287,883 President $1,000 $884 2024
Northeast Greek Leadership PA$258,306 Executive Di $49,781 $49,047 2024
New England Center For Attention VT$257,226 Executive Dir. $120,000 $122,857 2023
Lone Star State School Counselor Association TX$256,187 Executive Director $23,260 $22,988 2024
Delaware Mathematics Coalition Inc DE$290,372 Executive Officer $54,213 $52,446 2024
National Council On School Facilities DC$255,554 Former Executive Director $23,505 $20,379 2024
Meadowlands Regional 2040 Foundation Inc NJ$253,386 President & Ceo $7,311 $6,449 2024
Consortium For North American Higher Education Collaboration Con AZ$253,145 Executive Director And Treasurer $13,266 $12,605 2024
Dyslexia Center Of Austin TX$252,836 Executive Dir. $36,000 $36,630 2023
Association For Practical & Professional IN$249,118 Executive Director $50,000 $50,752 2025
The Association Of Asset Management Prof NE$248,153 President $250 $274 2023
Gamma Iota Sigma Foundation OH$246,200 Executive Director $5,056 $5,291 2024
Oregon Music Teachers OR$300,071 District Pre $2,511 $2,244 2025
National Prevention Science Coalition To Improve Lives Inc CA$300,201 Co-director $10,000 $8,531 2024
Indiana Head Start Association Inc IN$301,197 Executive Director $99,711 $103,888 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to IL 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 IL 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 default89th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)90th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted89th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted82nd

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 (Karl Willard) 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 73 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B03), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $104,938 is reasonable (approximately the 89th 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.