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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Charlotte Center For Literary Arts Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 474988291
NC · NTEE A70
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Paul Reali, Executive Director / CEO ($77,950) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 48 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 81st percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Paul Reali — reported title “Co-founder, Executive Director”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

48 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 48 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$878 total compensation of comparable organizations → $118,733 $77,950
$25,07110th
$36,72925th
$52,418Median
$72,67175th
$90,15390th
$77,950This org · 81st
p10$25,071
p25$36,729
p50$52,418
p75$72,671
p90$90,153
$77,950

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
System For Education Empowerment And Success TX$430,337 President $36,968 $35,789 2024
Opportunity Music Project NY$443,898 Executive Dir. $66,146 $59,556 2023
New Literary Project CA$443,947 Executive Director $138,000 $118,733 2023
Verde Valley Archaeology Center AZ$426,652 Executive Director $90,000 $86,243 2023
Brooklyn Poets Inc NY$446,278 Treasurer $63,965 $57,592 2023
Metro Community Development Corporation MA$412,397 Director, Executive Director $72,300 $61,257 2025
Mcct Inc MI$462,177 Executive Director $66,029 $67,907 2023
7000 Languages Inc MA$465,722 Executive Director $103,267 $89,810 2024
Association Of American Rhodes Scholars VA$400,243 Editor & Director $37,907 $35,423 2024
Global Writes Inc NY$480,751 Co-president $35,000 $31,513 2023
Spanish Academy CA$390,365 Director $110,500 $95,073 2023
Indianapolis Theatre Fringe Fe IN$485,251 Executive Dir $80,000 $84,060 2023
I Can Fly International CA$386,754 President $31,906 $26,664 2024
The Rhapsody Project WA$381,818 Co-founder $57,720 $51,491 2023
Forbes Avenue Foundation Inc PA$494,105 Executive Di $93,250 $87,678 2025
The Alexandria Archive Institute CA$370,219 Executive Director $72,000 $61,948 2023
Inquirefirst CA$502,929 President/tr $91,000 $76,049 2024
La Casa De Maria Retreat Center CA$364,900 Executive Director $92,250 $77,093 2024
Pulaski County Imagination Library AR$361,644 Interim Executive Director $33,889 $36,867 2024
Henry Miller Memorial Library CA$355,492 Executive Dir. $107,666 $92,634 2023
Kundiman Inc NY$527,543 Executive Director Until 6/2024 $34,462 $30,138 2024
Henryk Sienkiewicz Polish School Nfp IL$342,361 Prezes $7,392 $7,033 2024
Norfolk Forum Incorporated VA$533,211 Executive Director $45,313 $41,252 2025
Oregon Potters Association OR$535,230 President $949 $878 2023
Foundation For The Future Of Literature CA$537,373 Prog. Director $2,100 $1,755 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 default81st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)73rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted81st
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted81st

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 (Paul Reali) 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 48 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A70), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $77,950 is reasonable (approximately the 81st 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.