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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Wilmington University Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 510107088
DE · NTEE B40
FY ending 2023-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Laverne T Harmon, Executive Director / CEO ($1,190,652) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 246 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 97th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

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

How comparable organizations were selected

246 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 246 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$946 total compensation of comparable organizations → $8,873,002 $1,190,652
$183,96510th
$308,07825th
$455,392Median
$623,47575th
$865,48290th
$1,190,652This org · 97th
p10$183,965
p25$308,078
p50$455,392
p75$623,475
p90$865,482
$1,190,652

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 DE 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
Carthage College WI$123,979,926 President And Chief Executive Officer $739,633 $788,889 2023
1693 Partners Fund VA$123,902,760 Chief Investment Officer $64,206 $63,313 2023
Augustana University Association SD$123,883,551 President $410,977 $449,934 2024
Westmont College CA$124,041,984 President $416,383 $356,666 2024
University Of Northwestern - St Paul MN$124,259,575 President Thru 7/22 $615,460 $621,089 2023
🔒 241 more comparable organizations — included in the purchased report

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to DE 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 DE 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 default97th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)97th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted98th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted96th

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:

Ready-to-adopt board minutes — executive compensation

🔒 The complete minutes language — three numbered resolutions pre-filled with this organization, the 246-organization comparison, the date, and the percentile finding, ready to paste into your minutes — is included in the purchased report.

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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.