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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Southern Virginia University

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 540646523
VA · NTEE B41Z
FY ending 2024-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Eric Denna, Executive Director / CEO ($187,646) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 701 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 19th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Eric Denna — reported title “PRESIDENT (THRU 10/12/23)”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

701 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 701 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,104 total compensation of comparable organizations → $2,264,177 $187,646
$141,50110th
$209,76225th
$315,595Median
$459,59875th
$626,62390th
$187,646This org · 19th
p10$141,501
p25$209,762
p50$315,595
p75$459,598
p90$626,623
$187,646

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 VA 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
Star Sports Theatre Arts CA$39,124,057 Executive Director $235,000 $210,164 2024
Waterford School Holding Corporation UT$39,117,276 Head Of School $478,430 $507,136 2024
Slam Florida Inc FL$39,116,070 Principal $129,509 $126,005 2024
Pembroke Hill School MO$39,194,742 Head Of School $590,077 $666,404 2023
Marian University Inc WI$39,059,439 President $226,904 $252,676 2023
🔒 696 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 VA 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 VA 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 default19th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)20th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted22nd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted15th

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 701-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.