Live preview — download the board-ready PDF to attach to your minutes.Download the free PDF
Email yourself a copy:
PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Atlantic University

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 540784341
VA · NTEE B43Z
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Nicole Charles, Executive Director / CEO ($10,989) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 18 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 6th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

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

How comparable organizations were selected

18 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 18 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$8,510 total compensation of comparable organizations → $373,524 $10,989
$15,95910th
$39,17825th
$50,001Median
$74,04575th
$113,69790th
$10,989This org · 6th
p10$15,959
p25$39,178
p50$50,001
p75$74,045
p90$113,697
$10,989

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
Cabrini Legacy Corporation PA$446,766 Interim President To August 2024 $382,188 $373,524 2025
Horizon University Inc IN$417,564 President $16,450 $17,001 2025
Mortar Board Inc OH$518,676 Executive Di $105,575 $112,488 2024
Taylor University Foundation Inc IN$391,432 Executive Director $36,913 $39,159 2024
Hedl Llc UT$375,390 Manager $8,028 $8,510 2023
Teleo University MN$364,052 President Ceo $60,000 $59,641 2024
Notre Dame De La Baie Foundation Inc WI$362,809 Exec. Director Of Fin. & B $39,158 $41,140 2024
Humboldt State University Center CA$355,447 Executive Director $91,643 $77,554 2025
21st Century Global Missions MS$559,335 Officer $53,979 $60,478 2024
Oregon Club Of Eugene-springfield OR$351,370 Exec. Direct $51,862 $48,449 2024
Brigham Young University Alumni Llc UT$569,074 Manager $13,137 $13,526 2024
Achievement Rewards For College WA$597,661 Director Of Operations $87,743 $81,360 2023
The Foundation Of The University Of NC$599,858 Executive Director $44,171 $45,913 2024
Metropolitan Bridgeport Inc CT$311,904 President $119,988 $116,517 2023
The Cornerstone Bible College And Seminary CA$309,977 President/ceo $60,918 $51,553 2025
Stanley-university Of Iowa Foundation Support Organization IA$631,187 Secretary/director $57,665 $63,517 2024
Southwest Tennessee Community College TN$636,217 President, Southwest Tennessee $36,041 $39,236 2023
Jubilee University MO$680,719 Board Member $17,600 $18,269 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to VA 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 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 default6th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)6th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted0th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted56th

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 (Nicole Charles) 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 18 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B43), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $10,989 is reasonable (approximately the 6th 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.