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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Southern Methodist College

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 570650419
SC · NTEE B42Z
FY ending 2025-05-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Dr David Battle, Executive Director / CEO ($28,392) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 1825 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 34th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Dr David Battle — reported title “EX OFFICIO MEMBER”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

1,825 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 1,825 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1 total compensation of comparable organizations → $434,173 $28,392
$7,84310th
$20,67325th
$41,311Median
$62,80175th
$89,41190th
$28,392This org · 34th
p10$7,843
p25$20,673
p50$41,311
p75$62,801
p90$89,411
$28,392

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 SC 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
Foundation For The Liveliness KY$188,459 President And Director Of $42,875 $45,322 2024
Kern Literacy Council CA$188,636 Executive Dir $84,375 $71,685 2024
Schuylkill Valley Community Library Inc PA$188,282 Library Director $35,101 $35,458 2023
Logos University Inc FL$188,690 President $42,650 $38,406 2025
Montessori Center Of Pearl Harbor HI$188,250 Director/teacher Rep. $73,350 $64,614 2024
Clarksburg Electrical Joint Apprenticesh WV$187,894 Secretary $53,545 $58,727 2023
Advancing Students Forward CA$189,082 Executive Dir. $78,500 $66,694 2024
The Education Foundation Of Putnam FL$189,084 Executive Director $27,500 $25,419 2024
Geneva Lake Astrophysics And Steam Inc WI$187,866 President $142,540 $150,795 2023
Clark Memorial Library RI$187,786 Director $40,821 $39,650 2023
Society For The Advancement Of Biology Education Research WA$189,221 Managing Director $39,747 $35,014 2024
The Ohio Educational Outreach Found OH$189,289 Board Member $500 $521 2024
Pearls Academy Incorporated PA$187,639 Executive Director $53,112 $52,113 2024
Microenterprise Collaborative CA$187,555 Executive Dir. $106,411 $93,078 2023
National Institute On The Teaching AL$187,530 Director $27,720 $28,706 2025
Victorious Life International IL$189,594 Ceo $750 $726 2024
Beth Israel Dermatology Foundation Inc MA$189,638 Director (Dermatologist, Hmfp) $100,462 $88,824 2024
Architectural Foundation Of CA$189,680 Executive Dir. $150,646 $127,990 2024
Police Athletic League Of Philadelphia PA$189,686 Executive Director Thru 11/23 $2,185 $2,144 2024
Youthful Impact CT$189,735 President & Ceo $22,889 $21,740 2023
The Spaulding High School Scholarship Trust VT$187,214 Vice Chair $2,300 $2,278 2024
Cbee Foundation CA$187,131 Ceo $182,431 $154,995 2024
Friends Of Monte Vista Choir CA$187,110 Fin'l Secretary $9,180 $7,799 2024
Farther Foundation IL$187,088 President $7,500 $7,254 2024
Northeast Ohio Worker Center OH$189,940 Executive Director $56,243 $58,611 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to SC cost of living and 2025 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 SC 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 default34th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)33rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted42nd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted29th

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 (Dr David Battle) 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 1825 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (B), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $28,392 is reasonable (approximately the 34th 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.