Executive Director / CEO
This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Blake Cole, Executive Director / CEO ($45,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 114 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.
Compensation sits at approximately the 46th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range
Benchmarked executive: Blake Cole — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.
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 AR cost of living (BEA RPP, 2023) and to its filing year (CPI-U); the reported amount is on each linked 990.
| Organization | State | Revenue | Matched title | Comp (reported) | Comp (adjusted) | FY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Tn Supporting Foundation | TN | $299,263 | President/ce | $5,485 | $5,129 | 2024 |
| United Way Of Williams County | OH | $298,919 | Former Exec | $44,898 | $41,216 | 2025 |
| Community Coalition | PA | $299,944 | Executive Director | $97,506 | $89,060 | 2023 |
| Royal Charter Properties-westchester Inc | NY | $298,768 | President | $68,997 | $57,105 | 2023 |
| Beartooth Billings Clinic Foundation | MT | $298,289 | Cfo | $44,110 | $43,550 | 2023 |
| United Way Of Freeborn County Inc | MN | $297,884 | Executive Director | $52,000 | $45,711 | 2024 |
| Esther Inc | WI | $297,311 | Executive Director | $1,154 | $1,072 | 2024 |
| River Ridge Farm Trust | OH | $301,820 | Trustee | $36,125 | $34,039 | 2024 |
| Quality Of Life Foundation Of Austin Inc | TX | $295,548 | President | $34,859 | $31,938 | 2023 |
| C & Ws Rustic Hollow Shelter Inc | IA | $291,954 | President | $49,400 | $48,120 | 2024 |
| River Valley United Way Inc | AR | $291,044 | Executive Director | $37,182 | $38,280 | 2023 |
| United Way Of Jefferson County | OH | $290,431 | Executive Director | $44,500 | $41,931 | 2024 |
| Becker County United Way | MN | $288,508 | Executive Director | $53,500 | $45,818 | 2025 |
| Alleghany Memorial Hospital Foundation Inc | NC | $310,604 | Executive Director | $13,679 | $12,574 | 2024 |
| United Way Of Harvey And Marion Counties Inc | KS | $311,045 | Executive Director | $68,453 | $65,791 | 2024 |
| Community Shares Of Greater Cincinnati | OH | $311,349 | Chief Executive Officer | $79,454 | $77,078 | 2023 |
| United Way Of Hood County Inc | TX | $312,480 | Exec Dir | $71,000 | $63,184 | 2024 |
| The American Amusement Machine | IL | $313,105 | Executive Director | $15,517 | $13,222 | 2025 |
| United Way Of Nelson County | KY | $282,650 | Executive Director | $25,000 | $24,600 | 2023 |
| Mecosta - Osceola United Way Inc | MI | $318,621 | Executive Di | $50,000 | $45,913 | 2024 |
| United Way Of Illinois Valley | IL | $319,703 | Vice President | $61,969 | $52,803 | 2025 |
| United Way Of South Central Illinois | IL | $278,145 | Executive Dir. | $61,005 | $54,932 | 2023 |
| United Way Of Columbia County Inc | AR | $320,695 | Executive Di | $5,003 | $5,003 | 2024 |
| Children Of Deaf Adults | CA | $275,428 | Vice-president | $5,400 | $4,271 | 2023 |
| United Way Of 1000 Lakes | MN | $326,308 | Executive Director | $63,093 | $57,101 | 2023 |
Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to AR cost of living and 2024 dollars. Click any organization to verify the figure on ProPublica.
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 AR 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.
Sensitivity — the subject's percentile under alternative compensation definitions:
| Basis | Subject percentile |
|---|---|
| Total compensation (D + F), cost-of-living + inflation adjusted — the PeerBasis default | 46th |
| Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments) | 43rd |
| Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted | 51st |
| All sources (D + E + F), adjusted | 38th |
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.
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
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.