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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Literacy Action Of Central Arkansas Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 710638565
AR · NTEE B92Z
FY ending 2024-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Dana Venhaus, Executive Director / CEO ($51,600) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 34 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 65th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Dana Venhaus — reported title “EXEC DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

34 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 34 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$4 total compensation of comparable organizations → $105,048 $51,600
$8,38710th
$25,82825th
$46,278Median
$55,16475th
$60,60790th
$51,600This org · 65th
p10$8,387
p25$25,828
p50$46,278
p75$55,164
p90$60,607
$51,600

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 AR 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
The Real Program Inc MA$248,178 Director $51,050 $40,812 2024
Mid-state Literacy Council Inc PA$256,728 Executive Director $64,153 $56,915 2024
Books Inc's Reading Bridge CA$245,325 Executive Director (Part Year) $3,219 $2,473 2024
Street Books OR$257,697 Executive Director $5 $4 2023
Rowan County Literacy Council Inc NC$259,540 Executive Di $33,808 $31,077 2024
The Literacy Connection IL$236,641 Executive Dir. $57,429 $51,712 2023
Literacy Volunteers - Winchester Area VA$236,012 Executive Dir. $62,450 $55,229 2023
Girls On The Run Of Greater Rochester NY$233,308 Executive Director $61,034 $49,065 2024
Family Reading Partnership NY$232,136 Executive Director $64,104 $51,533 2024
Friends Of Literacy Inc TN$232,045 Executive Director $65,948 $61,670 2024
Read To Succeed TN$230,802 Executive Director $51,967 $48,596 2024
Illinois Association For The Education Of Young Children IL$228,890 Executive Director $47,678 $41,700 2024
Infinite Scholars Program Of Missouri MO$223,318 President Ceo $15,900 $15,425 2023
Uplift Literacy Inc FL$282,525 Executive Director $52,200 $42,501 2025
St Louis Black Authors Of Childrens Literature MO$289,700 President $42,262 $39,822 2024
Decode Project Inc KY$204,353 Executive Director $60,951 $56,755 2025
The Center A Drop-in Community CT$299,654 Executive Dir. $52,700 $43,959 2024
Palmetto State Literacy Associaton SC$303,184 Treasurer $12,000 $11,137 2024
Learning Is For Tomorrow Inc MD$305,217 Executive Di $90,066 $72,979 2025
Hope Tutoring Center Inc TX$194,528 Former Exec Dir $24,709 $21,989 2024
Family Literacy Network Inc TX$309,744 Director $8,100 $7,208 2024
Capital Area Literacy Coalition MI$191,294 Director $59,860 $54,967 2024
Kern Literacy Council CA$188,636 Executive Dir $84,375 $64,817 2024
Readwest Inc NM$185,502 Exec Dir $61,867 $57,672 2025
Freedom Readers Inc SC$185,335 National Dir $36,250 $34,638 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.

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 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.

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 default65th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)44th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted65th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted65th

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 (Dana Venhaus) 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 34 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B92), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $51,600 is reasonable (approximately the 65th 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.