Executive Director / CEO
This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of James Oltman, Executive Director / CEO ($137,815) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 115 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.
Compensation sits at approximately the 97th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended
Benchmarked executive: James Oltman — reported title “PRESIDENT/TR”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable 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 KS 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| We Lead | IA | $220,331 | Executive Director | $78,125 | $79,181 | 2024 |
| Downtown Janesville Inc | WI | $221,656 | Managing Direct | $74,519 | $72,038 | 2024 |
| Norfolk Innovation Corridor | VA | $221,725 | Executive Di | $20,000 | $17,875 | 2024 |
| Inner City Green Team Economic And Enviromental Development | NY | $217,956 | Charlton | $100,000 | $83,643 | 2024 |
| Betamore Inc | MD | $217,026 | Executive Dir. | $77,500 | $69,048 | 2023 |
| Bay Area Women Coalition Inc | AL | $217,019 | Executive Di | $54,000 | $54,000 | 2024 |
| Lincoln County Economic Dev Foundation | KS | $223,067 | Director | $61,163 | $62,970 | 2023 |
| Economic Development Partnership Of Wrig | MN | $223,376 | Executive Director | $69,060 | $63,165 | 2024 |
| Columbus Compact Corporation | OH | $213,718 | President & | $80,900 | $79,314 | 2024 |
| Boonslick Community Development | MO | $213,628 | Ex Officio M | $87,706 | $88,526 | 2023 |
| Business & Education Network Inc | KY | $227,365 | Executive Director | $13,485 | $13,410 | 2024 |
| Elwood Community Development Corporation | IN | $210,909 | Executive Director | $7,097 | $6,928 | 2024 |
| Johnson County Economic Development Corp | MO | $229,565 | Executive Director | $86,357 | $87,165 | 2023 |
| Gateway South Innovation District | MO | $209,054 | President | $63,747 | $64,343 | 2023 |
| Northwest Wisconsin Economic | WI | $208,540 | Fiscal Manager | $44,333 | $42,857 | 2024 |
| Old Town Commercial Association | MI | $208,424 | Executive Director | $66,308 | $63,352 | 2024 |
| Common Wealth Inc | OH | $208,039 | Executive Director | $34,698 | $34,018 | 2024 |
| Sector67 Inc | WI | $233,249 | President | $36,000 | $35,829 | 2023 |
| Stanly County Convention And Vistiors Bureau Inc | NC | $206,625 | Director | $50,977 | $47,499 | 2025 |
| St Mary's County Community | MD | $234,480 | Executive Director | $50,000 | $43,269 | 2024 |
| Montana West Economic Development | MT | $205,356 | President/ceo | $11,287 | $11,262 | 2024 |
| Creative Portland Corporation | ME | $236,053 | Executive Di | $31,843 | $29,515 | 2024 |
| Crazy Love Africa | CO | $203,713 | Executive Director | $11,000 | $10,052 | 2023 |
| Santa Cruz Works | CA | $236,447 | Executive Dir. | $84,000 | $67,140 | 2024 |
| Economic Development Professionals Association | SD | $236,950 | Chairman | $2,000 | $2,103 | 2023 |
Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to KS 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 KS 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 | 97th |
| Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments) | 96th |
| Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted | 98th |
| All sources (D + E + F), adjusted | 89th |
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.