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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Cottonwood Alc Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 821321124
MT · NTEE B20
FY ending 2025-06-30
June 10, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Sara Casey Taleff, Executive Director / CEO ($70,674) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 288 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 76th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Sara Casey Taleff — reported title “PRESIDENT”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

288 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 288 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$150 total compensation of comparable organizations → $166,815 $70,674
$8,84910th
$26,85925th
$46,924Median
$69,83275th
$85,76390th
$70,674This org · 76th
p10$8,849
p25$26,859
p50$46,924
p75$69,832
p90$85,763
$70,674

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 MT 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
National Association For Search VA$475,413 Executive Director $93,149 $85,644 2024
Arcadian Fellowship Church Inc MD$476,640 Vice President $60,000 $53,416 2024
Haven Education Solutions Inc MD$473,044 President $12,250 $11,228 2023
Amundsen Educational Center AK$472,588 Executive Dir. $96,861 $88,181 2024
Southwest Montessori Academy Inc IN$472,283 Executive Dir. $47,464 $47,663 2024
Shepherd's Heart Christian Ministries Inc FL$471,530 President $25,000 $21,787 2025
North Star Montessori School Inc IN$470,268 Director $64,972 $65,244 2024
Cupola Academy PA$470,082 Co-director $89,304 $84,804 2024
Firm Foundations Academy PA$470,049 Chair $37,674 $35,776 2024
Pinnacle Christian School TX$481,840 Head Of School $43,654 $41,582 2024
Green Mountain Montessori School VT$482,315 President $80,077 $79,017 2023
Black Male Working Academy Inc KY$468,676 Executive Director $19,094 $19,534 2024
University Montessori School LA$484,030 Chairman $31,990 $34,533 2023
Woodland Montessori School Inc MO$467,230 President $88,100 $88,855 2024
Waldessori Schoolhouse TX$484,528 Board President $13,573 $12,929 2024
University Montessori School VA$466,888 Head Of School $61,298 $58,024 2023
Friends Of Gantry Plaza State Park Inc NY$466,105 Executive Director $99,900 $85,961 2024
Faith Christian School And Institute PA$486,139 President $28,778 $28,135 2023
East Orchard Christian Academy Inc IL$487,462 Secretary/di $17,000 $15,505 2025
Trinity Simone Christian Preparatory Academy Inc FL$464,072 President $42,000 $37,571 2024
Trinity Academy Inc TN$487,742 Head Of School $52,000 $50,707 2025
Fort Dodge Community School District Foundation IA$487,946 Director $86,250 $92,584 2023
French-american School Of Norfolk VA$463,262 Director $62,447 $57,415 2024
Sea-king District Of The Washington Interscholastic Activities Assn WA$462,852 Sea-king District Director $44,325 $36,815 2025
Prew Academy Of Sarasota Inc FL$462,414 Dir/principal $102,170 $94,096 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MT 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 MT 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 default76th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)73rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted78th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted74th

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 (Sara Casey Taleff) 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 10, 2026, comparing compensation against 288 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $70,674 is reasonable (approximately the 76th 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 10, 2026.