Live preview — download the board-ready PDF to attach to your minutes.Download PDF — $49
PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Luther Classical College

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 861430466
WY · NTEE B42
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Harold Ristau, Executive Director / CEO ($66,594) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 29 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 45th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

29 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 29 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$17,447 total compensation of comparable organizations → $282,303 $66,594
$19,88310th
$43,82925th
$77,373Median
$132,16675th
$188,07890th
$66,594This org · 45th
p10$19,883
p25$43,829
p50$77,373
p75$132,166
p90$188,078
$66,594

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 WY 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
Magdalen College NH$3,605,649 President/trustee $147,841 $127,483 2024
State University College At Brockport NY$3,609,167 President $29,357 $25,505 2023
Trinity College Of Florida Inc FL$3,461,460 President (Thru 9/30/23) $96,107 $86,805 2023
Naval War College Foundation Inc RI$3,458,858 President & Ceo $315,259 $282,303 2024
Middle Georgia State University GA$3,697,332 Mga Presiden $82,401 $77,373 2024
🔒 24 more comparable organizations — included in the purchased report

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to WY 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 WY 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 default45th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)34th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted55th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted10th

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:

Ready-to-adopt board minutes — executive compensation

🔒 The complete minutes language — three numbered resolutions pre-filled with this organization, the 29-organization comparison, the date, and the percentile finding, ready to paste into your minutes — is included in the purchased report.

Unlock the board report — $49

Running reports for this organization all year? Annual Org Pass — $99/yr.

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.