Executive Director / CEO
This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Trip Cogburn, Executive Director / CEO ($103,000) against the 2000 closest of 2,148 comparable organizations — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.
Compensation sits at approximately the 93rd percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended
Benchmarked executive: Trip Cogburn — reported title “HEAD OF SCHOOL”, 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 NC 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Woodside Nursery School | NY | $213,543 | Trustee | $19,800 | $17,774 | 2024 |
| Arete Enrichment Academy Inc | GA | $213,492 | Officer - Executive Director | $17,786 | $17,766 | 2024 |
| Desert Springs Christian Academy | NM | $213,660 | Headmaster 7 | $21,524 | $22,405 | 2025 |
| Apple Tree Preschool Inc | NY | $213,673 | Director Of The Preschool | $33,930 | $29,673 | 2025 |
| Virginia Council Of Adm Special | VA | $213,689 | Executive Di | $30,863 | $29,604 | 2024 |
| Christian Education League Inc | ME | $213,726 | President | $3,819 | $3,911 | 2023 |
| Someone Who Cares Community Ce | GA | $213,323 | President | $6,560 | $6,553 | 2024 |
| St Paul's Weekday Nursery School Inc | MA | $213,947 | Nursery School Director | $40,000 | $34,787 | 2025 |
| Dream Teachers | LA | $213,990 | Executive Director | $70,487 | $77,104 | 2024 |
| Leadership Kitsap Foundation | WA | $213,097 | Executive Director | $85,250 | $75,822 | 2024 |
| Faa Child Development Center | DC | $214,087 | Board | $27,461 | $24,646 | 2023 |
| Sparkle Touch Learning Academy Inc | IN | $213,022 | President/director | $46,171 | $49,797 | 2023 |
| Spectrum Education Inc | FL | $212,961 | President | $77,375 | $72,209 | 2024 |
| Center For Psychoanalytic Studies Inc | TX | $214,214 | Executive Director | $97,940 | $97,325 | 2024 |
| Scholaris Academy Inc | TX | $212,934 | President | $19,878 | $20,337 | 2023 |
| Epic Christian Alliance | NH | $214,252 | President/teacher | $1,560 | $1,431 | 2024 |
| Library Of Michigan Foundation | MI | $212,885 | Executive Director/chief Development | $99,591 | $102,117 | 2024 |
| Mequon-thiensville Education Foundation Inc | WI | $214,357 | Executive Director | $32,500 | $34,714 | 2023 |
| Wise Choices For Girls | CA | $212,769 | Executive Director | $47,500 | $40,746 | 2024 |
| Common Ground Collaborative Foundation | NJ | $214,456 | President | $58,813 | $52,165 | 2024 |
| Open Door Christian School | PA | $214,476 | Teacher & Assistant Administrator | $20,736 | $20,543 | 2024 |
| Childrens Cottage | CA | $212,633 | Executive Dir. | $65,301 | $54,572 | 2025 |
| The Educators' Cooperative | TN | $214,686 | Executive Director | $40,000 | $41,768 | 2024 |
| Green Works In Kansas City | MO | $212,460 | President | $110,401 | $116,161 | 2024 |
| Lakewood Memorial Library | NY | $214,711 | Library Dire | $68,069 | $61,104 | 2024 |
Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NC cost of living and 2025 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 NC 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 | 93rd |
| Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments) | 92nd |
| Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted | 94th |
| All sources (D + E + F), adjusted | 83rd |
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.