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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

North Star Self-directed Learning For Teens Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 010613583
MA · NTEE B80
FY ending 2025-07-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Kenneth Danford, Executive Director / CEO ($35,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 104 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 29th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Kenneth Danford — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

104 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 104 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$265 total compensation of comparable organizations → $197,755 $35,000
$6,01610th
$28,87625th
$61,642Median
$97,01875th
$126,49690th
$35,000This org · 29th
p10$6,016
p25$28,876
p50$61,642
p75$97,018
p90$126,496
$35,000

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 MA 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
Kut Different FL$437,163 Presidence $80,960 $89,442 2023
Loving Savior Lutheran Chinese School CA$433,875 Ceo $28,363 $28,802 2023
Las Floristas Inc CA$430,769 Executive Di $50,000 $48,046 2025
Hendricks College Network IN$424,534 Non-voting Executive Direc $83,581 $100,680 2024
Bioquest Curriculum Consortium NH$423,272 President $30,900 $33,553 2023
Eclectic Teaching Consortium AR$450,056 Executive Director $31,217 $39,048 2025
International House Davis CA$451,451 Executive Dir. $98,119 $96,779 2024
Practice After School Program WY$452,557 Fiscal & It $40,810 $49,917 2024
Level Up Cincinnati OH$453,506 Executive Director $80,625 $100,424 2023
Persist Nashville TN$417,857 Founder $119,890 $143,949 2024
Jewish Intuition Inc NY$415,896 Pres. $14,000 $14,878 2023
Hope Learning Center WA$412,085 Treasurer $68,112 $67,861 2025
Bend Science Station OR$410,320 Executive Dir. $121,000 $128,353 2024
Ohio School Resource Officers OH$462,423 Executive Di $77,878 $94,220 2024
Nature Track Foundation Inc CA$465,833 President & Ceo $62,550 $61,696 2024
The Center For Entrepreneurial ME$406,335 Ceo $81,550 $93,277 2024
Baltimore Urban Debate League Inc MD$404,806 Executive Direc $80,000 $87,956 2023
Academic Informer Inc TX$404,573 Managing Director $80,000 $91,410 2024
Maui Huliau Foundation HI$401,060 Executive Director $89,977 $92,018 2024
Edhec America Inc CA$399,768 Secretary, Executive Direc $194,740 $197,755 2023
Enriching Partnerships For Early Learning IL$473,033 Executive Director $80,533 $88,106 2025
Home Of Potential And Excellence TN$397,695 Executive Dir. $96,596 $112,991 2025
Columbia-greene Community NY$475,912 Secretary $918 $975 2023
College Affordable Inc MA$478,589 Executive Director/clerk $171,553 $176,092 2024
Lake Geauga Educational Assistance OH$480,156 Executive Director $80,348 $100,079 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MA 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 MA 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 default29th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)30th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted33rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted24th

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 (Kenneth Danford) 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 104 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B80), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $35,000 is reasonable (approximately the 29th 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.