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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Early Learning New Hampshire

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 020517109
NH · NTEE B21
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Jacquelyn Cowell, Executive Director / CEO ($92,700) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 24 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 100th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

Benchmarked executive: Jacquelyn Cowell — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

24 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 24 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2 total compensation of comparable organizations → $63,856 $92,700
$7,95610th
$16,58725th
$29,454Median
$45,31175th
$55,31290th
$92,700This org · 100th
p10$7,956
p25$16,587
p50$29,454
p75$45,311
p90$55,312
$92,700

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 NH 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
Helping Hands Christian Pre-school NY$108,655 Program Director $33,575 $32,857 2023
Community Preschool Inc OH$114,445 President $41,012 $44,516 2025
Little Shepherd Preschool The RI$118,895 Director $32,400 $33,646 2023
Faith Academy Inc FL$121,329 Director $11,850 $11,710 2024
Latino Educational Achievement NC$124,599 Executive Director $23,280 $26,051 2023
International Association For Research On Service-learning And LA$126,229 Administrative Director $53,547 $63,856 2023
Perry Presbyterian Playschool Inc GA$86,608 Director $14,582 $15,424 2024
Fort Hunt Preschool Inc VA$134,693 Preschool Director $55,633 $56,505 2024
Arizona Nursery Assoc Foundation AZ$137,182 Director $2 $2 2024
Middleton Early Learning Center Inc NJ$137,305 Director/teacher $58,307 $53,350 2025
Fresh Start Child Care Academy Inc DE$80,516 President $3,990 $4,231 2023
American Friends Of Childrens Nursery NJ$137,458 Vice President $56,000 $54,149 2023
Los Angeles School Services CA$76,486 Ceo / Director $51,000 $47,694 2023
Faith Pre-school OH$141,774 Director $37,128 $42,588 2023
Dreamtree Preschool By Usbks WA$74,388 Center Direc $21,940 $20,663 2024
Creative Cooperative Nursery Inc MI$73,665 Executive Di $22,805 $25,492 2023
Footsteps Academy PA$149,231 Director $23,362 $24,507 2024
Amazing Scholar Academy Preschool PA$150,206 Board Member-ex-officio, Non-voting $35,350 $38,178 2023
The Remnant Academy Inc TX$152,255 President $6,032 $6,347 2024
Early Leader Child Care Ministries Inc IN$152,455 President $15,800 $18,045 2023
Dallas Cooperative Preschool TX$156,560 President $14,942 $15,722 2024
Positive Outlook Inc LA$161,592 President $46,801 $55,811 2023
Bethpage Nursery School NY$162,256 Executive Director $41,469 $39,418 2024
Centreville Preschool Inc VA$162,726 Director $17,054 $16,875 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NH cost of living and 2023 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 NH 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 default100th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)100th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted100th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted100th

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 (Jacquelyn Cowell) 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 24 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B21), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $92,700 is reasonable (approximately the 100th 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.