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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Mike Steele Foundation For Communities In Schools

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 261294670
TX · NTEE B11
FY ending 2024-08-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Lindsey Garner, Executive Director / CEO ($8,035) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 106 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 13th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

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

How comparable organizations were selected

106 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 106 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$437 total compensation of comparable organizations → $199,339 $8,035
$6,12210th
$16,42225th
$27,304Median
$53,32075th
$85,04290th
$8,035This org · 13th
p10$6,122
p25$16,422
p50$27,304
p75$53,320
p90$85,042
$8,035

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 TX 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
Savannah Classical Academy GA$179,227 Executive Di $110,557 $114,412 2023
St Charles City County Library MO$180,821 Library Foundation Directo $17,144 $18,152 2024
Winchester Education Foundation Inc VA$181,748 Executive Director $14,394 $14,304 2023
Concordia Lutheran Schools Of Omaha NE$183,176 President $67,643 $74,879 2023
Lee County Education Foundation NC$184,531 Executive Director $4,500 $4,786 2023
Chico Cheer All Stars Inc CA$184,735 Director And President $30,000 $25,897 2024
Harbor Springs Ram Boosters MI$186,815 Treasurer $3,600 $3,715 2024
Microenterprise Collaborative CA$187,555 Executive Dir. $106,411 $94,571 2023
Friends Of Upland Choral Music CA$172,068 Treasurer $7,200 $6,055 2025
Eccs Building Company MN$170,500 Chair $17,689 $17,989 2023
Lancaster-lebanon Education Foundat PA$168,501 Exec Dir At $92,968 $92,682 2024
Marine Military Academy Foundation TX$168,034 President $67,778 $67,778 2024
Westerville South Athletic Boosters OH$167,335 Concession C $6,000 $6,189 2025
Heritage Mission Foundation Inc IN$192,847 Secretary $23,800 $25,091 2024
Flt Holding Inc OK$165,816 President $5,608 $6,356 2023
La Vega Pirates Education Foundation TX$194,234 Executive Director $10,000 $10,000 2024
University Of Northern California CA$165,491 President $30,000 $26,662 2023
Santa Rosa Academy Foundation CA$165,173 President $53,021 $45,769 2024
The Fay School Endowment Fund TX$164,447 Head Of School $28,931 $29,786 2023
Argyle Education Foundation TX$197,529 Aef Director $77,120 $77,120 2024
Clark-pleasant Education Foundation IN$197,871 Executive Di $19,100 $20,136 2024
Vanguard School Foundation Inc FL$198,554 Head Of School $18,159 $17,557 2023
Bfb Foundation Inc NC$199,887 Executive Director (Ended 5/2023) $18,750 $19,940 2023
Cap And Gown Project AL$159,392 Executive Director $27,000 $29,160 2024
Nacs Foundation OH$159,133 Ceo $21,014 $22,250 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to TX 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 TX 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 default13th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)13th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted0th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted66th

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 (Lindsey Garner) 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 106 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B11), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $8,035 is reasonable (approximately the 13th 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.