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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

No More Sidelines

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 261667736
MI · NTEE B28
FY ending 2024-03-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Cyndi Blair, Executive Director / CEO ($26,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 82 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 20th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

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

How comparable organizations were selected

82 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 82 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2,425 total compensation of comparable organizations → $142,016 $26,000
$15,03210th
$31,45325th
$52,457Median
$69,98675th
$97,30190th
$26,000This org · 20th
p10$15,032
p25$31,453
p50$52,457
p75$69,986
p90$97,301
$26,000

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 MI 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
Spectrum Of Joy Inc AZ$407,281 President $10,854 $9,852 2025
The Social Engineering Project CA$405,321 Director $92,308 $77,224 2024
Hope Springs Christian Learning Center Inc GA$413,039 Ceo $39,930 $38,898 2024
Roxbury Roots Montessori Inc MA$404,189 President & Ceo $70,705 $63,374 2023
Blazing Stars Montessori School Inc FL$403,928 Officer $57,876 $52,676 2024
Exceptional Education Outreach Inc FL$402,749 President & Ceo $26,606 $24,931 2023
Clarke County Education Foundation Inc VA$397,863 Executive Dir. $40,040 $37,455 2024
The Exceptional Way Inc GA$421,142 Executive Di $59,908 $58,359 2024
Snowdrop Montessori School Inc MA$396,087 President $60,000 $52,237 2024
The Italian American Club Foundation MN$391,509 President $9,000 $8,616 2024
Huaxia Chinese School At Bergen Inc NJ$390,653 Principal $8,713 $7,537 2024
Alexsander Academy Inc GA$390,034 Executive Di $100,130 $97,541 2024
Mission Empower PA$386,847 Executive Dir. $33,877 $32,730 2024
Matthew 19 14 KS$432,166 Executive Director $44,871 $48,352 2023
Clover Montessori School PA$383,799 Board President, Founding Teacher Leader $67,000 $66,644 2023
New Castle Learning Advantage CO$382,113 Executive Di $14,834 $13,781 2024
Shenandoah Autism Center VA$436,300 Executive Di $69,357 $64,880 2024
Inspiring Minds ND$380,097 President $74,778 $79,504 2024
Azalea Montessori Elementary Nature School OH$378,989 Executive Director $60,000 $61,569 2024
Arizona Spellers Academy AZ$439,070 Ceo $13,846 $12,568 2025
Take Note Studio Inc WI$378,193 Executive Director $98,083 $99,242 2024
Kingsport Christian Academy TN$376,169 Director/administrator $25,603 $25,401 2025
Westerhoff School Of Music & Art Inc NJ$441,879 Director $133,086 $115,121 2024
Wisteria Montessori Inc MA$444,264 President $56,657 $49,326 2024
Dyslexia Tutoring Program MD$452,959 Ceo $156,791 $142,016 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MI 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 MI 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 default20th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)17th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted20th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted20th

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 (Cyndi Blair) 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 82 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B28), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $26,000 is reasonable (approximately the 20th 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.