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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

A Childs Garden Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 311772758
OH · NTEE B21
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Martha Smith, Executive Director / CEO ($51,655) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 313 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 53rd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

313 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 313 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$327 total compensation of comparable organizations → $163,055 $51,655
$21,76610th
$37,00325th
$50,080Median
$65,96375th
$90,65690th
$51,655This org · 53rd
p10$21,766
p25$37,003
p50$50,080
p75$65,963
p90$90,656
$51,655

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 OH 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
Abc Angels Preschool CA$442,362 President $8,400 $6,848 2024
Beaver Brook Children's School Inc VT$442,253 President $64,100 $62,714 2023
Windham Cooperative Kindergarten Inc NH$441,932 Director $29,042 $25,319 2024
Spark Preschool OH$444,348 Administrator $115,324 $115,324 2024
Hope Montessori School - The Woodlands TX$444,377 Director $1,920 $1,813 2024
Elite Kids Academy CA$440,260 President & Ceo $26,400 $21,523 2024
Houghton Lake Preschool Inc MI$437,714 Director $25,352 $24,706 2024
Elmhurst Montessori Preschool Inc IL$437,054 Chair Of The Board & Teach $72,523 $69,305 2023
Pumpkin Patch Pre-k Inc AR$436,658 President & Director $82,199 $84,987 2025
Kingdom Preparatory Academy Inc AZ$436,410 President $56,658 $52,966 2023
River Mist Inc CO$435,946 Executive Director $87,524 $79,238 2024
Sonshine Patch Inc CO$451,060 Director $56,729 $51,358 2024
Eastminster Preschool Inc PA$434,734 Executive Director $53,856 $50,707 2024
Heavenly Angels Preschool Inc FL$434,074 Treasurer $26,456 $23,465 2024
Saxon Hill School Inc VT$433,660 Director Of $56,529 $55,307 2023
Child Light Inc NY$432,866 Executive Director $94,968 $81,023 2024
Sherman Montessori Pre-school Inc TX$432,000 Staff Member $58,623 $53,939 2025
Southshire Community School VT$431,728 Dir/head Of Sch $68,756 $65,340 2024
Faithful Beginnings Inc FL$430,759 President $42,120 $36,395 2025
Sleepy Hollow Preschool Inc VA$455,657 Director $45,581 $42,780 2023
Gabriels Little Angels Preschool TX$429,871 Director $64,900 $61,294 2024
Sowing Seeds Education Llc NC$456,270 Ceo $33,740 $32,915 2024
Family Learning Center Inc NM$456,306 Executive Di $43,755 $45,745 2023
Heartland Community Montessori School Inc WI$428,980 Head Of School $52,616 $51,881 2024
The Childrens School NY$428,921 Trustee $26,500 $22,609 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to OH 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 OH 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 default53rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)46th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted54th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted53rd

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 (Martha Smith) 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 313 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B21), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $51,655 is reasonable (approximately the 53rd 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.