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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Children's Castle Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 320112053
SD · NTEE P33
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Delton Blake, Executive Director / CEO ($21,240) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 307 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 15th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

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

How comparable organizations were selected

307 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 307 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$227 total compensation of comparable organizations → $336,552 $21,240
$14,92210th
$30,98025th
$45,712Median
$57,06475th
$69,93690th
$21,240This org · 15th
p10$14,922
p25$30,980
p50$45,712
p75$57,064
p90$69,936
$21,240

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 SD 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
Kids Club Kids SD$369,860 Executive Director $45,695 $45,695 2023
Lindale Child Care Program VA$368,650 Executive Director $67,532 $57,387 2024
Friends Of Potrero Hill Nursery CA$367,416 Director $106,558 $80,981 2024
Tri-con Child Care Center Inc IL$373,563 Executive Director $80,846 $68,148 2025
Destiny Kidz Center WA$373,878 President $26,000 $21,092 2023
Rainbow Child Care Center MS$374,365 Director $855 $863 2023
Little Bears Playhouse Inc AK$365,259 Executive Dir. $64,247 $55,655 2023
Olin Day Care Inc IA$364,529 Executive Director $46,344 $43,508 2025
Jazzyz Little Treasurez Childcare And Learning Ctr SC$364,491 President $78,000 $71,616 2024
Steampark Inc NJ$375,507 Executive Di $58,500 $47,326 2023
Sandite Child Development Center Inc OK$363,871 Director $59,486 $57,648 2024
Threshold Montessori School TN$363,613 Executive Director $85,800 $79,374 2024
Big Top Education Centerinc KS$363,432 Childcare Di $50,695 $48,201 2024
Lifeways Of Wisconsin Inc WI$376,674 Secretary/treasurer $56,413 $50,515 2025
Sanctuary Life Inc IN$378,115 Secretary $12,000 $11,466 2023
Sharon Studer Inc TX$378,476 Executive Direc $54,033 $47,569 2024
Usa Early Child Care Center Inc MI$361,251 Director $50,000 $46,762 2023
God's Hands Academy CA$378,715 President $110,651 $84,091 2024
Mums - The Kitty Hupman Weekday School NC$360,729 Director (Non-voting Member Of Board) $41,223 $37,487 2024
Willow Blossom Learning Center Inc MA$360,434 Center Director $70,820 $54,566 2025
Lasalle Early Childhood Center Inc NY$379,537 Pres/exec Dir $57,087 $45,400 2024
Bright Futures Growth And Development CA$379,961 President & Ceo $59,615 $45,306 2024
Mendota Child Development Center Inc IL$380,705 Director $21,235 $18,916 2023
Tanque Verde Extended Care Program AZ$358,851 Ed $76,451 $63,042 2025
Barrio Station CA$358,745 Executive Di $97,920 $74,416 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to SD 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 SD 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 default15th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)13th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted16th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted14th

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 (Delton Blake) 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 307 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (P33), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $21,240 is reasonable (approximately the 15th 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.