Live preview — download the board-ready PDF to attach to your minutes.Download the free PDF
Email yourself a copy:
PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Caring Branches Early Care And

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 384271207
PA · NTEE B21
FY ending 2024-07-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Joanne Ford, Executive Director / CEO ($2,984) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 153 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 3rd percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

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

How comparable organizations were selected

153 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 153 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2 total compensation of comparable organizations → $143,967 $2,984
$13,84410th
$29,77625th
$42,809Median
$54,61875th
$65,41990th
$2,984This org · 3rd
p10$13,844
p25$29,776
p50$42,809
p75$54,618
p90$65,419
$2,984

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 PA 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
Milford Cooperative Nursery School MI$196,484 Former Director $35,769 $38,116 2023
Ganeinu CO$197,571 President $47,760 $45,923 2024
East Hanover Cooperative Nursery School NJ$197,980 Director $42,207 $37,789 2024
Francis Kiddie Kollege Preschool Inc CA$199,112 Executive Director $41,017 $36,566 2023
Trinity Day School Of Newtown Inc CT$200,254 Director $47,840 $44,980 2024
First Christian Church Youth AR$192,862 Executive Di $27,500 $30,997 2024
Norwood Cooperative Nursery School Inc MA$200,772 Executive Director $50,164 $45,203 2024
Keys Montessori School Inc PA$190,969 President $46,937 $48,323 2023
Westside Early Education IA$203,309 Director, Teacher $41,151 $44,018 2025
First Steps Preschool OH$203,672 Preschool Director $36,965 $39,260 2024
The Big Barn Preschool IL$205,060 President $9,965 $9,824 2024
Foundation For The Liveliness KY$188,459 President And Director Of $42,875 $46,191 2024
Silverspot Nursery School CA$205,277 Teacher/director $79,177 $70,584 2023
Montessori Center Of Pearl Harbor HI$188,250 Director/teacher Rep. $73,350 $65,853 2024
Midsouth Montessori Center TN$205,520 Executive Director $69,500 $71,369 2025
Sunshine School Inc MA$205,523 President $56,920 $49,969 2025
Little Scholars Academy GA$207,501 Executive Dir. $42,350 $42,700 2024
Palm Tree Academy TX$185,863 School Principal $25,832 $25,912 2024
Buttons & Bows Nursery School Inc IL$207,947 President/teach $33,813 $32,475 2025
Farmstead Preschool IA$208,525 Ddirector $42,212 $46,348 2024
Center Preschool Inc CT$184,473 Pres $127,361 $119,746 2024
Tiny Tots Learning Center NY$209,688 Trustee $37,283 $33,783 2024
Kaleidoscope Montessori Inc GA$209,957 Director $69,625 $68,391 2025
Willson Preschool Inc MT$210,188 Executive Dir. $34,768 $36,613 2025
Spring-mar Preschool Association Inc VA$182,611 School Director $31,106 $29,341 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to PA 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 PA 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 default3rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)3rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted4th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted3rd

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 (Joanne Ford) 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 153 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B21), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $2,984 is reasonable (approximately the 3rd 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.