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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Small World Montessori Society Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 391195798
WI · NTEE B21
FY ending 2023-06-30
June 10, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Lori Geisler, Executive Director / CEO ($54,733) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 325 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 55th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Lori Geisler — reported title “Director”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

325 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 325 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$322 total compensation of comparable organizations → $160,620 $54,733
$22,54210th
$38,18125th
$52,072Median
$71,20575th
$92,38790th
$54,733This org · 55th
p10$22,542
p25$38,181
p50$52,072
p75$71,205
p90$92,387
$54,733

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 WI 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
Canyon Creek Preschool Inc TX$499,260 Director $35,227 $31,928 2025
Carol Nursery School OH$499,466 Director $63,052 $62,110 2024
Sophia Montessori Academy CO$497,852 President, School Director $58,933 $52,557 2024
Early Education Cooperative Preschool AZ$497,851 Director Of Education $31,930 $29,403 2023
Saint Dominics Academy PA$497,518 Davidson $50,366 $46,713 2024
Grace Place Learning Center OR$501,064 Executive Director $49,348 $43,881 2023
Zinnia Montessori School Inc MA$496,936 President $109,630 $89,262 2025
Petite Ecole Internationale Inc TX$496,477 School Director $77,203 $71,825 2024
Sausalito Nursery School CA$495,668 Director $83,000 $66,657 2024
Plum Tree Educational Services Inc KY$502,950 President/treasurer/director $72,222 $72,165 2024
Our School CO$503,564 Executive Director-part Yr $52,111 $46,473 2024
Kensington Nursery School Incorporated CA$494,144 School Director $48,587 $38,015 2025
Little Peaks Inc NY$504,418 Former Exec Dir $3,630 $3,051 2024
Oak Grove Christian School OH$504,770 Principal/ Board Member $38,676 $39,224 2023
Gateway Preschool Academy CA$493,215 Director $54,276 $43,589 2024
Montessori Plus School Inc WA$492,751 Secretary $105,928 $90,809 2023
Covington First United Methodist Church Preschool Inc GA$492,392 Director $34,924 $32,659 2024
Nollie Jenkins Family Center Incorporated MS$491,613 Executive Director $43,000 $44,541 2024
Appleseeds Performing Arts Academy FL$491,308 President $72,000 $64,765 2023
Zaca Center Preschool CA$506,869 Executive Dir. $83,825 $67,320 2024
God's Treasures Childcare Learning MN$490,693 Executive Director $39,181 $36,007 2024
The Children's Center Inc CO$507,460 Executive Director $78,167 $69,709 2024
Sunflower Montessori School CA$490,018 Vice President $67,692 $52,962 2025
Gan Chabad PA$508,150 President,executive Director $71,665 $66,468 2024
Maria Montessori Sch Of The Golden Gate CA$489,042 President & Ceo $76,000 $59,462 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to WI 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 WI 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 default55th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)46th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted57th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted55th

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 (Lori Geisler) 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 10, 2026, comparing compensation against 325 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B21), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $54,733 is reasonable (approximately the 55th 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 10, 2026.