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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Living Wisdom School Of Nevada City

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 470957856
CA · NTEE B24
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Joy Horsfall, Executive Director / CEO ($31,606) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 121 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: Joy Horsfall — 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

121 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 121 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,954 total compensation of comparable organizations → $190,143 $31,606
$25,11510th
$38,71625th
$52,249Median
$66,98175th
$87,49190th
$31,606This org · 15th
p10$25,115
p25$38,716
p50$52,249
p75$66,981
p90$87,491
$31,606

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 CA 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
Harmony Christian Academy NJ$395,130 Director $52,523 $54,308 2024
Christ The King Christian Academy NC$393,223 Headmaster $33,700 $39,286 2025
Round Grove Christian Academy MO$398,060 Administrator $32,555 $39,931 2024
The Hampton School NC$391,351 Director $68,927 $82,478 2024
Bright Academy AL$390,922 Director/pre $42,000 $51,192 2025
Shumway Academy Ltd ID$390,670 Director $53,083 $67,327 2023
Philadelphia School Of Democracy PA$389,461 Vice Preside $58,590 $65,920 2025
Excellent Covenant Christian TX$388,738 Secretary/treasurer $31,870 $38,009 2023
Woodland Community School Inc NH$404,065 Executive Dir. $67,691 $70,518 2025
Abadie Academy Inc FL$386,087 Founder/director $96,000 $107,526 2023
Simba Educational Ministries SD$407,286 President $8,400 $11,053 2023
Tears Inc OR$382,971 Executive Director $74,725 $80,363 2024
Redeemer Classical School Inc IN$382,827 President And Headmaster $53,750 $63,951 2025
Creekside Montessori AZ$382,172 Director $54,519 $62,514 2023
The Grove School AL$380,659 President $58,500 $73,190 2024
Acorn School Of Charleston SC$378,520 Administrator $90,000 $108,734 2024
Al Judiy Academy CA$377,997 Head Of School $48,127 $48,127 2024
Crossroads Christian Academy TN$377,701 Headmaster $15,000 $18,259 2024
Grassroots Free School System Inc FL$413,396 School Director $41,600 $45,258 2024
Platt Park Children's Center CO$375,367 Director $58,167 $62,927 2025
Sharon School Of Excellence FL$374,801 Ceo $162,332 $181,821 2023
Belle Creek Education Center CO$421,210 Executive Director $47,077 $52,277 2024
The Trinity School Of Cartersville Inc GA$368,288 Director $38,000 $43,107 2025
Highlands Latin School Inc FL$423,358 President $33,333 $37,335 2023
Secret Garden Montessori NJ$423,643 Head Of School $53,821 $55,650 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CA 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 CA 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)18th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted17th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted15th

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 (Joy Horsfall) 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 121 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B24), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $31,606 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.