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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Smart Start Of Pender County

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 562044085
NC · NTEE B012
FY ending 2023-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Connie Carrcostin, Executive Director / CEO ($93,192) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 87 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 63rd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

87 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 87 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$435 total compensation of comparable organizations → $264,226 $93,192
$14,01310th
$50,47825th
$72,458Median
$107,75675th
$135,37990th
$93,192This org · 63rd
p10$14,013
p25$50,478
p50$72,458
p75$107,756
p90$135,379
$93,192

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 NC 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
Special Books By Special Kids Inc FL$490,493 Director $299,204 $264,226 2024
Love Is Stronger Gv OR$494,996 Executive Director $38,966 $34,016 2024
Indigenous Peoples Power Project Inc OR$486,668 Executive Dir. $78,023 $70,124 2023
Igg4ward Foundation MA$486,105 Director $500 $435 2023
Alabama Families For Great Schools AL$483,980 Director $141,320 $143,519 2024
Frontline Policy Council Inc GA$482,966 President $62,790 $61,102 2023
South Carolina First Steps To SC$481,526 Executive Di $65,640 $66,274 2023
Glep Education Fund MI$503,191 Treasurer $16,790 $16,772 2023
Greater Cincinnati Native American OH$503,460 Executive Di $70,769 $70,461 2024
First Gen Scholars CA$479,860 President/executive Direct $79,063 $64,178 2024
Houghton Main Street Foundation DC$477,847 Director $2,000 $1,650 2024
Ri Women In The Trades RI$508,775 President $11,499 $10,365 2024
Smart Start Of Yadkin County Inc NC$509,390 Executive Director $82,691 $78,248 2025
One Aim Illinois IL$517,792 Exective Director $91,750 $84,793 2024
Chowan Perquimans Smart Start Partnership NC$463,807 Executive Director $83,873 $81,467 2024
Mclain Association For Children CA$462,202 Ceo $91,000 $73,867 2024
Ne Steam Coalition OR$459,582 Executive Di $265,556 $231,823 2024
Collective Action For Education RI$525,131 Director & Chief Executive Officer $20,000 $18,027 2024
For This Time Ministries MI$525,752 Executive Director $118,329 $114,812 2024
Ammud The Joc Torah Academy Inc NY$525,911 Executive Director $131,105 $111,367 2024
Bladen Smart Start-a Partnership For Children Inc NC$529,947 Interim Executive Director (Feb 2024 To Jun 2025) $64,950 $61,460 2025
Hs Connect WA$530,157 Executive Di $131,385 $110,577 2024
The Kroussaw Foundation DC$449,643 President & Ceo $66,349 $53,321 2025
National Latino Farmers And Ranchers DC$446,919 Chairman Of The Board $16,000 $13,199 2024
Choose Aerospace Inc OK$443,443 Executive Director $110,344 $114,218 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NC 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 NC 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 default63rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)61st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted60th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted62nd

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 (Connie Carrcostin) 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 87 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B01), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $93,192 is reasonable (approximately the 63rd 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.