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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

South Carolina First Steps To

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 571097775
SC · NTEE B012
FY ending 2023-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Marcia Nash, Executive Director / CEO ($76,933) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 78 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 67th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

78 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 78 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$890 total compensation of comparable organizations → $229,606 $76,933
$18,53210th
$38,00225th
$56,430Median
$80,87575th
$106,79290th
$76,933This org · 67th
p10$18,532
p25$38,002
p50$56,430
p75$80,875
p90$106,792
$76,933

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 SC 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
Higher Education Reform Coalition Inc FL$309,118 President & Treasurer $7,500 $6,754 2023
Every Brain Matters Corporation CO$308,394 President $91,154 $81,379 2024
Boost Oregon OR$307,598 Executive Dir. $41,906 $36,233 2024
Parents Engaging Parents NJ$314,912 Executive Director $60,269 $48,809 2025
Greenwood Education Foundation IN$307,001 Executive Di $45,833 $43,841 2025
National Assn Of Worksite Health Care TX$301,700 Executive Director $52,562 $48,953 2024
South Carolina First Steps SC$301,081 Executive Di $41,646 $41,646 2023
Grow Allen Inc IN$298,000 Executive Di $71,058 $69,768 2024
1 Vote Counts PA$326,752 Executive Director $57,200 $53,109 2024
Institute For Black Solidarity With Israel NC$294,916 Chief Executive Officer $92,931 $89,402 2024
Let Our Voices Empower VA$332,985 Executive Director $90,734 $79,464 2025
Supportive Childcare Provider Alliance Scpa WA$336,385 Executive Director $62,500 $52,098 2024
Redemption Foundation MI$283,390 Executive Director (Ended 4/24) $20,502 $19,703 2024
Nd Senior Career Development ND$282,338 Director $50,000 $49,770 2025
Macon-bibb Mayor's Literacy GA$280,335 Executive Di $75,000 $72,285 2023
Sound Start Foundation NJ$279,925 President/ceo $114,000 $94,765 2024
Sheros Rise Inc CA$342,948 President $30,000 $24,119 2024
Manos Inocentes Por El Derecho A La Vida UT$278,541 Accounting Manager $3,040 $2,897 2024
Working To Extend Anti-racist Education Inc NC$344,424 Executive Director $102,996 $96,530 2025
Empower Illinois IL$276,402 Ceo $130,147 $119,127 2024
Daybreak Arts TN$275,754 Executive Director $50,163 $47,827 2025
Advocates For Womens And Kids Equality TN$275,539 Executive Dir. $73,200 $71,638 2024
Teachers Unite Inc NY$274,686 Co-executive Director $88,095 $76,305 2023
Delaware Charter Schools Network DE$349,872 Ceo $100,000 $91,164 2024
Awareness Is Prevention Inc NV$270,478 President $13,333 $12,811 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to SC 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 SC 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 default67th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)63rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted71st
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted64th

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 (Marcia Nash) 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 78 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B01), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $76,933 is reasonable (approximately the 67th 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.