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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

South Carolina First Steps To

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 571097791
SC · NTEE B012
FY ending 2023-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Darnell Byrd Mcpherson, Executive Director / CEO ($65,640) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 85 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 44th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

85 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 85 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$431 total compensation of comparable organizations → $261,698 $65,640
$15,29410th
$50,00025th
$73,160Median
$109,37175th
$135,56790th
$65,640This org · 44th
p10$15,294
p25$50,000
p50$73,160
p75$109,371
p90$135,567
$65,640

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
Frontline Policy Council Inc GA$482,966 President $62,790 $60,517 2023
First Gen Scholars CA$479,860 President/executive Direct $79,063 $63,564 2024
Alabama Families For Great Schools AL$483,980 Director $141,320 $142,147 2024
Houghton Main Street Foundation DC$477,847 Director $2,000 $1,634 2024
Igg4ward Foundation MA$486,105 Director $500 $431 2023
Indigenous Peoples Power Project Inc OR$486,668 Executive Dir. $78,023 $69,453 2023
Special Books By Special Kids Inc FL$490,493 Director $299,204 $261,698 2024
Smart Start Of Pender County NC$492,217 Executive Director $93,192 $92,301 2023
Love Is Stronger Gv OR$494,996 Executive Director $38,966 $33,691 2024
Chowan Perquimans Smart Start Partnership NC$463,807 Executive Director $83,873 $80,688 2024
Mclain Association For Children CA$462,202 Ceo $91,000 $73,160 2024
Glep Education Fund MI$503,191 Treasurer $16,790 $16,612 2023
Greater Cincinnati Native American OH$503,460 Executive Di $70,769 $69,787 2024
Ne Steam Coalition OR$459,582 Executive Di $265,556 $229,606 2024
Ri Women In The Trades RI$508,775 President $11,499 $10,266 2024
Smart Start Of Yadkin County Inc NC$509,390 Executive Director $82,691 $77,500 2025
The Kroussaw Foundation DC$449,643 President & Ceo $66,349 $52,811 2025
National Latino Farmers And Ranchers DC$446,919 Chairman Of The Board $16,000 $13,072 2024
One Aim Illinois IL$517,792 Exective Director $91,750 $83,982 2024
Choose Aerospace Inc OK$443,443 Executive Director $110,344 $113,126 2024
Collective Action For Education RI$525,131 Director & Chief Executive Officer $20,000 $17,855 2024
For This Time Ministries MI$525,752 Executive Director $118,329 $113,714 2024
Ammud The Joc Torah Academy Inc NY$525,911 Executive Director $131,105 $110,302 2024
Scotland County Partnership For NC$436,229 Exe.director $96,611 $95,687 2023
Bladen Smart Start-a Partnership For Children Inc NC$529,947 Interim Executive Director (Feb 2024 To Jun 2025) $64,950 $60,872 2025

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 default44th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)38th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted46th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted40th

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 (Darnell Byrd Mcpherson) 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 85 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B01), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $65,640 is reasonable (approximately the 44th 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.