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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

South Carolina First Steps To

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 571097863
SC · NTEE B012
FY ending 2023-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Buckner Amity, Executive Director / CEO ($48,125) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 83 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 24th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

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

How comparable organizations were selected

83 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 83 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$431 total compensation of comparable organizations → $261,698 $48,125
$14,85410th
$48,88125th
$71,612Median
$99,70575th
$129,13390th
$48,125This org · 24th
p10$14,854
p25$48,881
p50$71,612
p75$99,705
p90$129,133
$48,125

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
Alabama Justice Initiative AL$422,395 Board President/ Executive $126,617 $131,119 2023
District Of Columbia Association For The DC$428,548 Exec. Dir. (From 6/2024-12/2024 ) $68,269 $55,777 2024
Nashville Propel Parent Institute Inc TN$417,900 Executive Director $106,347 $104,078 2024
Be Loud Studios LA$417,018 Executive Dir. $70,000 $71,765 2024
Paltrek Inc NY$416,989 Director $11,485 $9,948 2023
Biomimicry For Social Innovation NM$432,266 Executive Director $36,546 $37,678 2023
Substance Abuse Program Administrators Association FL$432,486 Executive Director $110,446 $96,601 2024
Scotland County Partnership For NC$436,229 Exe.director $96,611 $95,687 2023
South Carolina First Steps SC$406,282 Executive Di $57,503 $57,503 2023
Choose Aerospace Inc OK$443,443 Executive Director $110,344 $113,126 2024
National Latino Farmers And Ranchers DC$446,919 Chairman Of The Board $16,000 $13,072 2024
The Kroussaw Foundation DC$449,643 President & Ceo $66,349 $52,811 2025
Empower 8 Inc CA$391,749 Executive Dir. $89,073 $71,612 2024
Readmontana MT$388,525 Executive Dir. $80,400 $80,690 2024
Ne Steam Coalition OR$459,582 Executive Di $265,556 $229,606 2024
Mclain Association For Children CA$462,202 Ceo $91,000 $73,160 2024
Chowan Perquimans Smart Start Partnership NC$463,807 Executive Director $83,873 $80,688 2024
Trans Women In Need Of Services Inc FL$380,202 Executive Director $116,875 $102,225 2024
Turn The Page Stl MO$378,952 Executive Director $80,545 $79,427 2024
The Uprise Collective OR$375,361 Executive Dir. $91,106 $78,772 2024
Vip Consortium Inc GA$373,476 Executive Director $6,000 $5,617 2024
Idaho Family Policy Center Inc ID$372,895 President $118,850 $121,191 2023
Houghton Main Street Foundation DC$477,847 Director $2,000 $1,634 2024
First Gen Scholars CA$479,860 President/executive Direct $79,063 $63,564 2024
Maryland Family Institute MD$367,020 President $37,500 $33,606 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 default24th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)24th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted24th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted24th

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 (Buckner Amity) 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 83 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B01), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $48,125 is reasonable (approximately the 24th 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.