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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

South Carolina First Steps

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 571097864
SC · NTEE B012
FY ending 2023-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Sarah Eargle, Executive Director / CEO ($41,646) 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 31st percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Sarah Eargle — 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 → $154,669 $41,646
$16,24810th
$36,59425th
$54,443Median
$80,38475th
$102,78190th
$41,646This org · 31st
p10$16,248
p25$36,594
p50$54,443
p75$80,384
p90$102,781
$41,646

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
National Assn Of Worksite Health Care TX$301,700 Executive Director $52,562 $48,953 2024
Grow Allen Inc IN$298,000 Executive Di $71,058 $69,768 2024
Greenwood Education Foundation IN$307,001 Executive Di $45,833 $43,841 2025
Institute For Black Solidarity With Israel NC$294,916 Chief Executive Officer $92,931 $89,402 2024
Boost Oregon OR$307,598 Executive Dir. $41,906 $36,233 2024
Every Brain Matters Corporation CO$308,394 President $91,154 $81,379 2024
Higher Education Reform Coalition Inc FL$309,118 President & Treasurer $7,500 $6,754 2023
South Carolina First Steps To SC$311,127 Executive Di $76,933 $76,933 2023
Parents Engaging Parents NJ$314,912 Executive Director $60,269 $48,809 2025
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
Manos Inocentes Por El Derecho A La Vida UT$278,541 Accounting Manager $3,040 $2,897 2024
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
1 Vote Counts PA$326,752 Executive Director $57,200 $53,109 2024
Teachers Unite Inc NY$274,686 Co-executive Director $88,095 $76,305 2023
Awareness Is Prevention Inc NV$270,478 President $13,333 $12,811 2023
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
South Carolina First Steps To SC$265,605 Executive Di $41,509 $41,509 2023
R4creating NM$265,057 Executive Di $74,567 $76,877 2023
South Carolina First Steps To SC$260,668 Ed-thru 6/30 $70,246 $70,246 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 default31st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)28th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted31st
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted28th

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 (Sarah Eargle) 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 $41,646 is reasonable (approximately the 31st 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.