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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Missoula Parent Co-op Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 810511751
MT · NTEE P33
FY ending 2025-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Cynthia Fristo, Executive Director / CEO ($12,644) 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 16th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Cynthia Fristo — reported title “DIRECTOR”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable 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

$196 total compensation of comparable organizations → $94,041 $12,644
$9,34510th
$20,89125th
$35,154Median
$49,02575th
$60,62590th
$12,644This org · 16th
p10$9,345
p25$20,891
p50$35,154
p75$49,025
p90$60,625
$12,644

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 MT 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
Downtown Childcare Center NM$160,314 Director $40,080 $41,049 2024
Jonesboro Day Care Center Inc NC$159,900 Director $46,316 $44,396 2025
Knowledge Is Power Foundation CA$159,673 President $39,000 $32,068 2024
Sterrs Day Care Center Inc AL$159,181 Director $20,308 $20,891 2024
Penns Grove-carneys Point Sacc Inc NJ$157,778 Director $9,675 $8,014 2025
Linked Together Inc NH$165,914 Executive Director $106,954 $94,041 2024
Pateros Treehouse Early Education WA$167,603 Executive Director $27,000 $23,699 2023
Platte County Day Care Center WY$169,116 Executive Director $43,753 $43,464 2025
Epcecf Day Care Center Inc NY$151,111 Executive Director $28,488 $25,237 2023
First Gethsemane Center For Family Development Inc KY$172,706 Board Member $7,643 $8,050 2023
Dree's Plahouse Christian Academy Inc IN$172,755 Executive Director $1,500 $1,551 2023
Nursery Rhyme Inc LA$148,508 President $59,440 $62,326 2024
Yolandas World Of Learning Center Inc LA$173,066 President $4,506 $4,725 2024
Belknap Child Development Center MI$146,708 Treasurer $55,994 $55,035 2024
Little Blossom Learning Center SD$174,767 Executive Di $14,615 $15,360 2024
Friendship Christian Learning Center Inc OH$176,823 Administrator $33,280 $34,557 2023
Trinity Empowerment Consortium Inc FL$140,800 Executive Director $41,707 $37,310 2024
Human Resource Center Inc CO$140,668 Executive Director $49,828 $44,324 2025
Rise Up 4 Christ Inc GA$182,460 Executive Director $13,800 $12,872 2025
Son-shine Corner Inc MN$183,452 Executive Director $45,751 $44,320 2023
Sugar & Spice Child Care Center MI$183,796 President $50,000 $49,144 2024
Lily Missions Center MI$189,295 President $24,615 $24,908 2023
Little Tikes Daycare Inc SD$192,554 Co-ex Director $25,381 $26,674 2024
Fueling Embers Youth Ministry MO$128,445 President $35,120 $35,421 2024
Child Christ Playhouse Ministries IN$194,908 President $9,901 $9,943 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MT cost of living and 2025 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 MT 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 default16th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)15th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted18th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted16th

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 (Cynthia Fristo) 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 (P33), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $12,644 is reasonable (approximately the 16th 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.