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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Growing Years Children's Academy

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 813721613
CA · NTEE T20
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Nicole Lee, Executive Director / CEO ($26,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 44 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 36th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Nicole Lee — reported title “PRESIDENT”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

44 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 44 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$739 total compensation of comparable organizations → $113,553 $26,000
$7,05910th
$20,14725th
$39,532Median
$61,52375th
$80,33690th
$26,000This org · 36th
p10$7,059
p25$20,147
p50$39,532
p75$61,523
p90$80,336
$26,000

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 CA 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
Us Presidential Scholars Foundation MA$206,776 Interim Exec Director $7,520 $7,601 2024
White Family Supporting Foundation KS$207,970 Executive Director $36,272 $45,380 2023
L'arche Daybreak Foundation Us $210,625 Director Of Finance $10,943 $10,629 2024
Bigfork Playhouse Children's MT$198,369 Vice Preside $64,000 $79,894 2023
Faith Foundation Of Central Florida Inc FL$194,655 Executive Director $49,000 $50,444 2025
Dormie Network Foundation NE$220,985 Treasurer/secretary $4,630 $5,601 2024
Southwestern Medical Clinic Foundation MI$221,484 Development Officer $43,646 $52,171 2023
Ala Allied Professional Association Inc IL$222,535 Executive Director Thru October 2023 $25,291 $27,968 2024
Heartland Chamber Music Ltd MO$223,504 Executive Director $50,000 $61,329 2023
Police Foundation Of Colorado Springs CO$224,284 President $10,000 $11,105 2023
The Wvi Dolphin Foundation Inc NY$225,682 Executive Dir. $48,675 $49,476 2024
Continental Divide Color Guard Circuit CO$185,947 Treasurer $1,000 $1,078 2024
Eden Incorporated IL$185,739 Intl Director $42,600 $47,110 2024
Lindas Magnificent Mutts Rescue IL$227,544 President $46,375 $51,285 2024
I Heermann Anesthesia Foundation FL$231,693 Secretary/tr $6,000 $6,340 2024
Bonifacio Place Inc CA$180,523 Ceo $47,732 $47,732 2023
Kelley Family Foundation OH$180,150 Secretary $26,221 $30,434 2025
The Cy Rapp And Carolyn Rapp IA$233,659 Secretary $600 $739 2024
Triveni School Of Dance Inc MA$234,173 President $79,846 $83,093 2023
Buffalo Prescott Foundation MI$234,422 Managing Director $37,500 $43,539 2024
Kansas Farm Bureau Legal Foundation KS$175,550 President/di $21,168 $25,724 2024
Connectedconectando Educacion CA$237,933 Ceo $74,475 $72,338 2024
The Community Y Foundation PA$237,938 President $48,882 $54,833 2024
Bee Mighty NC$238,219 Executive Dir. $35,000 $40,680 2024
Dwi Resource Center Inc NM$238,946 Executive Di $66,560 $80,526 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CA 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 CA 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 default36th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)43rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted57th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted25th

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 (Nicole Lee) 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 44 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (T20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $26,000 is reasonable (approximately the 36th 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.