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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Children's Discovery Academy Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 813931319
MI · NTEE P33
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Samantha Mitchell, Executive Director / CEO ($15,857) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 26 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: Samantha Mitchell — reported title “DIRECTOR & S”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

26 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 26 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$690 total compensation of comparable organizations → $92,935 $15,857
$5,23610th
$9,75525th
$29,707Median
$40,11675th
$49,13290th
$15,857This org · 31st
p10$5,236
p25$9,755
p50$29,707
p75$40,116
p90$49,132
$15,857

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 MI 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
Potter-dix Early Learning Facility NE$121,947 Executive Director $30,000 $31,261 2023
Dover Educational & Community Center Inc DE$125,155 Office Manager And Head Teacher $9,320 $8,841 2023
Through Our Eyes PA$106,579 President $30,000 $28,153 2024
Blessed Beginnings Inc CA$105,252 President $825 $690 2023
Fueling Embers Youth Ministry MO$128,445 President $35,120 $35,004 2024
Community Express Inc TX$98,897 President $40,000 $38,765 2023
The Depot Program ME$97,537 Directorpresident $18,900 $17,351 2025
Joyful Noise Inc WV$93,723 Executive Director $35,877 $35,612 2025
Human Resource Center Inc CO$140,668 Executive Director $49,828 $43,803 2025
Trinity Empowerment Consortium Inc FL$140,800 Executive Director $41,707 $36,870 2024
Adams Clubhouse - Quality Care For Special Needs AR$90,822 Executive Director $5,486 $5,803 2024
Belknap Child Development Center MI$146,708 Treasurer $55,994 $54,388 2024
Nursery Rhyme Inc LA$148,508 President $59,440 $61,593 2024
Epcecf Day Care Center Inc NY$151,111 Executive Director $28,488 $24,940 2023
Penns Grove-carneys Point Sacc Inc NJ$157,778 Director $9,675 $7,919 2025
Sterrs Day Care Center Inc AL$159,181 Director $20,308 $20,646 2024
Knowledge Is Power Foundation CA$159,673 President $39,000 $31,691 2024
Jonesboro Day Care Center Inc NC$159,900 Director $46,316 $43,875 2025
Downtown Childcare Center NM$160,314 Director $40,080 $40,566 2024
Missoula Parent Co-op Inc MT$160,661 Director $12,644 $12,496 2025
Linked Together Inc NH$165,914 Executive Director $106,954 $92,935 2024
Pateros Treehouse Early Education WA$167,603 Executive Director $27,000 $23,420 2023
Platte County Day Care Center WY$169,116 Executive Director $43,753 $42,952 2025
First Gethsemane Center For Family Development Inc KY$172,706 Board Member $7,643 $7,955 2023
Dree's Plahouse Christian Academy Inc IN$172,755 Executive Director $1,500 $1,533 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MI 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 MI 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)31st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted31st
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted31st

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 (Samantha Mitchell) 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 26 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (P33), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $15,857 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.