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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Sweet Tree Arts

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 814333795
ME · NTEE B20
FY ending 2024-08-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Lindsay Stewart, Executive Director / CEO ($35,846) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 266 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: Lindsay Stewart — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

266 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 266 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$157 total compensation of comparable organizations → $174,947 $35,846
$8,99210th
$27,30225th
$44,076Median
$73,13175th
$89,91990th
$35,846This org · 36th
p10$8,992
p25$27,302
p50$44,076
p75$73,131
p90$89,919
$35,846

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 ME 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
Global Connection Academy OH$427,339 Board Member $65,000 $68,753 2024
Splendor Bilingual Montessori School NJ$428,488 Secretary $48,474 $43,222 2024
Southside Academy Incorporated NC$429,521 Secretary $55,710 $57,486 2024
Woodside School And Community MA$429,686 President $46,640 $41,855 2024
Diamante Montessori School IL$422,764 President $8,000 $7,854 2024
Tyler Ind School District Foundation TX$422,347 Executive Director $82,014 $81,930 2024
Ft Caroline Baptist Academy FL$421,929 Academy Director $74,700 $70,081 2024
Selle Valley Carden School Inc ID$421,690 Director/teach $32,000 $35,000 2023
Cor Deo Christian Academy OR$431,689 Principal Director $93,037 $86,284 2024
Urban Christian Academy IL$420,892 Executive Di $12,000 $12,129 2023
Cornerstone Community School Association KS$432,581 Director $33,327 $35,029 2025
Community Homeschool Education Center Inc FL$420,200 Marler $45,880 $44,314 2023
Morning Glory Montessori School CA$434,705 President $187,650 $161,819 2024
Pathway Academy NM$434,930 Principal $69,008 $76,312 2023
World Builders Academy MO$417,807 President $14,583 $15,881 2023
Alexandria Classical Christian VA$436,415 Headmaster $34,854 $33,608 2024
Communities In Schools Of NC$416,635 President And Ceo $10,990 $11,340 2024
Windsor Street Montessori School MO$436,941 President $24,000 $24,731 2025
Destiny Christian Academy TX$416,116 Principal $36,000 $35,963 2024
Sheltering Tree Ranch Inc TN$437,675 Vice-president $22,375 $24,182 2023
Chesterton Academy Of Rochester NY$438,015 Board Member $39,183 $35,359 2024
The Education Foundation Of Indian River FL$438,310 Executive Director $81,462 $78,682 2023
Metropolitan Detroit Bureau Of School Studiesinc MI$414,021 Executive Director $138,900 $139,486 2025
The Cross Christian Academy Inc DE$412,624 President $28,800 $28,162 2024
Highland Free Charter School AZ$411,854 President & Ceo $67,542 $63,198 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to ME cost of living and 2024 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 ME 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)37th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted36th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted34th

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 (Lindsay Stewart) 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 266 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $35,846 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.