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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Fuzzy Bear Ministry Preschool & Day

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 814659507
IN · NTEE B21
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Aurora Dawson, Executive Director / CEO ($30,671) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 302 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 24th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Aurora Dawson — reported title “OFFICE MANAG”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

302 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 302 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$319 total compensation of comparable organizations → $138,202 $30,671
$15,76210th
$32,10825th
$43,697Median
$56,78375th
$72,19790th
$30,671This org · 24th
p10$15,762
p25$32,108
p50$43,697
p75$56,783
p90$72,197
$30,671

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 IN 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
Mia Bella Child Discovery Center Inc FL$360,462 Director And President $27,346 $23,661 2024
Glenridge Nursery School CA$361,159 Program Dir $149,326 $118,764 2024
Montessori In The Woods Inc PA$359,904 Executive Director $50,000 $47,282 2023
Mckeen Street Learning Center ME$359,407 President/director $78,321 $72,235 2024
Haytown Road Nursery School NJ$358,488 School Director $47,016 $39,806 2023
Live Oak Preschool CA$358,451 Executive Dir. $75,665 $58,628 2025
Asbury Preschool NC$363,456 Director $18,400 $17,059 2025
Centro De Educacion Integral Soles Del Jardin Inc PR$363,804 Director $2,400 $2,271 2025
Spring Hill Center NH$357,304 Program Director $49,527 $42,121 2024
Tauxemont Cooperative Preschool Inc VA$365,352 Director/teacher $61,933 $56,705 2023
Bee Loved Preschool A Preschool Of Bcumc TX$355,942 Bee Loved Director $53,125 $47,685 2025
Childrens Center Inc CT$365,688 President, Director $61,669 $53,257 2024
Christ Our Savior Academy Inc TN$366,200 Director $63,430 $63,224 2023
Colebrook Community Child Care NH$354,795 Executive Director $60,702 $51,625 2024
The Childrens Institute At Jericho Inc VT$366,602 Director $67,332 $62,421 2024
Early Foundations Inc PA$354,551 President $15,261 $14,431 2023
Touch Heart Center For Development Inc VA$354,268 Director $21,500 $19,120 2024
The Way Enterprises Inc CA$354,246 Ceo $46,000 $35,643 2025
Massachusetts Head Start Association Inc MA$353,945 Executive Director $112,997 $93,525 2024
Mendon Community Nursery School NY$367,557 Executive Direc $23,939 $19,411 2025
4corners Community Nursery Inc MD$367,697 Executive Director $39,980 $34,427 2024
Chico Oaks Preschool CA$368,209 Treasurer $7,200 $5,726 2024
Florida Head Start Association FL$368,376 Executive Director $119,411 $103,322 2024
Penfield Village Nursery School Inc NY$368,547 Education Director $44,520 $36,099 2025
Jens Infants And Toddlers Inc LA$352,583 President $35,630 $36,137 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to IN 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 IN 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 default24th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)20th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted24th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted23rd

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 (Aurora Dawson) 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 302 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B21), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $30,671 is reasonable (approximately the 24th 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.