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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Start Up Kids Club

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 822163304
TX · NTEE S80
FY ending 2024-07-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Amber Wakem, Executive Director / CEO ($62,370) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 59 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 64th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Amber Wakem — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

59 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 59 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$804 total compensation of comparable organizations → $116,341 $62,370
$3,21610th
$12,06525th
$46,481Median
$69,27575th
$90,50090th
$62,370This org · 64th
p10$3,216
p25$12,065
p50$46,481
p75$69,275
p90$90,500
$62,370

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 TX 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
Crow Wing County Victim Services MN$208,111 Executive Director $105,545 $104,258 2024
Adpi Properties Inc GA$207,123 Executive Director $24,687 $24,815 2024
Texas Lions Foundation Inc TX$213,303 Chief Operation $18,000 $18,000 2024
Law Foundation Of Berks County PA$215,296 Executive Director $25,151 $25,074 2024
Mental Health America Of VA$201,815 Executive Di $72,846 $70,314 2024
Missouri Valley Crisis Center Inc SD$200,185 Executive Dir. $61,301 $69,631 2023
Lithuanian Center IL$193,802 President/director $7,200 $6,893 2025
Institute For Public Leadership NE$227,033 Executive Director $85,000 $89,038 2025
House Of Compassion IA$229,933 Executive Director $51,000 $57,473 2023
Iowa Gun Owners IA$187,138 Chairman Of The Board $60,000 $67,615 2023
Cavalier County Memorial Hospital Founda ND$186,685 Executive Director $45,452 $48,578 2025
Cedar Branch Project CA$184,429 Executive Director $14,523 $12,907 2023
Working Men Of Christ Inc KS$240,294 Executive Director $42,000 $45,360 2024
Mt Juliet Help Center TN$243,235 Director $44,233 $46,481 2024
The Committee Of 101 Inc KY$174,880 President $3,600 $3,767 2025
Community Chest Of Cicero IL$173,650 Executive Di $27,000 $26,536 2024
San Diego Lions Welfare Foundation CA$245,585 Executive Dir. $12,438 $10,737 2024
Rochester Rotary Club NY$246,305 Executive Director $9,493 $8,354 2025
Mentor Discover Inspire Inc CA$246,941 Program Development Director $24,000 $21,330 2023
The 1477 Corporation Of Bergenfield NJ$247,858 Secretary $4,500 $3,913 2025
Ministry Of Zoey's Place TX$248,890 President $11,520 $11,520 2024
High Plains Community Development NE$170,051 Executive Di $54,326 $58,412 2024
Northern Pine Riders MN$167,631 President $2,200 $2,237 2023
Literacy Council Of Southwestern Pa PA$165,913 Executive Di $70,700 $70,482 2024
Midlands Mediation Center SC$162,078 Executive Director $38,958 $41,830 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to TX 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 TX 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 default64th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)68th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted66th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted54th

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 (Amber Wakem) 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 59 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (S80), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $62,370 is reasonable (approximately the 64th 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.