Executive Director / CEO
This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Melissa Schilling, Executive Director / CEO ($57,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 365 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: Melissa Schilling — reported title “Executive Dir.”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.
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 IA cost of living (BEA RPP, 2023) and to its filing year (CPI-U); the reported amount is on each linked 990.
| Organization | State | Revenue | Matched title | Comp (reported) | Comp (adjusted) | FY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trinity Child Development Center | TX | $495,386 | Executive Director | $59,500 | $54,358 | 2023 |
| Saugerties Early Childhood Learning | NY | $494,960 | President | $15,860 | $12,713 | 2024 |
| Bright Eyes Quality Child Care Inc | FL | $494,858 | President, Ceo | $96,900 | $83,137 | 2023 |
| Cedar County Coordinated Child Care | IA | $493,998 | Director | $65,403 | $61,889 | 2025 |
| Community Childrens Center | CT | $497,579 | Executive Director | $20,713 | $16,784 | 2025 |
| Children's Academy For Education | TN | $490,869 | Ceo | $9,843 | $9,179 | 2024 |
| Wisdomworks | CA | $490,269 | Ceo | $63,840 | $47,641 | 2025 |
| Lake Bowen Child Development Center | SC | $489,660 | Director | $41,345 | $38,263 | 2024 |
| First Congregational Preschool Inc | CT | $503,076 | Executive Director | $78,090 | $63,277 | 2025 |
| Kid Station At Heritage | IA | $503,388 | Executive Di | $71,555 | $69,502 | 2024 |
| Central Child Care Of Wv | WV | $486,079 | Director | $44,174 | $42,429 | 2024 |
| Binghampton Community Christian Life Center | TN | $485,688 | Day Care Director | $39,452 | $36,787 | 2024 |
| Mansfield Training School Dist 1199 | CT | $506,036 | Director | $68,654 | $55,631 | 2025 |
| Johnson County Learning Center Inc | IN | $484,508 | Executive Di | $52,000 | $48,645 | 2024 |
| Alpha Day Care Center ( A New Jersey Non Profit Corporation) | NJ | $506,720 | Director | $99,100 | $78,491 | 2024 |
| Little Thinkers Inc | IN | $507,040 | Executive Dir. | $59,122 | $55,308 | 2024 |
| Northwest Child Development Centers | NC | $483,059 | Ceo | $92,661 | $87,442 | 2023 |
| Children Country & Lives Ccl | CA | $482,987 | Member | $15,600 | $11,642 | 2025 |
| Carol Matheys Center For Children & | MN | $507,941 | Executive Director | $84,466 | $74,039 | 2024 |
| Paradise Place | CO | $508,038 | Secretary | $60,000 | $51,037 | 2024 |
| Raindrop Early Learning Center | IL | $508,778 | Pres/exec Dir | $55,520 | $49,850 | 2023 |
| Smartie Pants Academy Center Houston | TX | $509,537 | Director | $89,950 | $82,177 | 2023 |
| Reeds Refuge Center Inc | DE | $509,699 | President | $7,500 | $6,515 | 2024 |
| Magic Depot Child Care Center Inc | IA | $511,701 | Day Care Dir | $42,305 | $41,091 | 2024 |
| Tiny Twisters Child Care Center | NH | $511,936 | Director | $46,054 | $36,751 | 2025 |
Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to IA cost of living and 2023 dollars. Click any organization to verify the figure on ProPublica.
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 IA 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.
Sensitivity — the subject's percentile under alternative compensation definitions:
| Basis | Subject percentile |
|---|---|
| Total compensation (D + F), cost-of-living + inflation adjusted — the PeerBasis default | 64th |
| Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments) | 53rd |
| Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted | 67th |
| All sources (D + E + F), adjusted | 63rd |
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.
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
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.