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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Growco Columbia Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 842927926
SC · NTEE S43
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Caroline Crowder, Executive Director / CEO ($101,778) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 43 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 65th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Caroline Crowder — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

43 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 43 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$8,737 total compensation of comparable organizations → $246,376 $101,778
$19,31810th
$42,74025th
$76,045Median
$109,96475th
$130,84390th
$101,778This org · 65th
p10$19,318
p25$42,740
p50$76,045
p75$109,964
p90$130,843
$101,778

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 SC 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
Iowa Center Loan Fund IA$369,185 President $9,756 $9,976 2025
Womens Venture Fund Inc NY$366,243 President & Ceo $159,200 $137,894 2024
The Warehouse Business Accelerator CO$370,791 Executive Dir. $80,032 $75,733 2023
Nonprofit Solutions CA$361,828 Executive Director $89,238 $76,045 2023
Startupaz Foundation AZ$359,966 President Executive Dir Thru 01/2024 $136,843 $126,150 2024
Rockford Area Strategic Initiatives IL$358,096 Director $13,565 $12,783 2024
Black Wall Street Business Center OK$379,211 President & Ceo $19,500 $20,582 2024
Madison Village For Advanced GA$380,784 Executive Dir. $29,167 $28,111 2024
Adventist Health Policy Association FL$381,710 President $16,962 $15,725 2023
Danville Boyle County Development KY$349,771 Director $29,583 $31,366 2023
The Biotechnology Incubator At Nymc Inc NY$389,283 President, Ceo & Trustee $268,885 $239,780 2023
Tolani Lake Enterprises Inc AZ$345,199 Executive Director $53,820 $49,614 2024
Anti Entropy TX$393,476 President $65,000 $66,796 2022
International Union Uaw Local 1284 MI$393,983 President $8,831 $8,737 2024
Eastern American Economic NJ$406,656 President $98,670 $84,445 2024
Ab Community Inc NC$406,875 Executive Director $86,875 $88,586 2023
Niche Inc IN$322,461 Executive Director $120,000 $118,175 2025
Commonwise Education Inc NY$314,772 Executive Dir. $30,769 $26,651 2024
Alabama Capital Network Inc AL$430,100 Executive Officer $114,000 $121,540 2023
Cohabitat Foundation Inc LA$304,436 Executive Director $65,000 $70,634 2023
Kukolu HI$435,911 Executive Dir. $125,462 $107,671 2024
Piedmont Business Capital NC$446,116 Executive Director Ceo $132,440 $131,173 2024
Startup Hutch Inc KS$448,635 Program Director $86,659 $89,740 2024
Enterprise Development Corporation MO$285,548 Executive Dir. $100,680 $102,215 2024
Xlr8x HI$454,613 President/exec Dir $114,357 $101,040 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to SC 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 SC 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 default65th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)60th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted67th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted58th

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 (Caroline Crowder) 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 43 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (S43), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $101,778 is reasonable (approximately the 65th 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.