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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

First Steps Preschool

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 843264612
OH · NTEE B21
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Keith Colbert, Executive Director / CEO ($36,965) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 166 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 43rd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Keith Colbert — reported title “Preschool Director”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

166 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 166 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2 total compensation of comparable organizations → $135,550 $36,965
$10,71810th
$25,33525th
$39,365Median
$51,04175th
$59,92090th
$36,965This org · 43rd
p10$10,718
p25$25,335
p50$39,365
p75$51,041
p90$59,920
$36,965

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 OH 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
Westside Early Education IA$203,309 Director, Teacher $41,151 $41,444 2025
The Big Barn Preschool IL$205,060 President $9,965 $9,250 2024
Silverspot Nursery School CA$205,277 Teacher/director $79,177 $66,458 2023
Midsouth Montessori Center TN$205,520 Executive Director $69,500 $67,197 2025
Sunshine School Inc MA$205,523 President $56,920 $47,048 2025
Norwood Cooperative Nursery School Inc MA$200,772 Executive Director $50,164 $42,561 2024
Trinity Day School Of Newtown Inc CT$200,254 Director $47,840 $42,350 2024
Little Scholars Academy GA$207,501 Executive Dir. $42,350 $40,204 2024
Buttons & Bows Nursery School Inc IL$207,947 President/teach $33,813 $30,576 2025
Francis Kiddie Kollege Preschool Inc CA$199,112 Executive Director $41,017 $34,428 2023
Farmstead Preschool IA$208,525 Ddirector $42,212 $43,638 2024
East Hanover Cooperative Nursery School NJ$197,980 Director $42,207 $35,579 2024
Tiny Tots Learning Center NY$209,688 Trustee $37,283 $31,808 2024
Ganeinu CO$197,571 President $47,760 $43,238 2024
Kaleidoscope Montessori Inc GA$209,957 Director $69,625 $64,393 2025
Willson Preschool Inc MT$210,188 Executive Dir. $34,768 $34,473 2025
Caring Branches Early Care And PA$196,777 Executive Di $2,984 $2,810 2024
Milford Cooperative Nursery School MI$196,484 Former Director $35,769 $35,888 2023
Canaan Development Foundation IL$211,246 Director $51,264 $47,584 2024
Field Station Cooperative Incorporated IN$212,440 Executive Director $16,659 $17,077 2023
Sparkle Touch Learning Academy Inc IN$213,022 President/director $46,171 $47,329 2023
Woodside Nursery School NY$213,543 Trustee $19,800 $16,893 2024
Apple Tree Preschool Inc NY$213,673 Director Of The Preschool $33,930 $28,201 2025
St Paul's Weekday Nursery School Inc MA$213,947 Nursery School Director $40,000 $33,062 2025
First Christian Church Youth AR$192,862 Executive Di $27,500 $29,185 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to OH 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 OH 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 default43rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)37th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted45th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted42nd

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 (Keith Colbert) 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 166 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B21), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $36,965 is reasonable (approximately the 43rd 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.