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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Apple Tree Center Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 843889173
IN · NTEE P33
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Debbie Norris, Executive Director / CEO ($45,904) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 333 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 44th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Debbie Norris — reported title “KEY EMPLOYEE”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

333 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 333 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$238 total compensation of comparable organizations → $352,214 $45,904
$16,18810th
$34,57525th
$49,023Median
$60,84475th
$76,84190th
$45,904This org · 44th
p10$16,188
p25$34,575
p50$49,023
p75$60,844
p90$76,841
$45,904

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
Faith Hope & Love School CA$414,917 Director $45,000 $34,867 2025
Kings Academy Child Enrichment Center Inc VA$413,812 Director $30,037 $26,712 2024
Court Appointed Special Advocate OH$413,551 Executive Di $78,172 $76,260 2024
Mountain Sprouts Children's Community WA$413,422 Executive Director $65,201 $53,766 2024
West Kemper Kiddie Kollege Inc MS$415,430 Director $81,977 $86,578 2023
Capacidad MA$412,875 Executive Director $71,640 $57,766 2025
A Child's Delight Too Inc MN$412,253 Executive Di $36,900 $34,575 2023
Mount Pleasant Community Childcare IA$416,681 Executive Di $40,000 $40,340 2024
The Discovery Place MO$418,314 Executive Di $72,477 $72,793 2023
Butte Valley Montessori CA$410,323 Controller $66,387 $51,439 2025
Wonder World Preschool Inc MN$418,651 Treasurer $3,015 $2,825 2023
Northwest Youth Power Elc Site 3 Inc GA$410,139 Executive Director $59,819 $57,035 2023
Faith Academy Inc NC$409,942 Ceo / President $62,400 $59,386 2024
Greensboro Community Childcare Cent VT$419,118 Executive Di $61,303 $58,511 2023
Greenville Avenue Child Development Center TX$409,616 Daycare Director $42,920 $40,712 2023
Kangaroos Pouch Child Care & MS$419,222 President $57,500 $60,727 2023
Rise Child Development Center Inc TX$409,298 Ceo $93,345 $88,543 2023
Phmc 1500 PA$408,656 Vp & Secretary $372,461 $352,214 2023
Crosskids Child Development Center AR$408,653 Assistant Di $5,000 $5,329 2023
Bible Way Church Of Georgetown SC$420,557 Director $52,000 $51,442 2023
Mechanicsburg Learning Center PA$407,373 Executive Di $15,163 $14,339 2023
Caroline Asp Inc NY$407,102 Director $69,304 $57,682 2024
Tesoritos Daycare & Learning Center Inc PR$406,231 President $33,348 $33,348 2023
Davenport Child Care Inc MA$406,019 Program Dire $55,199 $47,036 2023
Bright Beginnings Learning Center SD$423,878 Manager $34,413 $34,982 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 default44th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)38th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted44th
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 (Debbie Norris) 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 333 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (P33), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $45,904 is reasonable (approximately the 44th 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.