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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Sound Start Foundation

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 852098341
NJ · NTEE B01
FY ending 2024-08-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Bromme Cole, Executive Director / CEO ($114,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 71 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 86th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Bromme Cole — reported title “PRESIDENT/CEO”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

71 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 71 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,070 total compensation of comparable organizations → $186,061 $114,000
$21,18310th
$42,00725th
$63,888Median
$95,57175th
$117,69190th
$114,000This org · 86th
p10$21,183
p25$42,007
p50$63,888
p75$95,571
p90$117,691
$114,000

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 NJ 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
Macon-bibb Mayor's Literacy GA$280,335 Executive Di $75,000 $86,957 2023
Manos Inocentes Por El Derecho A La Vida UT$278,541 Accounting Manager $3,040 $3,485 2024
Nd Senior Career Development ND$282,338 Director $50,000 $59,872 2025
Redemption Foundation MI$283,390 Executive Director (Ended 4/24) $20,502 $23,701 2024
Empower Illinois IL$276,402 Ceo $130,147 $143,306 2024
Daybreak Arts TN$275,754 Executive Director $50,163 $57,535 2025
Advocates For Womens And Kids Equality TN$275,539 Executive Dir. $73,200 $86,178 2024
Teachers Unite Inc NY$274,686 Co-executive Director $88,095 $91,793 2023
Awareness Is Prevention Inc NV$270,478 President $13,333 $15,411 2023
South Carolina First Steps To SC$265,605 Executive Di $41,509 $49,934 2023
R4creating NM$265,057 Executive Di $74,567 $92,481 2023
Institute For Black Solidarity With Israel NC$294,916 Chief Executive Officer $92,931 $107,547 2024
Grow Allen Inc IN$298,000 Executive Di $71,058 $83,929 2024
South Carolina First Steps To SC$260,668 Ed-thru 6/30 $70,246 $84,504 2023
Pa Families For Education Choice PA$260,174 President/tr $33,000 $36,858 2024
Walnut Grove Coop Inc DE$259,090 Chair $35,640 $38,078 2025
South Carolina First Steps SC$301,081 Executive Di $41,646 $50,099 2023
National Assn Of Worksite Health Care TX$301,700 Executive Director $52,562 $58,889 2024
Education Justice Coalition Of Vt VT$254,459 Director $46,202 $53,624 2023
Charter Schools Action Fund DC$254,081 Ceo Of Napcs - Until 12/23 $30,188 $29,670 2024
Heart Sense Corporation LA$253,733 President $113,968 $140,556 2024
Greenwood Education Foundation IN$307,001 Executive Di $45,833 $52,740 2025
Boost Oregon OR$307,598 Executive Dir. $41,906 $43,587 2024
Every Brain Matters Corporation CO$308,394 President $91,154 $97,896 2024
Northstar Tutoring DC$251,101 Executive Director $119,167 $117,124 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NJ 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 NJ 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 default86th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)92nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted86th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted85th

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 (Bromme Cole) 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 71 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B01), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $114,000 is reasonable (approximately the 86th 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.