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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Arizona Head Start Association

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 860815229
AZ · NTEE B21
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Jessica Rivera-garcia, Executive Director / CEO ($80,692) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 181 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 96th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

Benchmarked executive: Jessica Rivera-garcia — reported title “Executive Director”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

181 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 181 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$572 total compensation of comparable organizations → $145,000 $80,692
$11,89410th
$29,55225th
$42,014Median
$54,87475th
$64,14190th
$80,692This org · 96th
p10$11,894
p25$29,552
p50$42,014
p75$54,874
p90$64,141
$80,692

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 AZ 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
Whitefish United Methodist Childrens Ce MT$217,376 Executive Dir. $50,529 $55,010 2024
The Neighborhood Playschool CO$215,847 Officer $55,000 $51,891 2025
Miss Kates Pre K Inc FL$217,749 Managing Director $41,600 $40,635 2023
Promiseland Preschool Inc AZ$217,865 President $60,800 $59,056 2024
Ashcreek Parent Cooperative Playschool OR$217,973 Teacher $43,926 $41,199 2024
St Paul's Weekday Nursery School Inc MA$213,947 Nursery School Director $40,000 $35,367 2025
Apple Tree Preschool Inc NY$213,673 Director Of The Preschool $33,930 $30,167 2025
Woodside Nursery School NY$213,543 Trustee $19,800 $18,070 2024
Hope Ridge Preschool Inc OH$220,348 Director $19,629 $20,456 2025
Izabel Inc IL$220,388 President $23,190 $23,026 2024
Sparkle Touch Learning Academy Inc IN$213,022 President/director $46,171 $50,628 2023
Scuola Italiana Di Portland OR$221,028 Board Member $2,592 $2,431 2024
Field Station Cooperative Incorporated IN$212,440 Executive Director $16,659 $18,267 2023
Easter Preschool MN$221,830 Program Director $49,885 $48,500 2025
Eliot Chapel Nursery School MO$222,114 Exec Directo $50,009 $53,495 2024
Canaan Development Foundation IL$211,246 Director $51,264 $50,901 2024
Willson Preschool Inc MT$210,188 Executive Dir. $34,768 $36,876 2025
Kaleidoscope Montessori Inc GA$209,957 Director $69,625 $68,882 2025
Tiny Tots Learning Center NY$209,688 Trustee $37,283 $34,025 2024
The Learning Tree Nursery Inc NY$224,210 Co Director $5,460 $4,855 2025
Farmstead Preschool IA$208,525 Ddirector $42,212 $46,680 2024
International Education And CA$225,492 Director $25,668 $23,046 2023
Buttons & Bows Nursery School Inc IL$207,947 President/teach $33,813 $32,708 2025
Child's Play Inc RI$225,881 Toddler/nursery $48,043 $46,527 2024
Little Scholars Academy GA$207,501 Executive Dir. $42,350 $43,007 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to AZ 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 AZ 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 default96th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)96th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted96th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted96th

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 (Jessica Rivera-garcia) 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 181 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B21), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $80,692 is reasonable (approximately the 96th 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.