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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Flame Lily Montessori

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 861968186
CO · NTEE B28
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Caroline Alsmeyer, Executive Director / CEO ($55,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 61 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 66th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

61 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 61 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2,610 total compensation of comparable organizations → $149,441 $55,000
$13,29210th
$30,44625th
$43,802Median
$68,44375th
$85,08190th
$55,000This org · 66th
p10$13,292
p25$30,446
p50$43,802
p75$68,443
p90$85,081
$55,000

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 CO 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
Minnesota Yucai Chinese School MN$241,151 Chair Principal $38,721 $39,902 2024
Montessori Intergenerational Learning Communities CO$242,078 Ceo $72,229 $72,229 2024
Goldenrod Montessori OH$242,242 Head Of Scho $39,655 $43,802 2024
Monarch Home School Inc OH$238,294 President $64,246 $69,135 2025
Dream Catcher Therapy Center Inc CO$235,687 Director $25,000 $25,738 2023
The Shooting Star Foundation Inc MN$250,498 Executive Director $38,010 $39,169 2024
The Shane Center For Therapeutic OH$252,632 Executive Director $63,540 $70,185 2024
Westside Support Services Foundation CA$227,652 Cfo $14,760 $13,292 2024
Longleaf Academy Inc NC$255,509 Executive Director $72,549 $78,177 2024
Cptkd Academy Inc NY$256,141 Office Manager $149,946 $141,306 2024
Appalachian Banner Academy TN$225,870 Executive Director $8,325 $9,126 2024
Resoarces Inc KY$224,564 Executive Director $45,760 $51,271 2024
Lotus Montessori Academy Inc MA$224,038 President $36,923 $35,625 2023
Dahlia Montessori NJ$223,136 Vice President $57,210 $53,270 2024
Options For College Success IL$261,650 Executive Director And Pre $48,934 $51,652 2023
Woolly Farms Foundation KS$220,051 President $31,110 $35,051 2024
Humane Equine Aid & Rapid Transport Inc VA$262,910 President $7,200 $7,063 2025
The Kids Int'l Weekend School Inc NJ$217,560 President $24,110 $23,112 2023
Community Alliance For Special Education CA$265,586 Executive Director $12,002 $11,128 2023
Utah Nihongo Hoshuukou UT$215,751 Board Member $5,410 $5,774 2024
Suzuki Academy Of Columbia SC$267,327 Executive Director $37,129 $39,355 2025
The Uniquely Abled Project CA$210,569 Founder & Pres. $38,433 $34,610 2024
Re The Regenerative School TN$210,456 Director $60,645 $68,443 2023
Illinois Special Education Charter IL$210,000 Executive Director $110,357 $116,489 2023
Accorda Music Thanatology Inst NV$209,536 Exec Director $31,200 $32,615 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CO 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 CO 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 default66th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)67th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted67th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted62nd

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 Alsmeyer) 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 61 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B28), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $55,000 is reasonable (approximately the 66th 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.