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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Next Step Elc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 881335728
WA · NTEE B21
FY ending 2024-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Alicia Frogge, Executive Director / CEO ($48,738) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 249 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 47th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

How comparable organizations were selected

249 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 249 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$634 total compensation of comparable organizations → $167,593 $48,738
$19,63810th
$37,41525th
$50,486Median
$64,55875th
$79,59690th
$48,738This org · 47th
p10$19,638
p25$37,415
p50$50,486
p75$64,558
p90$79,596
$48,738

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 WA cost of living (BEA RPP, 2023) and to its filing year (CPI-U); the reported amount is on each linked 990.

OrganizationStateTotal revenueTotal compSource
Children's House Of Montessori IncCT $264,957$35,128 990
The Frazee CenterSC $264,604$35,989 990
Mountain Breeze SchoolNC $265,277$38,821 990
Annandale Preschool Association IncVA $264,265$45,277 990
Early Learning Center IncNJ $264,245$63,347 990
Giving Tree Montessori IncTN $263,753$61,283 990
Upstone Montessori SchoolNH $266,789$53,716 990
Jean Lyle Children's CenterMN $266,867$13,153 990
Shelburne Nursery SchoolVT $268,432$41,986 990
Little Friends PreschoolWA $268,967$67,269 990
Bright Spot Child Care IncPA $269,958$49,199 990
Boyds Organization For Youth Development Services IncMD $269,960$64,429 990
Monarch Montessori SchoolMN $259,806$69,530 990
Carter Nursery School IncMA $258,376$66,030 990
Creative Preschool IncOH $271,452$48,367 990
Tinton Falls Cooperative PreschoolNJ $272,353$52,512 990
Minneapolis Nature PreschoolMN $257,058$43,621 990
Casa Dei Bambini Montessori SchoolOR $256,929$69,484 990
The Preschool On The Green IncNH $273,762$59,470 990
Westville Community Nursery School IncCT $274,120$68,890 990
Purple Moose Enrichment Preschool IncIL $254,290$107,046 990
Great And Small IncCA $254,066$17,377 990
Still Water Montessori School IncSC $275,930$42,182 990
Learning Tree Christian SchoolWY $253,768$48,173 990
Hilltop Nursery School Of Costa MesaCA $253,479$36,496 990

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 WA 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 default47th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)56th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted49th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted47th

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 (Alicia Frogge) 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 249 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B21), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $48,738 is reasonable (approximately the 47th 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). 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.