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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Es Of Choice

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 932986332
GA · NTEE B01
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Shavonne L Dargan, Executive Director / CEO ($950) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 62 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 0th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Shavonne L Dargan — 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

62 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 62 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$3,094 total compensation of comparable organizations → $237,669 $950
$14,19710th
$29,09325th
$52,215Median
$81,96775th
$103,72590th
$950This org · 0th
p10$14,197
p25$29,093
p50$52,215
p75$81,967
p90$103,725
$950

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 GA 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
Maine Donor Alliance Fund ME$215,743 Executive Director $35,000 $35,886 2023
Law And Public Safety Education GA$217,301 Treasurer $95,233 $98,046 2023
The American Lyceum VA$218,680 President $167,115 $165,217 2023
South Carolina First Steps To SC$211,612 Executive Di $62,000 $66,228 2023
South Carolina First Steps To SC$221,612 Executive Di $57,083 $60,976 2023
Frontline Policy Action Inc GA$209,827 President $31,106 $32,025 2023
Iowa Association Of Christian Schools IA$205,486 Executive Director $60,000 $63,653 2025
Bli Learning Labs Incorporated FL$205,474 Executive Director $44,978 $40,940 2025
Pde Action VA$205,000 Executive Director $8,876 $8,523 2024
South Carolina First Steps To SC$227,937 Ed Through 4 $61,759 $65,971 2023
Folk Education Services WA$229,297 Director $21,125 $18,810 2024
Indiana Urban Schools Assoc Ii Inc IN$201,525 Executive Director $95,750 $100,423 2024
Kentucky Financial Empowerment KY$198,771 Executive Director $95,000 $104,507 2023
Escucha Mi Voz Iowa IA$234,190 Co-director $49,979 $54,425 2024
South Carolina First Steps To SC$240,260 Executive Di $21,173 $22,617 2023
Minnesota Leadership Council On Aging MN$242,300 President $88,000 $84,251 2025
Cyber Texas Foundation Inc TX$243,071 Executive Director/secretary $20,323 $20,218 2024
Davidsonians For Freedom Of Thought And Discourse SC$243,390 Executive Director $80,937 $86,457 2023
Local Learningthe National Network For Folk Arts In Education NY$245,447 Executive Director $50,496 $46,722 2023
South Carolina First Steps To SC$246,903 Executive Di $45,893 $49,023 2023
South Carolina First Steps SC$247,364 Executive Di $44,313 $47,335 2023
Washington Student Association WA$248,411 Executive Director $60,000 $55,003 2023
Washington Ethnic Studies Now WA$249,502 Executive Director $150,000 $133,564 2024
Northstar Tutoring DC$251,101 Executive Director $119,167 $104,002 2024
Heart Sense Corporation LA$253,733 President $113,968 $124,810 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to GA 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 GA 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 default0th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)0th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted3rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted0th

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 (Shavonne L Dargan) 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 62 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B01), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $950 is reasonable (approximately the 0th 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.