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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Cottage Forest School

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 990941902
MI · NTEE B24
FY ending 2025-07-31
June 10, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Melissa Morgan, Executive Director / CEO ($15,413) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 113 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 8th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Melissa Morgan — reported title “Head of School”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

113 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 113 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,678 total compensation of comparable organizations → $163,280 $15,413
$21,38210th
$33,20025th
$43,975Median
$56,60775th
$74,24290th
$15,413This org · 8th
p10$21,382
p25$33,200
p50$43,975
p75$56,607
p90$74,242
$15,413

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 MI 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
International School Of Greenville SC$348,825 President $22,800 $23,654 2024
Operation Rebirth Inc OH$352,625 Exec Directo $35,000 $37,954 2023
Seton Foundation NH$344,088 Trustee/teacher $42,273 $39,964 2023
Phoenix Learning Academy FL$341,934 Director $23,181 $21,656 2024
Mysa School Inc DC$337,850 President $192,053 $163,280 2025
Summit Academy Of Southwest Ohio Inc OH$335,504 Administrator $48,250 $50,822 2024
The Trinity School Of Cartersville Inc GA$368,288 Director $38,000 $37,018 2025
Cambria School Of Excellence Inc NY$327,723 Director $24,000 $21,567 2024
Down To Earth Nonprofit OR$326,089 Executive Director $48,583 $44,867 2024
Sharon School Of Excellence FL$374,801 Ceo $162,332 $156,134 2023
Platt Park Children's Center CO$375,367 Director $58,167 $54,037 2025
Maranatha Academy Inc WI$323,010 Administratortrustee $32,011 $33,246 2024
Great River Montessori Inc WI$322,872 Secretary Co-founder $55,328 $59,160 2023
Aurora School VT$322,056 President $38,136 $37,189 2025
Crossroads Christian Academy TN$377,701 Headmaster $15,000 $15,680 2024
Al Judiy Academy CA$377,997 Head Of School $48,127 $41,328 2024
Acorn School Of Charleston SC$378,520 Administrator $90,000 $93,372 2024
Mercy Prepratory Academy TX$319,962 Founder $20,833 $21,336 2023
The Grove School AL$380,659 President $58,500 $62,850 2024
Reach Academy Inc FL$317,631 Director $55,814 $50,799 2025
Creekside Montessori AZ$382,172 Director $54,519 $53,682 2023
Redeemer Classical School Inc IN$382,827 President And Headmaster $53,750 $54,916 2025
Tears Inc OR$382,971 Executive Director $74,725 $69,010 2024
Big Leaf Montessori WA$314,984 Head Of Scho $35,395 $32,445 2023
Gardenview Montessori School WA$314,374 Director $54,819 $48,808 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MI cost of living and 2025 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 MI 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 default8th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)9th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted10th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted7th

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 (Melissa Morgan) 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 10, 2026, comparing compensation against 113 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B24), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $15,413 is reasonable (approximately the 8th 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 10, 2026.