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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Learning Nest Cincinnati

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 991824303
OH · NTEE B21
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Kelly Braun, Executive Director / CEO ($35,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 275 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 30th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Kelly Braun — reported title “DIRECTOR PRESIDENT”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

275 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 275 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$536 total compensation of comparable organizations → $141,667 $35,000
$15,04810th
$30,63725th
$42,326Median
$55,25775th
$69,40590th
$35,000This org · 30th
p10$15,048
p25$30,637
p50$42,326
p75$55,257
p90$69,405
$35,000

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 OH 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
Lord Of Life Christian Preschool OH$318,105 Education Director $41,886 $43,123 2023
Love And Learn Preschool Inc NJ$318,739 Director $38,896 $32,788 2024
Childrens Genesis Inc TX$316,975 President $40,014 $37,791 2024
The Children's Farm Inc MN$320,352 President $13,200 $11,997 2025
Mtvc Inc MD$315,504 President $8,300 $7,543 2023
Pompton Plains Preschool Parents Association NJ$315,122 Director $63,439 $53,478 2024
Morning Glory Enterprises CA$321,433 Ceo Member At Large $75,604 $61,638 2024
Puget Sound Christian School WA$314,981 President $5,019 $4,134 2025
Peace Unlimited Corporation NY$322,834 President/director $53,404 $46,908 2023
Rockville Community Nursery School MD$313,087 Director $52,678 $47,872 2023
Pathways Preschool NE$312,448 President $29,500 $29,957 2024
Happy Days Learning Center Inc MN$312,408 Director $32,632 $30,443 2024
Trinity Preschool Inc MN$324,730 Executive Dir. $74,000 $67,257 2025
Altadena Nursery School Inc CA$326,868 Director $47,895 $38,041 2025
Village Early Learning Center VT$309,521 Former Program Director $30,240 $27,997 2025
Susan Phillips Day School CA$308,750 Chairman $140,500 $111,593 2025
Community Farm School Inc MA$327,842 Clerk $24,576 $20,851 2024
Children's Rocky Mountain School Inc CO$328,351 Executive Director $65,341 $59,155 2024
Suburban Nursery School Inc MD$328,391 Teacher $36,658 $33,314 2023
School Of The Beartooths MT$328,664 Executive Director $52,082 $54,571 2023
Harmony Day School KY$307,571 Vice President $47,714 $47,152 2025
Gazelle Creative Learning School CA$329,372 President $102,550 $83,606 2024
Dayspring Childrens Center OH$329,522 President $84,600 $82,419 2025
Redwood Parents Nursery School CA$306,383 Director $38,839 $30,848 2025
East End Preschool TX$330,142 Director $44,520 $40,962 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to OH 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 OH 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 default30th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)26th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted31st
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted30th

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 (Kelly Braun) 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 275 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B21), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $35,000 is reasonable (approximately the 30th 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.