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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Midlands Business Leadership Group

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 201609456
SC · NTEE S41
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Ashton Pearson, Executive Director / CEO ($95,677) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 353 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 86th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Ashton Pearson — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

353 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 353 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1 total compensation of comparable organizations → $254,922 $95,677
$10,55410th
$31,23625th
$56,297Median
$76,80075th
$105,98390th
$95,677This org · 86th
p10$10,554
p25$31,236
p50$56,297
p75$76,800
p90$105,983
$95,677

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 SC 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
Colorado Civil Justice League CO$185,106 Executive Director $77,000 $72,863 2023
Medical Toxicology Foundation AZ$185,030 Executive Director/board M $39,714 $36,611 2024
Forward Cody Wyoming Inc WY$186,866 Ceo $146,875 $150,757 2024
North Carolina Association Of Workforce NC$186,968 Executive Director $67,733 $65,356 2025
Twin-training To Work An Industry Niche NC$187,199 President & Executive Director $60,550 $61,742 2023
Butler County Medical Society OH$183,653 Exec Assistant $15,000 $15,229 2024
Home Builders Association Of Hickory-catawba Valley Inc NC$183,432 Executive Officer $56,782 $57,900 2023
Acec-ri American Council Of RI$183,283 Executive Di $75,000 $70,971 2023
Adult Day Health Care Council Inc NY$183,162 Executive Director $7,024 $6,084 2024
Camara De Comercio Hispana TX$187,890 Executive Di $24,122 $23,129 2024
Consortium For Universal Healthcare DE$188,050 Executive Director $102,000 $95,734 2024
The Hundred Year Association Of Ny Inc CT$182,749 President $35,250 $31,681 2024
Texas Business Roundtable TX$182,354 Exec Director $66,000 $65,153 2023
Mountain Laurel Chamber Of Commerce PA$182,329 Executive Director $34,798 $33,263 2024
Vienna Business Association VA$189,060 Executive Di $80,222 $72,333 2025
Anderson Area Chamber Of Commerce OH$189,133 Executive Di $90,024 $94,096 2023
Wine Artisans Of Santa Lucia Highlands CA$189,600 Executive Dir. $101,750 $84,219 2024
St Bernard Chamber Of Commerce LA$181,286 Ceo $60,833 $64,209 2024
Lanesboro Area Chamber Of Commerce MN$190,035 Executive Director $40,480 $38,341 2024
Virginia Beach Restaurant Association VA$190,615 Executive Director $68,383 $65,159 2023
Mercer Area Chamber Of Commerce WI$190,955 Executive Director $52,696 $52,753 2024
Greene County Economic Development Corp IN$179,871 Executive Director $71,087 $71,858 2024
Great Lakes Bay Regional Alliance MI$191,747 Executive Di $95,700 $94,684 2024
Green Motors Practices Group ID$191,962 Executive Director $64,000 $65,260 2024
Utah Petroleum Marketers UT$178,928 State Execut $69,000 $67,693 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to SC 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 SC 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 default86th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)83rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted87th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted82nd

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 (Ashton Pearson) 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 353 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (S41), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $95,677 is reasonable (approximately the 86th 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.