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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Detroit Musicians Fund

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 205320451
MI · NTEE B90
FY ending 2024-03-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Ralphe Armstrong, Executive Director / CEO ($1,131) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 56 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 11th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Ralphe Armstrong — reported title “CHAIR”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

56 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 56 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$202 total compensation of comparable organizations → $221,477 $1,131
$2,50310th
$6,24225th
$16,068Median
$40,73675th
$80,37590th
$1,131This org · 11th
p10$2,503
p25$6,242
p50$16,068
p75$40,736
p90$80,375
$1,131

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
West Hills Christian School Foundation OR$16,427 Director $6,981 $6,466 2023
Reformation Seminary AZ$16,407 Ceo $15,000 $13,976 2024
Southern Association Of Colleges GA$16,218 President $72,013 $72,223 2023
Huntington Beach City School District CA$16,902 President $11,027 $9,225 2024
American Schools Association Inc NV$16,138 Chairman $42,000 $39,736 2025
Grand Valley Research Corporation MI$16,064 President $38,948 $38,948 2024
Edward J Robson Family Foundation AZ$15,882 President $924 $861 2024
Mabel K Toops Scholarship Trus IN$17,308 Truwstee $250 $255 2024
Univ Of South Alabama Foundation AL$15,718 Director/pre $62,942 $65,879 2024
Wise Earth School Of Ayurveda NC$17,477 President $22,000 $22,023 2024
Read Aloud America Inc HI$15,520 Vice-preside $9,325 $8,327 2023
The Collaborative Charter Services CA$15,428 Chief Executive Officer $5,361 $4,617 2023
Fred And Gertrude England Hospitality NY$15,358 Treasurer $6,960 $6,274 2023
Global Ou Inc OK$15,315 Director/president $41,707 $45,808 2023
Energetics Education CO$14,775 Director $100,000 $95,644 2023
Tlbu Foundation Inc NJ$18,289 Secretary/treasurer $30,000 $25,282 2025
The Ernest Becker Foundation WA$18,459 Executive Director $14,900 $13,306 2023
Green Street Academy Foundation Inc MD$14,490 Former Board Trustee $6,221 $5,801 2023
Act For Women And Girls CA$14,279 Executive Director $85,544 $69,721 2025
Building Industry Association Of OH$18,843 Executive Director $16,606 $17,543 2023
Dr J E Green Educational Trust AL$18,849 Trustee $11,975 $12,904 2023
South Central Library System Foundation WI$18,899 Secretary $32,631 $33,992 2023
Sherburne Area Local Development NY$14,098 Ceo $40,316 $36,338 2023
Faribault Rotary Youth Services Inc MN$19,024 President $6,400 $5,969 2025
Spotsylvania Education Foundation VA$19,043 Executive Director $5,049 $4,862 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MI 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 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 default11th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)11th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted57th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted9th

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 (Ralphe Armstrong) 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 56 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (B), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $1,131 is reasonable (approximately the 11th 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.