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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

By Design Ministries International

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 208837575
IL · NTEE X20
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Jon Melin, Executive Director / CEO ($48,600) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 17 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 71st percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

17 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 17 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$731 total compensation of comparable organizations → $101,600 $48,600
$8,99610th
$18,01725th
$30,886Median
$50,21675th
$89,91890th
$48,600This org · 71st
p10$8,996
p25$18,017
p50$30,886
p75$50,216
p90$89,918
$48,600

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 IL 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
Audience Of One Inc IL$169,063 Executive Director $14,535 $14,964 2023
Latter Rain Ministries & Missions Inc IL$177,594 President, Director $4,610 $4,491 2025
Caritas Center For Christian Format IL$161,564 President $84,550 $82,371 2025
Iglesia Church Of Chirst IL$155,313 Barrerra $44,040 $44,040 2024
Thailand Sustainable Ministries IL$191,340 Director $48,775 $50,216 2023
Monarch Ministries IL$200,064 Co-executive Director $98,334 $101,239 2023
The Kesher Project IL$135,655 President $101,600 $101,600 2024
Cross Trail Outfitters Of IL$205,750 President $23,000 $23,000 2024
Philadelphia Coummunity Outreach IL$207,406 President $47,500 $47,500 2024
Hallstrom Homeschool Workshops Inc IL$124,911 Athletics Director $750 $731 2025
Faith Victory Ministries International Inc IL$223,495 President $28,970 $28,970 2024
Asian American Christian Collaborative IL$225,193 Cfo $17,500 $18,017 2023
Iglesia Evangelica Apostolica Del Nombre De Jesus Ee Uu Inc IL$236,261 Employee $30,000 $30,886 2023
Mark Amoateng Ministries Nfp IL$239,750 President $12,000 $12,000 2024
Created For More Ministries Nfp IL$243,085 President $27,461 $27,461 2024
Abundant Thrift Inc IL$250,270 Treasurer $31,200 $31,200 2024
Chicago Partnership For Church Planting IL$253,276 President $71,400 $73,509 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to IL 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 IL 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 default71st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)71st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted71st
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted71st

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 (Jon Melin) 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 17 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (X20) + IL + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $48,600 is reasonable (approximately the 71st 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.