Live preview — download the board-ready PDF to attach to your minutes.Download the free PDF
Email yourself a copy:
PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Business Leadership Council

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 275006375
IL · NTEE S40
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Montel L Gayles, Executive Director / CEO ($94,792) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 92 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 48th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Montel L Gayles — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

92 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 92 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$19,784 total compensation of comparable organizations → $1,127,988 $94,792
$41,82710th
$68,08825th
$99,659Median
$156,98175th
$213,47890th
$94,792This org · 48th
p10$41,827
p25$68,088
p50$99,659
p75$156,981
p90$213,478
$94,792

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
Commuter Rail Coalition VA$443,067 Ceo $200,000 $204,478 2022
Wyoming Capital Access WY$440,118 President $66,375 $70,222 2024
German American Business Council Inc DC$438,038 President/ceo $354,000 $315,980 2023
Greater Leimert Park Village & Crenshaw CA$437,333 Executive Dir. $60,000 $52,700 2023
Routt County Economic Development CO$436,373 Executive Dir. $99,225 $94,002 2024
Oregon Veterinary Medical Association OR$454,880 Ex Dir/treasure $89,977 $84,993 2023
Indo Am Chamber Of Commerce Of Greater Dallas TX$434,330 Executive Director $115,000 $113,655 2024
Volta Foundation Inc CA$460,846 Executive Director $70,000 $61,483 2023
Tech Serve International Inc AR$428,555 President $92,928 $103,201 2024
Battle Creek Area Assoc Of Realtors MI$427,595 Ceo $76,351 $80,160 2023
Business Network Of Emergency Resources NY$427,009 President / Ceo $90,000 $80,350 2024
Shelby County Tourism & Visitors' IN$422,361 Executive Di $62,875 $65,509 2024
Air Refueling Systems Advisory Group International TX$468,559 Chairman $66,539 $67,703 2023
Int'l Ind Showmen's Foundation Inc FL$469,399 Director $38,295 $36,593 2023
R Street Sacramento Partnership CA$420,086 Administrator $52,920 $45,148 2024
Positively Groundfish CA$420,000 Executive Director $122,003 $107,159 2023
Texas Coalition For Affordable Ins Solutions TX$420,000 Executive Director $201,178 $204,697 2023
United Steelworkers Local 11-13214 WY$470,965 President $37,637 $39,818 2024
Lake Champlain Opportunity Fund Inc VT$418,978 President $26,127 $25,981 2024
Professional Remodeling Organization Of Metro Dc Inc VA$416,132 Executive Director $110,000 $108,034 2023
Utah Ready Mixed Concrete Association UT$476,463 Executive Director $212,082 $214,454 2024
Us Coalition On Sustainability CT$477,294 Executive Director $160,000 $152,594 2023
Naiop - Wisconsin Chapter Inc WI$412,539 Exec. Director $177,418 $183,064 2024
Walworth County Economic Development WI$478,791 Executive Director $113,777 $117,398 2024
Rhode Island Assisted Living Association RI$481,607 Executive Director $83,673 $79,268 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to IL cost of living and 2023 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 default48th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)45th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted50th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted42nd

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 (Montel L Gayles) 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 92 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (S40), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $94,792 is reasonable (approximately the 48th 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.