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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Firstlight International

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 311799888
PA · NTEE X99
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Dan Ecker, Executive Director / CEO ($17,280) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 58 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 26th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

58 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 58 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$157 total compensation of comparable organizations → $132,192 $17,280
$6,68110th
$17,30325th
$34,417Median
$59,42875th
$75,89090th
$17,280This org · 26th
p10$6,681
p25$17,303
p50$34,417
p75$59,428
p90$75,890
$17,280

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 PA 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
G3 Experience Inc TX$102,448 President $54,000 $55,767 2023
Inner Vision Spiritual Life Maintenance Inc MD$102,772 President $18,635 $17,470 2024
Ross Family Ministries NC$105,754 President $62,500 $66,671 2023
South Mountain Family Camp NC$105,983 Executive Director $18,063 $18,716 2024
Orchard Ministries NM$96,354 President $43,314 $46,716 2024
Youth On The Move Usa Inc FL$96,166 President $36,000 $34,914 2023
The Theosophy Company CA$95,337 Trustee $31,200 $27,016 2024
Barbara Yandell Ministries TX$108,559 Pres. & Rev. $58,636 $58,817 2024
Danny Oertli Ministries Inc CO$109,813 President $57,126 $56,551 2023
Partners In Christ TN$93,259 Executive Director $35,000 $37,982 2023
Fellowship Of The Inexhaustible Cup VA$92,814 Manager $8,500 $8,230 2024
American Housing Foundation I Inc GA$92,457 Dr/president $131,107 $132,192 2024
Tikvat Am Yisrael Inc NV$91,867 President $30,000 $30,155 2024
Spiritual Counterfeits Project Inc CA$91,159 President $48,000 $40,492 2025
Heavenly Grace Ministries Inc NY$113,062 President $33,000 $29,902 2024
Mahayogi Yoga Mission Inc NY$113,198 President $5,000 $4,665 2023
Institute For The Public Understanding Of The Bible AL$89,585 Executive Director & President Of The Board $78,400 $87,442 2023
St Joseph Of Optina Russian Orthodox Church VA$88,739 Priest $15,600 $15,551 2023
Little Pee Dee Baptist Association SC$88,585 Executive Board Member $150 $157 2024
Get The Word Out Inc CO$115,218 President $41,670 $40,067 2024
Church United CA$116,515 Vice President $45,000 $38,965 2024
Grad Resources TX$117,974 Chairman $72,000 $72,222 2024
Beloved Warriors Inc IN$85,303 Founder/ceo $36,500 $38,598 2024
Plainview Meditation Center Inc NY$84,512 President $4,800 $4,237 2025
Mt Zion Pentecostal Churches Of God NJ$119,356 President $28,600 $27,443 2022

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to PA 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 PA 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 default26th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)24th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted33rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted22nd

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 (Dan Ecker) 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 58 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (X99), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $17,280 is reasonable (approximately the 26th 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.