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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Lowcountry Maritime School

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 364675458
SC · NTEE B99
FY ending 2025-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Sam Gervais, Executive Director / CEO ($64,414) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 427 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 63rd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

427 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 427 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$124 total compensation of comparable organizations → $279,379 $64,414
$13,59710th
$31,23225th
$52,095Median
$75,76275th
$103,11590th
$64,414This org · 63rd
p10$13,597
p25$31,232
p50$52,095
p75$75,762
p90$103,115
$64,414

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
Harbaugh Coaching Academy Inc MD$298,889 Secretary $25,717 $23,656 2024
Equalai Charitable Foundation DC$300,000 Director, President $16,788 $14,495 2024
Justice And Soul Foundation WA$298,489 Executive Director $35,000 $31,742 2023
Project Diva MN$300,416 Executive Director $80,495 $76,241 2025
Marshallese American Network For Interacting Together OR$300,457 Executive Director/secretary $67,800 $61,950 2024
262 Foundation Inc MA$300,469 President $42,000 $37,134 2024
Capacity Catalyst TX$298,161 Executive Director $40,625 $41,165 2023
C2e Incorporated GA$300,619 Finance Dir $6,572 $6,502 2024
Eastern Educational Resource OR$301,148 President $52,500 $49,387 2023
Westminster Afc Inc CO$297,458 Executive Director $15,231 $14,794 2023
Pegasus Media Project TX$301,363 Co-founder Exec Dir $55,978 $53,674 2025
Gods' Warriors Inc GA$297,298 President $72,000 $71,230 2024
Educare Central Maine ME$296,987 Secretary/treasurer $29,486 $29,050 2024
Harpswell Neck Fire & Rescue Inc ME$296,538 Fire Chief $6,000 $5,912 2024
Bad Girl Ventures Inc KY$296,082 President & Ceo $109,199 $115,432 2024
Game Meets Game Inc MD$295,966 President & Ceo $58,253 $53,585 2024
Cincinnati Interfaith Workers Cente OH$302,833 Executive Di $75,561 $78,743 2024
Being Built Together CA$302,850 President $65,695 $55,815 2024
National Association Of DC$295,686 Executive Director $6,630 $5,893 2023
West Virginians For Affordable WV$303,490 Executive Director $103,300 $110,048 2024
Impact Bay Area CA$294,978 Executive Dir. $62,184 $52,832 2024
Community Enhancement Foundation Of Plains KS$304,277 Member $6,507 $7,120 2023
Fletcher Park Baptist Youth Foundation Inc WY$294,388 Director, Secretary $48,812 $52,946 2023
Red Salmon Arts TX$293,557 Executive Dir. $62,700 $61,710 2024
College For Kids MO$305,159 Director $22,000 $22,926 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 2025 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 default63rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)60th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted65th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted57th

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 (Sam Gervais) 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 427 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B99), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $64,414 is reasonable (approximately the 63rd 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.