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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Chelsea Area Chamber Of Commerce

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 382635765
MI · NTEE S40
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Terris Ahrens, Executive Director / CEO ($72,870) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 90 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 34th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Terris Ahrens — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

90 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 90 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$5,020 total compensation of comparable organizations → $309,853 $72,870
$44,02410th
$65,82825th
$89,226Median
$139,26975th
$200,53490th
$72,870This org · 34th
p10$44,024
p25$65,828
p50$89,226
p75$139,269
p90$200,534
$72,870

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
Hawaii Masons And Plasterers Union HI$370,416 Executive Director $180,031 $156,159 2024
Ohio Alliance Of Ymca's OH$369,773 Chief Executive Officer $223,730 $236,360 2023
Aec Unites DC$375,265 Executive Director $114,357 $100,096 2023
Isa Michigan MI$367,250 Executive Director $85,000 $87,511 2023
Michigan Retailers Foundation MI$365,589 President/ce $59,220 $60,969 2023
Mississippi Gaming & Hospitality As MS$382,314 Executive Director $160,417 $178,208 2023
Imperial County Association Of Realtors CA$354,935 Chief Executive Officer $79,960 $66,894 2024
The Construction Institute Inc CT$354,876 Executive Director $74,200 $69,394 2023
Ingersoll Grand Self-supported Municipal IA$354,444 Executive Dir. $76,987 $79,564 2025
Michigan Israel Business Accelerator MI$353,207 Chief Executive Officer (End Jan 2025) $19,401 $19,401 2024
Irrigation & Electrical Districts AZ$349,001 Executive Di $308,828 $287,751 2024
Queen City Angels OH$395,808 Executive Director $180,560 $185,281 2024
Sona Songwriters Of North America CA$406,348 Trustee $78,462 $65,641 2024
Pennsyvania Private Equity Network PA$408,392 Executive Director $122,296 $118,157 2024
Mississippi Apartment Association MS$335,360 Association Director $58,803 $65,325 2023
Girard Area Industrial Development Corp PA$333,361 Chairman $73,442 $70,956 2024
Pike District Partnership Inc MD$332,944 Executive Director $90,000 $81,519 2024
Tic Council Americas Inc DC$331,703 Executive Director-til 8/2023 $99,221 $86,848 2023
Naiop - Wisconsin Chapter Inc WI$412,539 Exec. Director $177,418 $179,514 2024
The Cannabis Alliance WA$331,103 Executive Dir. $45,833 $40,930 2023
Carroll County Economic Development GA$330,816 Exec Committee $237,071 $237,763 2023
African American Real Estate DC$328,179 President $46,500 $40,701 2023
Professional Remodeling Organization Of Metro Dc Inc VA$416,132 Executive Director $110,000 $105,939 2023
Lake Champlain Opportunity Fund Inc VT$418,978 President $26,127 $25,478 2024
Positively Groundfish CA$420,000 Executive Director $122,003 $105,082 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 default34th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)30th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted36th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted29th

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 (Terris Ahrens) 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 90 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (S40), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $72,870 is reasonable (approximately the 34th 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.