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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Michigan Economic Developers

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 382900929
MI · NTEE S30Z
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of John Avery Ended, Executive Director / CEO ($117,108) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 196 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 76th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

196 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 196 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$196 total compensation of comparable organizations → $426,154 $117,108
$25,32410th
$54,39825th
$83,177Median
$112,90075th
$142,95090th
$117,108This org · 76th
p10$25,324
p25$54,398
p50$83,177
p75$112,900
p90$142,950
$117,108

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
Economic Development Corporation UT$465,280 Director $107,039 $106,138 2023
Civstart Corp DC$465,744 Ceo $96,900 $82,382 2023
Industry University Research Center Inc PR$467,060 Executive Director $140,176 $136,154 2024
Buffalo Niagara Film Commission Inc NY$459,494 President $110,892 $94,297 2024
Laurel District Association CA$468,876 Executive Dir. $52,083 $42,322 2024
Division Midway Alliance For OR$458,798 Executive Dir. $90,189 $78,816 2024
Identity Clark County WA$458,605 Policy And Projects Coordinator $2,143 $1,859 2023
Gibson County Economic Development Corporation IN$457,365 Executive Director $107,796 $106,974 2024
Startup Columbus Inc GA$473,042 Executive Dir. $98,329 $93,039 2024
Economic Development Corporation Of New CT$453,860 Administrator $127,844 $112,800 2024
Downtown Management Corporation Of Fort FL$453,787 President $109,750 $97,022 2024
Sustainable Communities Fund CA$474,274 Chief Executive Officer $269,537 $219,023 2024
Built Oregon OR$474,305 Director $15,000 $13,109 2024
Prospera Georgia Llc GA$452,756 Ceo/president $44,863 $42,449 2024
Operation Reboot CA$452,245 Chief Executive Officer $169,982 $142,205 2023
Las Vegas Employment Project NV$451,865 President $16,195 $14,883 2025
Grow Licking County OH$451,225 Executive Director $120,000 $123,137 2023
Xcelerate Women OR$450,105 Executive Dir. $94,938 $82,966 2024
Franklin Southampton Economic VA$449,138 President $95,605 $86,868 2024
Delaware County Local Development Corp NY$448,417 Executive Direc $11,295 $9,605 2024
Forge Greensboro NC$448,207 Executive Director $46,667 $46,717 2023
North Central Montana Economic MT$479,833 Executive Direc $80,000 $83,548 2023
Pennsylvania Route 6 Alliance PA$445,943 Executive Director $59,048 $55,413 2024
Greater Sarasota Chamber Of Commerce FL$484,842 President $27,727 $25,236 2023
Just Economics NC$441,994 Executive Director $73,343 $71,315 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MI 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 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 default76th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)74th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted53rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted67th

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 (John Avery Ended) 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 196 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (S30), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $117,108 is reasonable (approximately the 76th 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.