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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Thistlebend Ministries Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 450571304
KY · NTEE X200
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Laurie Aker, Executive Director / CEO ($32,500) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 418 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 42nd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

418 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 418 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1 total compensation of comparable organizations → $440,515 $32,500
$7,54910th
$21,19425th
$38,053Median
$68,39275th
$97,85290th
$32,500This org · 42nd
p10$7,549
p25$21,194
p50$38,053
p75$68,392
p90$97,852
$32,500

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 KY 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
Loeber Ministries Inc OK$147,344 President $46,450 $47,607 2024
Taylor Ministries Inc GA$147,173 President $60,000 $56,153 2024
Move Church MO$147,618 President $20,177 $19,891 2024
Revelation 320 Missionary Ministry And Biblical Teachings Inc FL$146,961 Senior Pastor $15,600 $13,641 2024
Soulteam Inc OK$147,942 President $70,400 $72,154 2024
Red Ink Revival Inc KS$148,011 President $118,264 $118,921 2024
Herrin Ministries Inc TN$148,384 President $81,000 $79,249 2024
Richard Bush Renewal Center MI$148,384 Executive Director $13,000 $12,858 2023
Religious Of The Incarnate Word CA$148,616 Chief Executive Officer $21,000 $16,878 2024
Power Of One Christian Coaching And Outreach Ministries NJ$148,692 President $31,700 $26,344 2024
Alandi Ashram Alandi Ayurveda Clinic CO$148,890 Executive Director $16,500 $14,726 2024
International Praise Harvest Ministries MD$145,600 General Overseer $30,341 $27,182 2023
New Paradigm Christian Church IN$145,593 Pastor $35,296 $34,645 2024
Robby Mitchell Ministries Inc TX$149,390 President $131,111 $122,074 2024
Shekinah Glory Ministries LA$145,272 President $55,235 $58,283 2023
Jesus Spoken Here Ministries Inc GA$145,257 President $94,380 $88,329 2024
Jonathan Del Turco Ministries Inc MA$144,922 President $140,625 $117,621 2024
Ron Jones Ministries Inc VA$144,758 Secretary $6,250 $5,472 2025
Joanna Beck Ministries AR$149,997 Treasurer/secretary $7,407 $7,979 2023
Messianic Ministry To Israel TN$150,174 Executive Director $63,535 $62,161 2024
Jim Gilbert Ministries Inc FL$150,494 President $6,470 $5,824 2023
Strategies4life Inc FL$143,943 Director $2,000 $1,749 2024
Shade Tree Ministries SC$151,034 President $111,700 $108,464 2024
Mission 15-21 OR$143,482 President $45,360 $39,208 2024
Indiana Association Of Christian Schools Inc IN$151,238 Executive Director $58,000 $55,463 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to KY 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 KY 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 default42nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)39th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted47th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted41st

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 (Laurie Aker) 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 418 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (X20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $32,500 is reasonable (approximately the 42nd 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.