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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Mary's Choices Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 454787341
KS · NTEE P40
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Melissa Colbern, Executive Director / CEO ($40,655) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 180 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 35th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

180 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 180 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,846 total compensation of comparable organizations → $142,210 $40,655
$17,97410th
$32,39125th
$49,827Median
$66,00675th
$83,58890th
$40,655This org · 35th
p10$17,974
p25$32,391
p50$49,827
p75$66,006
p90$83,588
$40,655

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 KS 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
The Guiding Star Project MN$325,440 Ceo $30,000 $28,249 2023
Hoke Domestic Violence & Sexual Assualt Center Inc NC$327,270 Executive Director $24,433 $23,368 2024
Leon County Domestic Violence Advocates Inc TX$328,270 Program Director $80,775 $77,001 2023
Foundation Restoration Inc NC$319,339 Chief Executive Officers $58,416 $57,521 2023
Link Inc IA$318,577 Executive Director $49,410 $51,556 2023
Tates Place TX$318,493 President/ceo $23,000 $21,296 2024
Babe Whitley County Inc IN$330,059 Executive Director $34,337 $33,518 2024
Raising Readers In Story County IA$317,301 Executive Director $71,338 $70,438 2025
In The City For Good TX$316,769 President/ceo/director $52,000 $48,148 2024
Family Focus Christian Counseling Inc CA$332,979 Executive Dir. $22,085 $18,173 2023
Union Station Of Logan County OH$333,760 Director $46,679 $47,116 2023
Ritchie County Family Resource Network Inc WV$313,240 Director $35,224 $36,345 2023
The Nest Frsc WA$335,588 Ceo $7,183 $5,953 2024
The Children And Family Connection AL$335,749 Executive Director $49,737 $49,737 2024
The Circle Family Center CA$336,461 Director $45,677 $36,509 2024
Answers For Life AZ$336,652 Executive Director $28,347 $25,235 2024
Carsons Village TX$309,758 Coo $61,610 $57,046 2024
Beyond Pregnancy Care Inc FL$338,985 Executive Director $70,542 $61,341 2024
Hope Unexpected MI$308,671 Executive Director $49,816 $49,000 2023
Lumpkin County Family Connection GA$339,834 Exec Directo $43,607 $39,540 2025
Yes 2 Kollege Educational CA$306,956 President & Ceo $14,500 $11,932 2023
Ethaar Inc GA$300,589 Executive Director $49,039 $45,641 2024
Texas Community Counseling TX$347,313 Executive Director $7,318 $6,776 2024
James Samaritan LA$348,641 Executive Director $45,000 $45,866 2024
African Girls Hope Foundation Inc GA$348,994 President $32,750 $31,381 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to KS 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 KS 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 default35th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)34th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted38th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted33rd

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 (Melissa Colbern) 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 180 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (P40), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $40,655 is reasonable (approximately the 35th 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.