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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Explore Ministries Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 471696560
AR · NTEE T30
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Randy Likens, Executive Director / CEO ($256,058) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 223 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 100th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

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

How comparable organizations were selected

223 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 223 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$669 total compensation of comparable organizations → $263,004 $256,058
$11,85910th
$22,54825th
$41,713Median
$67,83775th
$95,77590th
$256,058This org · 100th
p10$11,859
p25$22,548
p50$41,713
p75$67,837
p90$95,775
$256,058

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 AR 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
Kurt Warner First Things MO$343,174 Executive Director/secreta $69,914 $63,987 2024
Moebius Syndrome Foundation CO$338,157 Executive Director $90,018 $74,587 2024
School Of Choice Education Organization IL$345,648 Executive Director $125,000 $106,191 2024
South Wood County Recreation Center Inc WI$346,935 Treasurer $1,000 $902 2024
United Way Of Oxford & MS$347,526 Executive Di $77,330 $72,504 2025
Home Health Care Foundation PA$334,192 President $11,250 $9,694 2024
Community Foundation Of The Klamath OR$347,880 Executive Director $35,000 $28,086 2024
Gay For Good CA$348,240 Executive Director $88,535 $64,359 2025
The School Foundation Inc SC$348,704 Executive Director $76,331 $68,811 2024
Auxiliary To Greenville Health System SC$332,699 Board Member/gift Shop Manager (Until Aug 2024) $83,378 $75,164 2024
Maji Safi Group CO$331,801 President $36,000 $30,710 2023
Punks With Lunch Lansing MI$351,688 Executive Director $51,600 $46,023 2024
Bikes Blues & Barbeque Inc AR$329,936 Executive Di $34,100 $33,122 2024
Indie Chicas Fc Inc ID$329,064 Board Member & Chair $76,231 $70,074 2024
Breast Reconstruction Org Inc NY$352,975 Executive Director $27,875 $21,766 2024
Great Southwest Equestrian Foundation TX$328,505 Treasurer/director $23,832 $20,600 2024
Aqume Foundation MI$353,531 President $117,642 $104,927 2024
From Cradle To College Foundation FL$328,000 Executive Di $100,450 $79,440 2025
Appropriate Place Inc NJ$326,902 President $80,985 $62,482 2024
The Park People Of Milwaukee County Inc WI$355,037 Executive Dir. $37,188 $33,560 2024
National School Climate Center NY$355,465 Co-executive Director $39,570 $30,898 2024
Hunt Of A Lifetime PA$357,048 President & $4,327 $3,729 2024
Jarrard Burch Foundationinc GA$357,896 Executive Di $38,812 $34,718 2023
Water From Wine WA$358,236 Executive Director $6,458 $5,144 2023
The Elmore Bolling Initiative Inc AL$323,502 Treasurer $4,000 $3,734 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to AR 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 AR 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 default100th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)100th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted100th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted88th

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 (Randy Likens) 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 223 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (T30), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $256,058 is reasonable (approximately the 100th 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.