Live preview — download the board-ready PDF to attach to your minutes.Download the free PDF
Email yourself a copy:
PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Lepanto Institute

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 472472896
VA · NTEE X20
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Michael Hichborn, Executive Director / CEO ($81,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 23 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 70th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

23 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 23 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$8,648 total compensation of comparable organizations → $128,900 $81,000
$21,77610th
$36,00025th
$46,621Median
$83,86875th
$116,88090th
$81,000This org · 70th
p10$21,776
p25$36,000
p50$46,621
p75$83,868
p90$116,880
$81,000

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 VA 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
Urban Discovery Ministries Inc VA$418,346 President/ce $49,347 $49,347 2024
Wavestarters A Nonprofit Corporation VA$443,087 Executive Director $120,434 $120,434 2024
Noble Warriors Inc VA$410,802 President $94,040 $94,040 2024
Danette Crawford Ministries Inc VA$395,256 President $24,750 $25,481 2023
Exalt Church Inc VA$387,889 Director/lead Pastor $8,400 $8,648 2023
Messengers Of Light Ministry Inc VA$384,722 President $43,500 $46,621 2022
Unveiling Glory Inc VA$384,076 President $120,017 $123,562 2023
Prakash Ministries VA$478,141 Officer $36,300 $36,300 2024
Ministerio International Roca De Salvacion Apostoles Y Profetas VA$482,970 Director $39,286 $40,446 2023
Uncharted Waters VA$373,370 President $69,037 $69,037 2024
Newport News Potters House VA$491,609 President/pastor $20,850 $20,850 2024
Servants Ministry VA$359,563 Executive Director $80,003 $82,366 2023
Christian Scholars Network Inc VA$349,857 Prior Exec D $65,403 $63,717 2025
Eastern Dominican Christian Mission VA$521,119 Executive Dir. $36,000 $36,000 2024
The Compassion Advocacy Network Inc VA$322,949 Program Manager, Bookkeeping $13,206 $13,596 2023
Korean Evangelical Church Of VA$546,941 Pastor $36,000 $36,000 2024
Least Of These Ministry VA$297,374 President $45,000 $45,000 2024
Assisting Indigenous Ministries International Inc VA$560,897 President $48,000 $48,000 2024
Global Mobilization Ministries Inc VA$566,848 Director Of Mission $85,369 $85,369 2024
Keep The Faith Audio Tape Ministry VA$602,966 Director $99,720 $102,665 2023
Theological Horizons VA$606,912 Executive Director $132,310 $128,900 2025
Behold Ministries Inc VA$625,799 Executive Di $39,000 $37,995 2025
Love Africa Mission VA$635,755 President $28,000 $28,000 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to VA 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 VA 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 default70th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)74th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted74th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted70th

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 (Michael Hichborn) 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 23 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (X20) + VA + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $81,000 is reasonable (approximately the 70th 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.