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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Big Great Lakes

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 800558345
IL · NTEE X20
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Mike Sooley, Executive Director / CEO ($49,374) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 28 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 43rd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Mike Sooley — reported title “MANAGER”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

28 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 28 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$5,828 total compensation of comparable organizations → $189,483 $49,374
$17,95710th
$29,53525th
$58,585Median
$73,87375th
$118,15690th
$49,374This org · 43rd
p10$17,957
p25$29,535
p50$58,585
p75$73,873
p90$118,156
$49,374

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 IL 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
Greenhouse In Paris Nfp IL$325,542 Pres/chair $115,959 $115,959 2023
Lombard Mennonite Peace Center IL$325,800 Executive Dir. $126,923 $123,282 2024
Come International Baptist Ministries IL$326,294 President & Ceo $6,000 $5,828 2024
Tyler Feller Ministries IL$311,620 President $18,153 $18,153 2023
Coach Approach Ministries IL$334,828 President $65,946 $64,054 2024
Pioneer Clubs IL$305,696 President $110,200 $107,038 2024
Nations Ablaze International IL$342,634 President $60,000 $58,279 2024
Good Samaritan Ministries Of The IL$300,026 Executive Dir. $59,650 $59,650 2023
Keep Believing Ministries IL$347,348 President Ceo, Director $195,080 $189,483 2024
Small World Connections Ministry IL$347,534 Executive Director $69,884 $69,884 2023
Orchard Ministry Development IL$347,560 Executive Director (Thru May 2024) $25,000 $23,657 2025
Believers Voice Network IL$348,724 President $38,480 $36,413 2025
Police Chaplains Ministry Fund IL$356,777 Fund Director $152,066 $147,703 2024
Bvm Helping Hands IL$288,029 Ceo And President $81,293 $81,293 2023
God Centered Life Ministries IL$371,243 President Founding Director $62,078 $62,078 2023
Carey International Pastoral Traini IL$266,488 Vice Preside $88,596 $88,596 2023
The Mission Of Cor Jesu IL$386,186 President $30,333 $30,333 2023
Chicago Partnership For Church Planting IL$253,276 President $71,400 $71,400 2023
Abundant Thrift Inc IL$250,270 Treasurer $31,200 $30,305 2024
Tiffany Jordan Ministries IL$399,108 President $66,000 $64,106 2024
Created For More Ministries Nfp IL$243,085 President $27,461 $26,673 2024
Mark Amoateng Ministries Nfp IL$239,750 President $12,000 $11,656 2024
Global Intercultural Services IL$407,749 President $43,750 $42,495 2024
Iglesia Evangelica Apostolica Del Nombre De Jesus Ee Uu Inc IL$236,261 Employee $30,000 $30,000 2023
Chicago Chinese Christian Missions IL$409,420 Executive Director $57,529 $57,529 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to IL 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 IL 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 default43rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)43rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted50th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted43rd

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 (Mike Sooley) 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 28 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (X20) + IL + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $49,374 is reasonable (approximately the 43rd 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.