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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Blue Ocean Faith

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 810857897
CA · NTEE X21
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of David Schmelzer, Executive Director / CEO ($124,669) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 179 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 96th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

Benchmarked executive: David Schmelzer — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

179 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 179 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2,920 total compensation of comparable organizations → $180,790 $124,669
$18,33710th
$28,84225th
$44,198Median
$71,96675th
$98,10290th
$124,669This org · 96th
p10$18,337
p25$28,842
p50$44,198
p75$71,966
p90$98,102
$124,669

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 CA 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
Apache Youth Ministries Inc AZ$152,287 Program Coordinator $43,390 $48,326 2023
Jay Eberly Ministries Inc IA$151,928 Director $57,147 $70,384 2024
Ministerio Internasional Puert NJ$151,578 President $41,600 $43,013 2023
One Accord Ministries CO$151,007 Office Manager $28,000 $31,093 2023
Joshua And Caleb Ministries Inc PA$155,349 Chairman $44,791 $51,728 2023
Cbs Lebanon Inc TX$150,137 President & Ceo $102,000 $118,160 2023
Jewish Center And Federation Of The NY$155,588 Executive Director (Part Year) $18,795 $19,668 2023
Biblical Nouthetic Ministries NY$149,599 Sec/treas $33,800 $34,356 2024
City Of Zion Church MD$155,928 Pastor $65,275 $70,673 2023
Saul To Paul Ministries IN$155,939 Director $28,844 $34,215 2024
Ministerio Internacional Evangelio MA$149,224 President $32,600 $32,953 2024
Culturebound Inc OR$157,370 Exectuive Director $55,200 $56,175 2025
Tommy Bates Ministries Inc KY$147,112 President/trus $14,000 $17,419 2023
David Crain New Life Ministries TX$146,736 President $34,054 $38,318 2024
New Sower Christian Church Cor NY$146,635 Teacher Minist $28,300 $29,615 2023
Trowbridge Ministries AZ$146,613 President $32,299 $34,941 2024
Friends Church Extension Fund OR$146,565 Treasurer $10,000 $10,446 2024
Palisades Church A Nj Nonprofit Cor NJ$146,305 President $40,000 $41,359 2023
Restoration Ministries Inc AZ$145,293 Director $55,000 $61,256 2023
Joshua's Way Inc SC$145,119 President $16,500 $19,363 2024
International Ethiopian Evangelical Church Germantown MD$160,973 Pastor $24,058 $26,047 2023
Ministerio Internacional El Gran Yo Soy Inc IN$144,409 Trustees $12,200 $14,899 2023
Biblical Faith Ministries Inc TX$144,092 Office Manager $38,196 $44,248 2023
Tom Farrell Evangelistic Ministries Inc NC$161,436 Exec Dir $18,000 $20,921 2024
Withhim Church NV$143,842 Pastor $24,000 $27,860 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CA 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 CA 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 default96th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)98th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted96th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted95th

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 (David Schmelzer) 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 179 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (X21), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $124,669 is reasonable (approximately the 96th 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.