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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Middle Ground Corporation

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 823634152
MN · NTEE X20
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Rhyan Buettner, Executive Director / CEO ($8,910) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 940 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 4th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

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

How comparable organizations were selected

940 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 940 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1 total compensation of comparable organizations → $386,127 $8,910
$17,37510th
$33,74025th
$57,968Median
$88,11975th
$118,65690th
$8,910This org · 4th
p10$17,375
p25$33,740
p50$57,968
p75$88,119
p90$118,656
$8,910

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 MN 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
Iglesia De Dios Peniel NC$384,060 Pastor $32,400 $33,881 2024
Unveiling Glory Inc VA$384,076 President $120,017 $120,740 2023
Word To Russia CA$384,186 Mysin $29,704 $26,724 2023
Pearl Haven Ministries Inc TX$383,369 President $31,600 $31,990 2024
The Sending Project KS$384,571 President/exec Director $83,217 $90,984 2024
Messengers Of Light Ministry Inc VA$384,722 President $43,500 $45,556 2022
Assembleia De Deus Luz Do Mundo Inc FL$383,143 President $1 $1 2022
Liquid Legacy TN$383,008 President $84,381 $89,763 2024
Blackwelder Ministries Inc GA$382,707 President $151,471 $154,134 2024
Reclaim Ministries Inc CO$385,307 President $100,800 $97,818 2024
Revelation Ministries Incorporated CA$382,335 President/founder $28,640 $25,028 2024
Legacy Builders Ministry MO$382,220 Executive Dir. $149,500 $164,982 2023
Campus Clubs Inc GA$381,827 Executive Di $64,084 $67,137 2023
Wings As Eagles Mission Air Service Inc WI$386,101 Vice President $23,981 $25,346 2024
The Mission Of Cor Jesu IL$386,186 President $30,333 $31,071 2023
Disciplemakers Hub NH$386,502 Director $18,000 $17,318 2023
Mission International Iglesia Jesucristo FL$380,925 Director $73,680 $72,118 2023
The Richard Mauthe Center For Faith WI$380,637 Executive Directorcfo $67,262 $69,258 2025
Ag Riverside In Phiadelphia PA$380,598 President $52,500 $54,550 2023
Grade A Plus Incorporated MO$387,405 Executive Di $51,480 $55,181 2024
Emerging Grace Ministries Inc TX$380,424 Founder And Executive Directo $25,179 $26,243 2023
Perspective Ministries Inc GA$387,594 Executive Dir. $75,900 $77,234 2024
Kamp Love AZ$387,633 Ceo $44,000 $42,825 2024
Church Reform & Revitalization Inc CO$387,866 Director $75,000 $74,931 2023
Exalt Church Inc VA$387,889 Director/lead Pastor $8,400 $8,450 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MN 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 MN 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 default4th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)4th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted6th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted4th

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 (Rhyan Buettner) 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 940 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (X20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $8,910 is reasonable (approximately the 4th 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.