Executive Director / CEO
This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Melissa Gelner, Executive Director / CEO ($39,771) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 374 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.
Compensation sits at approximately the 42nd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range
Benchmarked executive: Melissa Gelner — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.
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 MO cost of living (BEA RPP, 2023) and to its filing year (CPI-U); the reported amount is on each linked 990.
| Organization | State | Revenue | Matched title | Comp (reported) | Comp (adjusted) | FY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Re Coded Co | NY | $208,688 | Ceo | $122,316 | $98,748 | 2025 |
| Ace Project Inc | KY | $208,639 | Executive Director | $50,000 | $49,264 | 2024 |
| Promise Youth Development Inc | NC | $209,535 | Executive Director | $73,749 | $71,946 | 2023 |
| On Mission Martial Arts Inc | FL | $209,821 | President | $57,100 | $49,192 | 2024 |
| Achla Alianza Chicana Hisp Lat Amer Alli | MN | $209,950 | Executive Dir. | $58,666 | $53,161 | 2024 |
| 10-10 Academy | CA | $207,742 | Secretary | $53,403 | $41,199 | 2025 |
| Girls On The Run Of Wnc Inc | NC | $210,221 | Executive Dir. | $45,001 | $42,642 | 2024 |
| P-town Car Club Inc | IL | $210,562 | Executive Director | $130,680 | $121,299 | 2023 |
| Helping Our People Eat | CA | $210,750 | Ceo | $18,626 | $14,750 | 2024 |
| Central Area Youth League Inc | LA | $206,813 | League Commissioner | $9,000 | $9,357 | 2023 |
| Global Unites Inc | MA | $211,115 | President | $24,000 | $19,778 | 2024 |
| Gift4s Giving Individuals The | TX | $211,333 | Executive Dir. | $50,000 | $45,868 | 2024 |
| Colors Plus | OH | $211,438 | President | $43,125 | $41,888 | 2024 |
| Franklin Kids | CA | $206,402 | President | $40,500 | $33,019 | 2023 |
| 805 Mustangs Llc | CA | $211,639 | President | $72,000 | $57,015 | 2024 |
| I Am Empowering The Next Generation Inc | LA | $211,685 | Executive Director | $64,000 | $66,537 | 2023 |
| Reclaiming Youth At Risk | SD | $206,142 | Director | $8,950 | $8,825 | 2025 |
| Koa Foundation Inc | NV | $206,059 | Secretary | $1,500 | $1,420 | 2023 |
| Slater Family Network Foundation Inc | PA | $205,903 | Executive Director | $46,673 | $42,684 | 2024 |
| Ileri Inc | VI | $205,864 | Founder/executive Director | $48,231 | $46,847 | 2024 |
| Boys To Men Mentoring Network Of | HI | $212,456 | Secretary | $60,661 | $49,806 | 2024 |
| Raceway Gives Foundation | IL | $212,544 | Director | $31,500 | $28,400 | 2024 |
| Change The World Kids Inc | VT | $205,308 | Interim Facilitator | $33,800 | $32,120 | 2023 |
| Building Mosaics Solutions Inc | MD | $212,650 | Officer | $111,716 | $95,782 | 2024 |
| Ann Arbor A's Travel Baseball | MI | $212,922 | President | $54,855 | $53,457 | 2023 |
Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MO cost of living and 2023 dollars. Click any organization to verify the figure on ProPublica.
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 MO 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.
Sensitivity — the subject's percentile under alternative compensation definitions:
| Basis | Subject percentile |
|---|---|
| Total compensation (D + F), cost-of-living + inflation adjusted — the PeerBasis default | 42nd |
| Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments) | 37th |
| Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted | 43rd |
| All sources (D + E + F), adjusted | 41st |
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.
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
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.