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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Melanin Market Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 852280318
FL · NTEE S20
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Dawn Curling, Executive Director / CEO ($45,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 250 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 32nd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Dawn Curling — reported title “PRESIDENT”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

250 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 250 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2,672 total compensation of comparable organizations → $178,860 $45,000
$19,96410th
$38,37125th
$62,844Median
$85,00375th
$104,07090th
$45,000This org · 32nd
p10$19,964
p25$38,371
p50$62,844
p75$85,003
p90$104,070
$45,000

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 FL 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
Dynamic Community Development Corporation FL$229,047 Business Developer $42,686 $42,686 2024
Newport News Green Foundation Inc VA$229,111 Executive Di $71,050 $75,183 2023
Cascade Residential Inc FL$229,585 President $77,885 $80,186 2023
The Huub Inc NJ$226,750 Community Organizer $33,300 $31,649 2024
Build Galveston TX$230,106 Executive Director (Thru 11/24) $119,389 $127,127 2024
Community Realignment Education Program CA$230,414 Program Director $93,062 $85,541 2024
Independence Regional Ennovation Center Inc MO$231,026 Executive Director $55,417 $64,326 2023
African American Chamber Of Commerce Of Western Pa PA$231,278 President $64,104 $68,049 2024
Discover The Real West Virginia WV$223,964 Executive Di $95,068 $106,747 2025
Main Street Delaware Inc OH$233,337 Executive Director $73,750 $83,150 2024
Black Economic Collective OR$233,756 Executive Director $58,378 $59,413 2023
The Des Moines Urban Experience IA$222,601 Executive Dir. $17,958 $21,549 2023
Graces Of Gurleyinc AL$222,252 Executive Di $45,200 $53,515 2023
Partnerships For Lawrence Inc IN$234,721 Executive Director $75,000 $86,678 2023
Nikwasi Initiative NC$221,763 Executive Director $93,650 $106,047 2023
Up Community Services Inc MI$221,417 Executive Director $21,784 $24,641 2023
Centre South Main Streets Inc MA$221,175 Executive Director $85,000 $79,212 2025
Jonah Inc IN$235,492 President $20,154 $22,624 2024
Community Services United CA$220,114 Director $54,600 $50,187 2024
Community Wide Care Of Arizona AZ$237,535 Vice President $34,082 $34,891 2024
Logan County Tourism Bureau IL$218,666 Former Director $46,588 $48,755 2024
Mosaic Community Builders Inc GA$218,412 Director $48,000 $52,893 2023
Tennessee Stormwater Association TN$238,201 Executive Di $56,553 $63,278 2024
Blackjack Water Association Inc MS$217,820 Billing $15,800 $18,732 2024
Springboard Group OR$239,010 President, Executive Officer $167,269 $170,236 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to FL 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 FL 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 default32nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)35th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted34th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted29th

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 (Dawn Curling) 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 250 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (S20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $45,000 is reasonable (approximately the 32nd 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.