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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Benevolent Society

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 852831854
MI · NTEE S99
FY ending 2025-01-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Wovina A Elam, Executive Director / CEO ($550) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 20 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 0th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

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

How comparable organizations were selected

20 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 20 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,085 total compensation of comparable organizations → $110,848 $550
$2,83710th
$14,03325th
$39,860Median
$56,78575th
$85,65290th
$550This org · 0th
p10$2,837
p25$14,033
p50$39,860
p75$56,785
p90$85,652
$550

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 MI 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
Ibew Local 180 Holding Company CA$124,206 Business Manager $58,320 $51,560 2023
American Freedom Assembly Inc AL$125,058 President $76,764 $84,908 2023
Moffett Park Business Group CA$119,560 Executive Dir. $107,539 $92,346 2024
Asset Based Community Development Institute IL$129,371 Vice President/director $3,000 $3,019 2023
Linda Vista Mutual Water Company CA$130,193 President $1,400 $1,202 2024
Steam Ahead Inc MA$115,166 President/clerk $60,000 $55,203 2023
Regent Development Corporation ND$114,859 Treasurer $4,572 $4,990 2024
Mbi Industry Advocacy Fund IA$110,721 President $21,070 $22,942 2024
Center For The Advancement Of The Steady VA$135,130 Executive Director $112,131 $110,848 2023
Family Peace Project Inc TX$109,386 Executive Dir. $39,226 $39,021 2024
Friends Of Honolulu City Lights HI$104,371 Executive Director $16,754 $14,917 2024
Forrest And Doris Sensenich Foundation MO$103,999 Director, President & Trea $1,000 $1,085 2023
Erie Basin Rc&d Council Inc OH$143,697 Coordinator $38,640 $40,699 2024
Idaho Second Amendment Alliance ID$143,870 President $36,000 $38,085 2024
Doctors Park Professional Assoc Inc MO$147,753 President/ad $24,000 $26,026 2023
Laguna Community Foundation NM$149,059 Executive Di $76,188 $83,898 2023
Sprocket Mural Works Inc PA$86,249 Executive Dir $11,475 $11,380 2024
Main Street Lexington VA$161,200 Executive Di $64,080 $61,529 2024
Chittenden County Senior Citizens Alliance Inc VT$163,408 Executive Director $47,840 $47,886 2024
Pride In Saginaw Inc MI$174,966 Director $44,511 $44,511 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MI cost of living and 2025 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 MI 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 default0th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)0th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted10th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted0th

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 (Wovina A Elam) 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 20 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (S99), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $550 is reasonable (approximately the 0th 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.