Live preview — download the board-ready PDF to attach to your minutes.Download the free PDF
Email yourself a copy:
PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Blue Ocean Society For

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 020523308
NH · NTEE D31
FY ending 2024-04-30
June 13, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Jennifer Kennedy, Executive Director / CEO ($78,096) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 631 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 80th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

631 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 631 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$140 total compensation of comparable organizations → $377,234 $78,096
$13,82510th
$30,96425th
$53,107Median
$73,49775th
$95,85590th
$78,096This org · 80th
p10$13,825
p25$30,964
p50$53,107
p75$73,497
p90$95,855
$78,096

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 NH 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
Marion County Humane Society WV$484,308 Shelter Director $38,547 $44,035 2025
The Ferndale Cat Shelter MI$484,446 Executive Di $48,836 $54,591 2024
Lukuru Wildlife Research Foundation OH$483,545 President $60,000 $68,824 2024
Martha's Vineyard Shellfish Group Inc MA$484,958 Director $91,367 $91,545 2023
Minnesota-wisconsin Chapter Foundation MN$484,981 Executive Director $60,000 $66,104 2023
Mustang Heritage Foundation TN$483,027 Interim Executive Director $88,747 $101,028 2024
Primates Peru CA$485,879 Executive Director $128,154 $119,846 2024
Resale To The Rescue Inc IN$486,437 President $16,408 $19,293 2023
Horses And Humans OH$481,640 Executive Di $87,500 $100,368 2024
Cozy Cat Cottage Adoption Center OH$486,692 Executive Di $51,950 $61,349 2023
New England Equine Rescue - North Inc MA$487,105 President $52,091 $50,695 2024
Alive Rescue Nfp IL$487,183 President $63,846 $69,986 2023
Progressive Animal Welfare Society OH$481,137 Op. Man. Non $28,288 $32,448 2024
Apex Protection Project CA$487,387 Corrsp Sec $63,237 $60,884 2023
Animal Helpers Retail Resale Store SC$487,989 Store Manage $67,000 $77,934 2023
Denkai Animal Sanctuary CO$480,162 President $34,747 $37,149 2023
Sanaga-yong Chimpanzee Rescue OR$488,181 Exec Director/pres. $73,958 $74,382 2024
The Humane Society Of East Texas TX$479,258 Executive Di $1,500 $1,625 2024
Phx Cat Cafe AZ$478,659 Ceo $35,772 $37,258 2024
Humane Society Of North Central Iow IA$489,931 Director $30,845 $36,576 2024
Save A Life Pet Rescue Inc FL$478,316 President $28,800 $29,301 2024
Foster Army Animal Rescue CA$490,035 Director $30,820 $28,822 2024
The Rescue Village Foundation OH$478,016 Executive Director $9,385 $11,083 2023
The Santa Barbara Bird Sanctuary CA$478,007 Treasurer $36,000 $34,660 2023
Columbus Dog Connection Inc OH$490,686 Executive Di $50,416 $57,830 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NH 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 NH 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 default80th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)83rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted81st
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted76th

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 (Jennifer Kennedy) 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 13, 2026, comparing compensation against 631 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (D), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $78,096 is reasonable (approximately the 80th 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 13, 2026.