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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Growth And Development Services Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 133920404
NY · NTEE D50
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Gary Altheim, Executive Director / CEO ($36,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 506 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 46th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Gary Altheim — reported title “FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

506 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 506 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$706 total compensation of comparable organizations → $639,650 $36,000
$9,67410th
$21,00925th
$39,395Median
$63,00475th
$85,60290th
$36,000This org · 46th
p10$9,674
p25$21,009
p50$39,395
p75$63,004
p90$85,602
$36,000

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 NY 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
Izaak Walton League Of America Inc IN$245,211 Recording Se $17,935 $21,549 2023
Feral Friends Community Cat Alliance TX$245,383 President $50,000 $56,985 2023
Little Bear Sanctuary FL$245,123 Executive Officer $33,000 $34,307 2024
Have-a-heart Humane Society CA$245,478 President $16,315 $15,591 2024
Chatham Animal Rescue And Education Inc NC$245,038 Executive Dir. $34,913 $41,101 2023
Blank Park Endowment Corporation IA$245,023 Foundation Ceo $13,732 $16,639 2024
Indy Neighborhood Cats Inc IN$245,759 Executive Director $14,201 $17,062 2023
Paw Fund CA$244,770 Director $60,000 $57,336 2024
Troopers Treasures TN$246,238 President $10,828 $12,596 2024
Spay Asap Inc VT$246,452 President And Treasurer $130,897 $145,802 2024
Snap Cats CA$244,110 Executive Dir. $60,008 $59,037 2023
Utah Archery Association UT$246,541 President $2,500 $2,915 2023
Lowcountry Marine Mammal Network SC$243,982 President $60,000 $67,484 2025
For Pets Sake Rescue MS$243,686 President $3,200 $3,944 2024
Greyhounds In Motion Inc FL$247,902 Import Specialist $48,000 $49,901 2024
Bad Rap CA$242,664 Ceo $100,564 $96,098 2024
Pride Veterinary Medical Community CA$248,114 Ceo $74,000 $72,803 2023
Mutts & Meows Rescue TX$248,506 Director, President $65,003 $74,083 2023
Otra-mas Inc CA$241,780 Exe. Director $15,360 $15,112 2023
River Otter Ecology Project CA$241,321 Executive Director $97,104 $92,792 2024
Second Leash On Life Inc GA$249,445 Director $16,250 $18,616 2023
Rocco's Heartland Rescue Inc SC$241,020 President $7,500 $8,659 2024
Misfits Of Oz Farm Sanctuary NM$240,982 Executive Dir. $27,691 $32,960 2024
Red Lake Rosie's Rescue Inc MN$240,921 Treasurer $15,800 $17,788 2023
Paws Of Grays Harbor WA$240,779 Executive Director $59,378 $58,831 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NY 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 NY 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 default46th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)49th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted47th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted45th

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 (Gary Altheim) 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 506 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (D), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $36,000 is reasonable (approximately the 46th 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.