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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Dog Orphans Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 237177684
MA · NTEE D200
FY ending 2024-09-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Ronald Morse, Executive Director / CEO ($66,662) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 427 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 76th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

427 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 427 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,547 total compensation of comparable organizations → $175,149 $66,662
$11,05110th
$23,75125th
$44,950Median
$65,59675th
$87,13590th
$66,662This org · 76th
p10$11,051
p25$23,751
p50$44,950
p75$65,596
p90$87,135
$66,662

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 MA 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
Ruff House Rescue Inc NY$337,422 President $117,300 $117,954 2024
Humane Society Serving Crawford OH$337,579 Shelter Dire $52,888 $64,177 2023
Ayres Memorial Animal Shelter Inc NY$337,638 Treasurer $2,400 $2,485 2023
Prattvilleautauga Humane Shelter AL$337,825 Executive Director $27,663 $33,257 2024
Free Flight CA$337,862 Executive Dir. $25,184 $24,200 2024
Second Chance Farm TX$338,118 President $36,000 $40,074 2024
Down The Stretch Ranch WA$338,727 Executive Director $72,573 $74,442 2023
Committed Alliance To Strays Inc OR$338,821 Executive Director $39,520 $42,047 2023
Help The Animals Inc IN$333,988 Director Ex $34,100 $40,018 2024
Minnesota Humane Society MN$333,757 Executive Di $60,000 $67,924 2023
Wags & Whiskers Pet Rescue Inc FL$333,600 President $28,400 $29,690 2024
Priest River Animal Rescue Inc ID$333,016 President $16,103 $19,063 2024
Atlanta Animal Rescue Friends Inc GA$332,991 Executive Director / Ceo $58,900 $67,852 2023
Crooked Tail Cat Rescue NC$342,013 President $47,966 $55,153 2024
New England Old English Sheepdog Rescue MA$331,686 Treasurer $3,062 $3,062 2024
Hooved Animal Rescue & Protection Society IL$331,630 President $63,635 $71,676 2023
People For Pets IA$331,196 Executive Dir. $43,741 $53,297 2024
Oswego County Humane Society Inc NY$342,786 Executive Di $50,865 $51,149 2024
Homeless To Home Cat Sanctuary OH$343,305 President $22,932 $27,827 2023
Animal Friends Connection Humane CA$344,128 Director $51,224 $49,222 2024
Marion County Humane Society IA$344,707 President $25,636 $31,237 2024
Pawsitive Restoration Animal Rescue CO$328,680 Executive Director $97,200 $103,718 2024
Humane Society Of Whitley County I IN$328,503 Director $45,935 $55,499 2023
No Time To Spare Animal Rescue & MO$328,202 President $34,397 $41,740 2023
Orcas Animal Protection Society WA$327,485 Executive Director $72,335 $72,069 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MA 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 MA 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 default76th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)83rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted77th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted75th

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 (Ronald Morse) 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 427 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (D20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $66,662 is reasonable (approximately the 76th 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.