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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Safe Haven Animal Shelter

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 271354838
NY · NTEE D30
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Josephine Santoro, Executive Director / CEO ($15,600) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 74 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 39th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

74 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 74 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,266 total compensation of comparable organizations → $100,645 $15,600
$4,39610th
$9,60125th
$27,262Median
$45,42375th
$64,58290th
$15,600This org · 39th
p10$4,396
p25$9,601
p50$27,262
p75$45,423
p90$64,582
$15,600

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
Happy Paws Mobile Vet Clinic Inc CO$86,062 Vice President $44,800 $46,176 2024
Animal Rescue And Care Fund Inc OR$84,424 President $58,000 $59,606 2023
Second Chance Rescue And Adoption Inc NJ$87,873 President $7,750 $7,657 2023
Pets Return Home AZ$82,718 President $24,110 $24,924 2024
Pawsitive Beings Rescue Inc FL$87,943 President $7,079 $7,148 2024
Mayor's Alliance For Nyc's Animals Inc NY$88,630 President/chairman $15,700 $15,250 2024
Community Partnership For Pets Inc NC$80,686 Founder/pres $50,000 $55,533 2024
Paw-some Solutions Inc NC$80,136 Executive Director $1,140 $1,266 2024
American Horse Protection Association Inc VA$80,085 Executive Director $72,000 $74,726 2024
Sweet Virginia Barn Cats VA$78,426 President $24,575 $25,506 2024
Contented Critters MN$92,288 Animal Rescue Director $36,540 $39,956 2023
Sophie Kerrigan For The Love Of OH$92,564 Executive Di $25,000 $29,303 2023
Paws For Life Inc MD$92,903 Secretary/treasurer $9,150 $9,195 2024
Reid Park Zoo Foundation AZ$93,430 Coo $25,715 $27,368 2023
Ferret Association Of Connecticut Inc CT$76,748 Executive Director $21,578 $21,747 2024
The Arl Forever Home Inc PA$76,150 Controller (Enter 10/23) $1,369 $1,511 2023
Animal Placement Agency Of The Windsors NJ$94,525 Manager $27,484 $27,156 2023
Jessica's Haven And Rescue CA$95,823 Secretary/coo/director $51,840 $48,117 2024
Social Compassion In Legislation CA$96,306 Cfo $103,200 $95,788 2024
Companion Animal Foundation CA$74,045 E.d. $24,000 $22,276 2024
Umpqua Low-cost Veterinary Service OR$73,886 Executive Director $5,250 $5,240 2024
Lagrange Troup County Humane Societ GA$73,286 Executive Di $2,354 $2,544 2024
American College Of Poultry Veterinarians FL$73,266 Executive Vice President $3,500 $3,535 2024
Northwest Animal Rights Network WA$71,406 Mission Advancement Director $51,946 $49,991 2024
Sylvan Lake Improvement Assoc IN$99,336 President $8,000 $9,336 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NY cost of living and 2023 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 default39th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)38th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted42nd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted34th

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 (Josephine Santoro) 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 74 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (D), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $15,600 is reasonable (approximately the 39th 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.