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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Heartstrides Therapeutic Riding

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 273559358
WA · NTEE E50
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Kristy Dees, Executive Director / CEO ($60,625) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 53 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 55th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Kristy Dees — reported title “Founding Director”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

53 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 53 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$296 total compensation of comparable organizations → $130,683 $60,625
$15,49210th
$26,37025th
$58,248Median
$70,29675th
$85,97790th
$60,625This org · 55th
p10$15,492
p25$26,370
p50$58,248
p75$70,296
p90$85,977
$60,625

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 WA 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
Hopewell Ranch Inc MI$251,146 Executive Di $21,300 $25,281 2023
Gestalt Training Institute Of Philadelphia Inc PA$252,225 Ex. Director Until 1/20/23 $61,300 $70,296 2023
Adaptive Physical Education CA$246,621 Vice President $62,388 $60,172 2024
Help Me Grow Pediatric Rehab Services NH$256,370 Executive Director $22,500 $23,205 2024
Stable Friendships Foundation Inc NY$258,980 Vice President $21,000 $21,195 2024
Central New York Regional Emergency NY$261,182 Excutive Director $90,934 $89,413 2025
Meg Foundation CO$238,925 Executive Director $122,019 $130,683 2024
Wilderwood Equine Therapy NM$263,853 Executive Di $81,625 $98,058 2024
The Medicine Horse Center CO$233,473 Executive Dir. $63,232 $67,722 2024
Healing Reins Of Kentucky Inc KY$271,770 Director $14,095 $16,914 2024
Small Miracles Therapeutic TN$229,287 Executive Di $51,482 $60,443 2024
Center For Adaptive Riding NV$280,867 Former Executive Director $10,500 $11,756 2024
Camelot Therapeutic Horsemanship Inc AZ$281,224 President $80,291 $86,247 2024
Genuine Animate Navigate Assist Succeed CA$281,355 Executive Director $77,542 $76,996 2023
Childrens Therapy Clinic WV$281,494 Executive Director $51,325 $63,903 2023
Mini Therapy Horses CA$220,491 Director $27,588 $26,608 2024
Watch Us Farm Inc IN$281,604 Executive Director $13,000 $15,312 2024
Rascal Rodeo WA$287,600 Executive Director $76,664 $76,664 2024
Willow Creek Ranch Inc WI$287,616 Executive Director $32,261 $37,632 2024
Boise Services Group Inc ID$287,658 President $65,828 $78,216 2024
Remount Foundation CO$212,567 Founder $42,778 $47,169 2023
Hilltop Horizons Inc PA$211,681 Executive Di $38,462 $42,841 2024
Manes And Motions Therapeutic Riding CT$291,123 President & Ceo $19,923 $20,864 2024
Grow Pediatric Therapy Services MO$291,608 Secretary $250 $296 2024
Hope Springs Equestrian Therapy Inc PA$209,781 Executive Director $75,153 $83,709 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to WA 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 WA 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 default55th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)66th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted55th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted49th

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 (Kristy Dees) 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 53 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (E50), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $60,625 is reasonable (approximately the 55th 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.