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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Happy Paws Foundation

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 300611784
TN · NTEE D20
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Kate Paris, Executive Director / CEO ($29,664) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 180 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 56th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

180 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 180 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,387 total compensation of comparable organizations → $534,109 $29,664
$6,28810th
$15,74125th
$26,063Median
$42,67575th
$60,78590th
$29,664This org · 56th
p10$6,288
p25$15,741
p50$26,063
p75$42,675
p90$60,785
$29,664

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 TN 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
Animal Rescue Connections TX$160,585 Vice President $9,548 $8,826 2024
Remiatte Foundation CA$160,908 Secretary $66,500 $53,062 2024
The Ryan Animal Rescue Foundation RI$160,925 Executive Director $36,100 $32,931 2023
Sixteen Hands Horse Sanctuary Inc FL$158,857 President $11,232 $9,750 2024
Vets To Vets United Inc NC$158,379 Executive Di $38,502 $37,847 2023
Southern Paw Partners SC$163,903 President $45,000 $43,381 2024
Petvet Relief Inc TX$165,046 President $1,500 $1,387 2024
Nevada County Pets In Need CA$153,566 Director $36,885 $29,432 2024
Rocky Mountain French Bulldog Rescue CO$166,483 President And Director $602,793 $534,109 2024
Footloose Montana MT$166,953 Former Exec $74,004 $73,714 2024
Path Of Hope Rescue WA$167,266 Founder And Director $39,000 $32,265 2024
League For Animal Protection Inc VA$152,059 Executive Director/cfo $66,152 $60,765 2023
Rescued Pets Are Wonderful MN$149,734 Director/president $36,660 $33,473 2024
Golden Oldies Cat Rescue CA$171,033 Exec Dir Board Member $27,250 $22,386 2023
Mother Mayflower's Animal OH$171,122 President/se $40,000 $40,305 2023
Hardin County Pet Protection Inc KY$171,788 President $45,964 $45,632 2024
One Step For Animals AZ$171,897 Executive Director $36,542 $31,638 2025
Wolf Paws Inc TN$147,379 President / Director $45,000 $45,000 2023
Animal Rez-q Inc AZ$172,881 Founding President $4,762 $4,232 2024
Illinois Horse Rescue Of Will IL$173,383 President $26,780 $25,047 2023
Maumee Valley Save A Pet OH$173,463 Treasurer $21,800 $21,966 2023
Utah Animal Adoption Center UT$173,845 Manager $33,683 $31,856 2024
Haines Animal Rescue Kennel AK$145,281 Executive Director $44,710 $40,665 2023
Mostly Mutts Inc PA$174,650 President $42,000 $38,703 2024
Canine Classmates TX$175,054 Ceo $69,833 $64,550 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to TN 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 TN 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 default56th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)49th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted56th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted54th

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 (Kate Paris) 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 180 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (D20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $29,664 is reasonable (approximately the 56th 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.