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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Heart Of The Horse Therapy Ranch

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 300697649
CA · NTEE D60
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Carey Adams, Executive Director / CEO ($41,798) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 632 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 38th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

632 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 632 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$510 total compensation of comparable organizations → $282,154 $41,798
$12,09510th
$28,82625th
$52,896Median
$73,92275th
$96,60490th
$41,798This org · 38th
p10$12,095
p25$28,826
p50$52,896
p75$73,922
p90$96,604
$41,798

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 CA 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
Kitten Rescue Of Mason County WA$396,894 Executive Director $23,847 $24,725 2024
Green Lake Area Animal Shelter Ltd WI$396,338 Board Member $53,778 $65,042 2024
Humane Society Of Westmoreland County PA$398,055 President & Treasurer $18,652 $21,541 2024
Spots Last Stop Inc MN$398,172 Manager $85,900 $98,296 2024
Lifeline Of Galveston County TX$396,066 Executive Director & Board President $32,664 $37,839 2024
El Paso Zoological Society TX$398,248 Executive Dir. $112,971 $130,870 2024
Humane Society Of Rowan County NC$395,854 Vice Preside $1,800 $2,217 2023
Global Conservation Corps Inc GA$398,876 Treasurer $26,000 $31,169 2023
Midwest Animal Resq MO$395,358 President $95,000 $116,525 2024
Watching Over Whiskers MO$395,235 President And Ceo $80,000 $98,126 2024
Etowah Valley Humane Society Inc GA$394,728 Executive Director $72,010 $83,850 2024
Wild At Heart Horse Rescue CA$393,791 President $78,168 $78,168 2024
Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy VA$393,437 Executive Director (From 06/24) $47,874 $53,531 2024
Florida Urgent Rescue FL$401,223 Executive Director $36,000 $40,322 2023
Shelter Animal Resource Alliance OR$402,531 Secretary $40,350 $43,395 2024
Kentucky Reining Horse Association KY$402,559 Director $2,325 $2,893 2024
Crash's Landing MI$391,648 1721 Graham Ct Nw Grand Rapids, Mi 49504 $42,000 $50,204 2024
Love Pit TX$402,836 President And Executive Director $21,923 $25,396 2024
Wee Companions CA$391,299 President $71,438 $71,438 2024
Alkylphenols & Ethoxylates Research Council DC$391,258 Exe Dirch Acct Officer Blcs $192,338 $201,236 2023
Charlie's Angels Saving Animals Inc TN$390,924 President $26,850 $32,684 2024
Pearl's Place TX$390,772 Director $42,050 $48,712 2024
Colorado Springs All Breed Rescue CO$390,375 Executive Di $28,500 $31,648 2024
Pupstarz Rescue Inc NY$403,942 President $20,400 $21,348 2024
Species Unite 23 Inc NY$389,469 President $125,000 $134,672 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CA 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 CA 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 default38th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)43rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted39th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted36th

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 (Carey Adams) 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 632 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (D), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $41,798 is reasonable (approximately the 38th 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.