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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

National Wildlife Rehabilitators

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 371143442
MN · NTEE D033
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Whitney Buccicone, Executive Director / CEO ($73,325) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 635 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 85th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Whitney Buccicone — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

635 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 635 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$446 total compensation of comparable organizations → $198,123 $73,325
$9,89310th
$21,56325th
$41,547Median
$61,72775th
$82,86290th
$73,325This org · 85th
p10$9,893
p25$21,563
p50$41,547
p75$61,727
p90$82,862
$73,325

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 MN 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
Hec Hooves Of Joy Inc WI$333,687 Treasurer $78,000 $84,876 2023
Wags & Whiskers Pet Rescue Inc FL$333,600 President $28,400 $27,001 2024
Minnesota Humane Society MN$333,757 Executive Di $60,000 $61,772 2023
Help The Animals Inc IN$333,988 Director Ex $34,100 $36,393 2024
Priest River Animal Rescue Inc ID$333,016 President $16,103 $17,336 2024
Atlanta Animal Rescue Friends Inc GA$332,991 Executive Director / Ceo $58,900 $61,706 2023
Sector K9 Foundation TX$335,346 Founderpresident $42,350 $44,139 2023
New England Old English Sheepdog Rescue MA$331,686 Treasurer $3,062 $2,785 2024
Hooved Animal Rescue & Protection Society IL$331,630 President $63,635 $65,184 2023
People For Pets IA$331,196 Executive Dir. $43,741 $48,470 2024
The Cloud Foundation CO$336,342 Executive Director $71,444 $69,330 2024
Dog Orphans Inc MA$336,929 Manager $66,662 $60,624 2024
Paws & Pals MO$329,954 Ceo $50,000 $55,178 2023
Bullies And Buddies Rescue CA$329,951 Executive Dir. $40,275 $35,196 2024
Ruff House Rescue Inc NY$337,422 President $117,300 $107,271 2024
Humane Society Serving Crawford OH$337,579 Shelter Dire $52,888 $58,365 2023
Ayres Memorial Animal Shelter Inc NY$337,638 Treasurer $2,400 $2,260 2023
Prattvilleautauga Humane Shelter AL$337,825 Executive Director $27,663 $30,245 2024
Free Flight CA$337,862 Executive Dir. $25,184 $22,008 2024
Second Chance Farm TX$338,118 President $36,000 $36,444 2024
Pawsitive Restoration Animal Rescue CO$328,680 Executive Director $97,200 $94,324 2024
Down The Stretch Ranch WA$338,727 Executive Director $72,573 $67,699 2023
Lower Nehalem Community Trust OR$328,533 Executive Dir. $38,232 $35,932 2024
Committed Alliance To Strays Inc OR$338,821 Executive Director $39,520 $38,239 2023
Humane Society Of Whitley County I IN$328,503 Director $45,935 $50,472 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MN 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 MN 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 default85th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)85th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted85th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted83rd

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 (Whitney Buccicone) 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 635 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (D), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $73,325 is reasonable (approximately the 85th 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.