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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Retrieving Independence Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 460648411
TN · NTEE D61
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 13, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Lauren Dougall, Executive Director / CEO ($78,340) 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 88th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Lauren Dougall — reported title “CEO/ PRESIDENT”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO 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

$123 total compensation of comparable organizations → $331,378 $78,340
$11,92510th
$26,21725th
$45,496Median
$62,42975th
$80,64390th
$78,340This org · 88th
p10$11,925
p25$26,217
p50$45,496
p75$62,429
p90$80,643
$78,340

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
Jack Creek Preserve Foundation Inc MT$469,438 Executive Dir. $52,047 $53,374 2024
Chequamegon Humane Association WI$470,331 Executive Di $47,898 $47,589 2024
Second Chance Shelter AL$468,378 President $11,769 $12,454 2023
Pennsylvania State Animal Response Team PA$467,730 Executive Director $44,508 $42,226 2024
Companion Animal Protection Society CA$471,804 President And Chair $52,176 $42,862 2024
S Nipped OR$471,924 Vet Assist $39,076 $34,523 2024
Alaska Wildbird Rehabilitation Center AK$466,847 Executive Director $5,000 $4,548 2024
Freedom For Great Apes Inc OR$472,184 Secretary $26,618 $24,211 2023
Macoupin County Adopt A Pet IL$472,529 Vp & Executive Director $23,400 $21,886 2024
Horse Protection Association Of FL$465,948 President & $140,000 $128,816 2023
All About Equine Animal Rescue Inc CA$473,172 President $18,000 $15,224 2023
Southern Cross Service Dogs FL$465,218 President $18,000 $16,087 2024
Alliance For The Earth NM$465,141 President $63,824 $65,307 2024
Friends Of Butler County Animals Inc KY$473,638 Exective Director $35,527 $36,312 2024
Legal Impact For Chickens CA$473,745 President Executive Director $72,493 $61,311 2023
Karma Rescue CA$464,824 Executive Director $87,166 $73,722 2023
Brownie Blondie Foundation Inc PR$464,435 President $23,100 $23,782 2023
Teller Wildlife Refuge Inc MT$474,608 Executive Director (Former) $87,300 $92,171 2023
Friends For Felines Inc NY$463,844 President $5,950 $5,115 2024
Animal Refuge Foundation TX$475,195 Secretary $37,520 $35,706 2024
Native Animal Rescue CA$475,420 Executive Dir. $60,000 $50,745 2023
Sunny Skys Animal Rescue And Hospital WA$475,506 President $27,942 $23,800 2024
Rawley Project OR$462,900 Executive Dir. $76,388 $67,487 2024
Almost Home Animal Rescue League MI$476,413 President $55,900 $56,512 2023
Archives Of Falconry Inc ID$462,335 Executive Director $97,276 $98,447 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 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 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 default88th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)85th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted90th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted85th

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 (Lauren Dougall) 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 13, 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 $78,340 is reasonable (approximately the 88th 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 13, 2026.