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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Second Leash On Life Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 460765041
GA · NTEE D20
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Susan Jacobs Meadows, Executive Director / CEO ($16,250) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 340 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 22nd percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Susan Jacobs Meadows — 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

340 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 340 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,343 total compensation of comparable organizations → $170,008 $16,250
$8,52710th
$18,27825th
$33,177Median
$51,48575th
$68,28190th
$16,250This org · 22nd
p10$8,527
p25$18,278
p50$33,177
p75$51,485
p90$68,281
$16,250

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 GA 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
Tecate Horse Rescue Inc CA$250,000 Employee $5,685 $4,742 2024
Animal Partisan Inc VA$250,151 President $36,720 $34,250 2024
Foster Tales CA$250,212 President And Director $76,219 $63,578 2024
Mutts & Meows Rescue TX$248,506 Director, President $65,003 $64,669 2023
Fresno Bully Rescue Inc CA$250,829 Ed/president $34,520 $28,795 2024
Pet Association Of Estes Park Inc CO$250,952 Vice Pres/interim Pres $16,263 $15,509 2023
Greyhounds In Motion Inc FL$247,902 Import Specialist $48,000 $43,560 2024
Cottontail Cottage Farm Sanctuary ME$251,017 President $8,850 $8,561 2024
Paws For Life UT$251,254 Executive Director $40,310 $39,855 2024
Animal Wonders Inc MT$251,482 Executive Dir. $40,750 $42,433 2024
West Coast Cane Corso Rescue CA$251,584 Director $10,000 $8,341 2024
Southwest Animal Rescue Fund Inc NM$251,818 Presidentexecutive Director $32,274 $33,533 2024
Simple Sparrow TX$252,007 Founder $18,000 $17,907 2023
Life Animal Rescue CA$252,180 President $18,200 $15,630 2023
New England Lab Rescue Inc ME$252,321 Executive Director $12,994 $12,569 2024
Spay Asap Inc VT$246,452 President And Treasurer $130,897 $127,274 2024
Bro And Tracy Animal Welfare Inc NM$252,612 Vice President $21,120 $21,944 2024
Troopers Treasures TN$246,238 President $10,828 $10,995 2024
Have-a-heart Humane Society CA$245,478 President $16,315 $13,609 2024
Feral Friends Community Cat Alliance TX$245,383 President $50,000 $49,743 2023
The Animal Retreat Inc ID$253,716 Executive Dir. $41,592 $42,742 2024
Little Bear Sanctuary FL$245,123 Executive Officer $33,000 $29,947 2024
Chatham Animal Rescue And Education Inc NC$245,038 Executive Dir. $34,913 $35,878 2023
Paw Fund CA$244,770 Director $60,000 $50,050 2024
Snap Cats CA$244,110 Executive Dir. $60,008 $51,534 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to GA 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 GA 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 default22nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)21st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted23rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted21st

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 (Susan Jacobs Meadows) 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 340 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (D20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $16,250 is reasonable (approximately the 22nd 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.