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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Wolf Paws Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 463490514
TN · NTEE D20
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Jennifer S Ackley, Executive Director / CEO ($45,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 137 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 82nd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Jennifer S Ackley — reported title “President / 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

137 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 137 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,387 total compensation of comparable organizations → $534,109 $45,000
$5,34710th
$11,16225th
$24,833Median
$37,84775th
$56,32390th
$45,000This org · 82nd
p10$5,347
p25$11,162
p50$24,833
p75$37,847
p90$56,323
$45,000

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
Haines Animal Rescue Kennel AK$145,281 Executive Director $44,710 $40,665 2023
Rescued Pets Are Wonderful MN$149,734 Director/president $36,660 $33,473 2024
Ark Incorporated AL$143,433 Executive Director $6,202 $6,374 2023
League For Animal Protection Inc VA$152,059 Executive Director/cfo $66,152 $60,765 2023
Southport Oak Island Animal Rescue NC$141,617 Manager $33,943 $33,366 2023
Finding Shelter Inc PA$141,215 President $17,680 $16,773 2023
Nevada County Pets In Need CA$153,566 Director $36,885 $29,432 2024
Last Chance For Arkansas Animals AR$138,931 Executive Director $3,400 $3,636 2023
Owl Moon Raptor Center Inc MD$138,761 Officer $33,600 $29,027 2024
Borderland Humane Society MN$138,141 Facility Man $7,353 $6,714 2024
Creative Acres Inc CO$138,016 President $3,800 $3,367 2024
Medina Raptor Center OH$136,782 Exec Directo $35,513 $34,757 2024
Kentucky Lab Rescue Inc KY$136,780 President $5,400 $5,519 2023
Alley Animals Inc MD$136,481 President $17,225 $15,948 2022
Vets To Vets United Inc NC$158,379 Executive Di $38,502 $37,847 2023
Rowena Wildlife Clinic OR$136,292 President/secretary $6,260 $5,531 2023
Sixteen Hands Horse Sanctuary Inc FL$158,857 President $11,232 $9,750 2024
Happy Paws Foundation TN$159,943 Director $29,664 $29,664 2023
Crawford County Humane Society IL$134,467 President $30,380 $27,598 2024
Animal Rescue Connections TX$160,585 Vice President $9,548 $8,826 2024
Because Animals Matter UT$134,071 Adoption Man $27,301 $26,583 2023
Therapy Dogs Of Santa Barbara Inc CA$133,863 $39,897 $31,834 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
Humane Society Of Moab Valley UT$133,487 Executive Di $58,044 $54,895 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 default82nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)80th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted82nd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted81st

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 (Jennifer S Ackley) 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 137 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (D20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $45,000 is reasonable (approximately the 82nd 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.