Live preview — download the board-ready PDF to attach to your minutes.Download the free PDF
Email yourself a copy:
PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

International Sea Turtle Society

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 571029746
NC · NTEE D023
FY ending 2022-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Manjula Tiwari, Executive Director / CEO ($2,500) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 190 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 3rd percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

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

How comparable organizations were selected

190 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 190 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,215 total compensation of comparable organizations → $521,949 $2,500
$4,93110th
$11,20025th
$26,898Median
$43,91375th
$61,47990th
$2,500This org · 3rd
p10$4,931
p25$11,200
p50$26,898
p75$43,913
p90$61,479
$2,500

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 NC 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
Southport Oak Island Animal Rescue NC$141,617 Manager $33,943 $32,606 2023
Finding Shelter Inc PA$141,215 President $17,680 $16,392 2023
C A Maxey Appaloosa Heritage MI$143,364 Board Member $48,000 $46,061 2023
Ark Incorporated AL$143,433 Executive Director $6,202 $6,229 2023
Uplands Peak Sanctuary Inc IN$143,446 Director Of Operations $39,288 $37,413 2024
Last Chance For Arkansas Animals AR$138,931 Executive Director $3,400 $3,553 2023
Owl Moon Raptor Center Inc MD$138,761 Officer $33,600 $28,367 2024
Borderland Humane Society MN$138,141 Facility Man $7,353 $6,561 2024
Creative Acres Inc CO$138,016 President $3,800 $3,291 2024
Saving Wildlife International CA$137,869 Executive Dir. $49,846 $38,868 2024
Haines Animal Rescue Kennel AK$145,281 Executive Director $44,710 $39,739 2023
Medina Raptor Center OH$136,782 Exec Directo $35,513 $33,966 2024
Kentucky Lab Rescue Inc KY$136,780 President $5,400 $5,393 2023
Alley Animals Inc MD$136,481 President $17,225 $15,585 2022
Rowena Wildlife Clinic OR$136,292 President/secretary $6,260 $5,404 2023
Wolf Paws Inc TN$147,379 President / Director $45,000 $43,976 2023
Greyhound Health Initiative OH$147,941 President/ex $64,094 $61,301 2024
Canines For Disabled Kids Inc MA$134,528 Executive Director $45,340 $36,792 2024
Crawford County Humane Society IL$134,467 President $30,380 $26,970 2024
Because Animals Matter UT$134,071 Adoption Man $27,301 $25,978 2023
Therapy Dogs Of Santa Barbara Inc CA$133,863 $39,897 $31,110 2024
Kennel To Couch Inc MD$149,067 President $22,917 $19,918 2023
Humane Society Of Moab Valley UT$133,487 Executive Di $58,044 $53,645 2024
Rescued Pets Are Wonderful MN$149,734 Director/president $36,660 $32,711 2024
Divine Canines TX$133,127 Executive Director $62,877 $56,797 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NC cost of living and 2022 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 NC 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 default3rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)2nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted6th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted3rd

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 (Manjula Tiwari) 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 190 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (D), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $2,500 is reasonable (approximately the 3rd 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.