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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Humane Society Of Moultrie And

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 581498167
GA · NTEE D200
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Joshua Lawson, Executive Director / CEO ($41,916) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 421 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 43rd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

421 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 421 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$129 total compensation of comparable organizations → $346,424 $41,916
$12,14110th
$25,68325th
$45,616Median
$62,99175th
$81,01990th
$41,916This org · 43rd
p10$12,141
p25$25,683
p50$45,616
p75$62,991
p90$81,019
$41,916

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
Barrio Dogs Inc TX$445,165 President $64,668 $64,335 2024
Cove Animal Rescue Corporation NY$444,436 Executive Director $26,612 $23,916 2024
The Pet Connection Incorporated KS$443,913 President $12,000 $12,893 2024
Handover Rover AZ$446,799 Director $51,877 $49,619 2024
Peace 4 Animals TX$447,109 President & $150,000 $149,228 2024
Strength Of Shadow Dog Rescue Inc CA$447,518 Ceo $10,803 $9,278 2024
Ric Obarrys Dolphin Project FL$447,609 President $60,300 $58,002 2023
Animal Rescue Mission CA$442,945 President $87,600 $77,452 2023
Brigadoon Service Dogs WA$442,845 Executive Director $55,363 $50,752 2023
Potters Angels Rescue Inc VT$448,227 Executive Dir. $2,500 $2,503 2024
French Bulldog Rescue Network MA$449,069 Treasurer $5,000 $4,469 2024
Noahs Ark Spcahumane Society TX$441,560 Executive Dir. $12,155 $12,450 2023
Forever Loved Pet Sanctuary AZ$441,425 President/executive Director $30,000 $28,694 2024
Animal Shelter Of Clarendon County Inc SC$441,029 Director Of Shelter Operations $37,643 $40,210 2023
Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory Inc MN$449,715 Executive Director $71,744 $70,505 2024
Merwin Memorial Free Clinic For MA$450,427 Treasurer $36,868 $32,949 2024
Shiawassee County Humane MI$439,892 Ex Director $62,887 $64,556 2024
Helping Hands Humane Society KS$450,922 Trustee $9,523 $10,534 2023
Grosse Pointe Animal Adoption MI$439,737 President $52,928 $55,937 2023
Happy Life Animal Rescue Inc NY$439,716 Vice Preside $45,500 $40,891 2024
Bradys K9 Fund OH$451,323 President $49,410 $52,047 2024
Lemhi County Humane Society ID$438,767 Director $20,000 $21,160 2024
Wild Rivers Animal Rescue OR$438,495 Exc Director $55,000 $49,488 2025
Thompson River Animal Care Shelter MT$452,210 Manager $39,540 $42,389 2024
Pet Central Helps IL$452,430 President $53,000 $59,986 2021

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to GA 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 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 default43rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)42nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted43rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted42nd

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 (Joshua Lawson) 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 421 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (D20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $41,916 is reasonable (approximately the 43rd 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.