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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Merritt Island Wildlife

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 593289841
FL · NTEE D30
FY ending 2024-09-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Rochelle Hood, Executive Director / CEO ($1,609) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 33 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 0th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Rochelle Hood — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

33 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 33 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$6,551 total compensation of comparable organizations → $113,987 $1,609
$13,00410th
$20,72825th
$42,921Median
$66,30875th
$84,90990th
$1,609This org · 0th
p10$13,004
p25$20,728
p50$42,921
p75$66,308
p90$84,909
$1,609

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 FL 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
Foundation For North American Wild MT$215,222 Executive Di $25,002 $29,535 2023
South Carolina Wildlife Partnership SC$210,253 Executive Director $85,116 $97,314 2023
Minnesota Conservation Officers Association MN$208,894 President $18,605 $19,569 2024
Wildlife Restoration Foundation VA$219,834 President And Board Member $41,760 $42,921 2024
Mountain Top Wildlife WA$220,300 President $22,600 $21,539 2024
Marine Education Research And Rehab DE$205,183 Executive Di $84,000 $87,553 2024
Illinois Raptor Center IL$223,801 Program Dir $43,116 $46,455 2023
Harmony Wildlife Rehabilitation TN$229,761 President $6,056 $6,776 2024
Arctic Fox Daily Wildlife Rescue Inc NY$230,049 President $13,500 $12,986 2024
Amargosa Land Trust CA$230,137 Executive Director $83,615 $79,128 2023
Saving Our Sharks Foundation Inc PA$197,171 Treasurer - Former $13,500 $14,331 2024
Msrw MI$231,175 Executive Director $33,020 $37,351 2023
North Dakota Wildlife Federation ND$231,568 Executive Director $70,467 $82,318 2024
Southeast Alaska Indiginous Transboundary Commissi AK$193,997 Director $50,717 $53,139 2023
Animal Services Of Richmond Inc VA$193,278 President $60,195 $66,308 2022
Lowcountry Marine Mammal Network SC$243,982 President $60,000 $64,913 2025
Izaak Walton League Of America Inc IN$245,211 Recording Se $17,935 $20,728 2023
Operation Game Thief Inc TX$178,259 Executive Director $71,801 $78,713 2023
Keeper Of The Wild Wildlife Re SC$254,651 Center Mgr $25,988 $29,713 2023
A Place Called Hope Inc CT$169,929 President $36,000 $35,931 2024
Shark Team One Corp FL$164,046 Director $18,720 $19,273 2023
Beavers Northwest WA$264,826 Executive Director $65,006 $63,783 2023
Cougar Fund Inc WY$269,890 Managing Director $100,000 $113,987 2024
Last Chance Forever TX$271,565 Director $30,004 $31,949 2024
Endangered Species Protection Agency UT$154,000 General Manager $12,000 $13,074 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to FL 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 FL 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 default0th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)0th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted0th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted0th

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 (Rochelle Hood) 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 33 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (D30), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $1,609 is reasonable (approximately the 0th 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.