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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Animal Refuge Center Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 611180397
KY · NTEE D200
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Penny M Edwards, Executive Director / CEO ($8,830) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 226 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 14th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Penny M Edwards — reported title “PRESIDENT”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

226 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 226 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,397 total compensation of comparable organizations → $537,996 $8,830
$6,74810th
$15,33725th
$27,686Median
$44,01675th
$62,00090th
$8,830This org · 14th
p10$6,748
p25$15,337
p50$27,686
p75$44,016
p90$62,000
$8,830

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 KY 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
Jans Rails To Trails Rescue Sanctuary CA$179,982 Board Member $24,565 $19,744 2024
Hastings Animal Shelter Association Inc NE$180,601 Shelter Manager $29,455 $29,488 2024
Second Chance Animal Refuge Society KS$178,970 President $18,000 $18,100 2024
Faithful Friends Pet Rescue And Rehoming FL$181,527 Executive Director $41,471 $36,262 2024
Kingman County Humane Society KS$178,866 Shelter Manager/director $26,084 $26,229 2024
Small Dog Rescue Of New England Inc RI$182,061 Executive Di $6,750 $6,024 2024
Mastiffs To Mutts PA$178,237 V.p./foster Mgr $9,400 $8,725 2024
Stay-a-while Cat Shelter Inc OH$183,198 Director $26,124 $25,091 2025
Institute For Animal Happiness NY$175,867 Executive Director $3,100 $2,607 2024
Home For Friendless Animals Inc IN$184,986 President $20,964 $20,577 2024
Canine Classmates TX$175,054 Ceo $69,833 $65,019 2024
Mostly Mutts Inc PA$174,650 President $42,000 $38,985 2024
Pawsibilities Animal Rescue PA$186,093 Director $14,700 $13,645 2024
Utah Animal Adoption Center UT$173,845 Manager $33,683 $32,087 2024
Maumee Valley Save A Pet OH$173,463 Treasurer $21,800 $22,126 2023
Illinois Horse Rescue Of Will IL$173,383 President $26,780 $25,229 2023
Pitiful Paws Rescue Inc WV$187,257 Executive Director $4,675 $4,711 2024
Animal Rez-q Inc AZ$172,881 Founding President $4,762 $4,263 2024
Meals On Wheels For Helena West Helena Dogs AR$188,149 President $18,000 $19,389 2023
One Step For Animals AZ$171,897 Executive Director $36,542 $31,867 2025
Kentucky Horse Council Inc KY$188,605 Executive Director $66,519 $66,519 2024
Hardin County Pet Protection Inc KY$171,788 President $45,964 $45,964 2024
Lucky Day Animal Rescue Of Colorado CO$189,244 President $60,000 $53,550 2024
Mother Mayflower's Animal OH$171,122 President/se $40,000 $40,598 2023
Golden Oldies Cat Rescue CA$171,033 Exec Dir Board Member $27,250 $22,549 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to KY 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 KY 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 default14th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)12th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted15th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted14th

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 (Penny M Edwards) 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 226 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (D20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $8,830 is reasonable (approximately the 14th 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.