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

Spay Montana

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 800165195
MT · NTEE D20
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Mary S Newton, Executive Director / CEO ($50,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 411 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 75th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Mary S Newton — reported title “Executive Director”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

411 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 411 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,253 total compensation of comparable organizations → $141,823 $50,000
$8,39310th
$18,23425th
$33,466Median
$50,64575th
$65,36290th
$50,000This org · 75th
p10$8,393
p25$18,234
p50$33,466
p75$50,645
p90$65,362
$50,000

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 MT 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
Langlade County Humane Society Inc WI$301,068 Treasurer $1,366 $1,253 2025
Wellington Humane Society Inc KS$301,538 Operations D $48,600 $47,311 2024
Puget Sound Goat Rescue And Adoption WA$300,712 Executive Director $45,554 $36,750 2024
Crossroads Animal Shelter MN$300,241 Director Of Operations $52,550 $46,789 2024
Chicago French Bulldog Rescue Inc Nfp IL$302,658 Director/president $30,000 $27,361 2023
Gsd Rescue Indy Inc IN$299,479 President $11,450 $10,881 2024
Alliance For Humane Action (Aha) IL$302,982 President $40,560 $36,992 2023
Hillsborough County Pet FL$303,119 Executive Director $77,308 $63,754 2025
Spay Neuter Assistance Program Of North NC$303,397 President $19,927 $18,553 2024
Showing Animals Respect & Kindness Inc IL$298,523 Vp And Secretary $80,000 $72,963 2023
Paws With Possibilities Pet Rescue MO$298,281 President $17,654 $16,849 2024
Josh And His Critters CA$298,046 President $70,000 $56,075 2023
Lamancha PA$297,632 Director $60,000 $53,916 2024
For The Love Of Primates OH$304,798 Executive Director $20,000 $19,087 2024
Almost Home Animal Rescue & Adoption Inc NY$297,472 Shelter Manager/director $28,155 $22,925 2024
Bark About It Rescue PA$297,464 President $22,700 $20,398 2024
Misplaced Mutts NC$305,275 Executive Di $41,315 $38,467 2024
Best Friends Animal Rescue AK$297,024 President Founder $4,500 $3,991 2023
Mccook Humane Society Inc NE$306,770 Consultant $19,400 $19,357 2023
United Friends Of Homeless Animals Inc NY$306,784 Manager $12,707 $10,652 2023
Cats Meow WA$307,110 Executive Director $66,184 $54,971 2023
Bird Ally X CA$294,077 Director $10,000 $8,011 2023
Marshall County Humane Society Inc IN$294,054 Executive Director $56,788 $55,556 2023
Dharma Voices For Animals CA$308,479 President $67,550 $52,560 2024
Silicon Valley Pet Project CA$308,572 Ceo $45,198 $35,168 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MT 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 MT 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 default75th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)66th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted75th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted74th

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 (Mary S Newton) 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 411 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (D20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $50,000 is reasonable (approximately the 75th 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.