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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Gem City Kitties

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 822467990
OH · NTEE D20
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Karin Gudal-johnson, Executive Director / CEO ($13,411) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 311 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 21st percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Karin Gudal-johnson — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

311 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 311 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,275 total compensation of comparable organizations → $530,067 $13,411
$7,91910th
$16,89125th
$30,431Median
$47,90375th
$61,39990th
$13,411This org · 21st
p10$7,919
p25$16,891
p50$30,431
p75$47,903
p90$61,399
$13,411

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 OH 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
Whiskers Rescue Inc NJ$230,298 President $39,000 $31,110 2025
Caring About The Strays Cats Inc NY$230,538 President/secretary $24,750 $20,510 2024
Longview Paws TX$229,420 Executive Di $54,808 $50,278 2024
Protect 4 Paws Co KY$230,654 Shelter Director $17,628 $17,368 2024
Underdog Heroes Inc CA$229,357 Ceo $30,687 $24,301 2024
Etosha Rescue & Adoption Center TX$228,766 Director/president $4,000 $3,669 2024
South West Florida Horse Rescue Inc FL$231,421 Director $13,475 $11,952 2023
Paradise Parrot Rescue Inc AZ$228,529 Ceo $60,000 $52,918 2024
Eden Animal Haven MO$231,536 Shelter Dir. $40,808 $39,637 2024
Delmar Farm Es Inc FL$231,557 President/executive Director $88,300 $78,318 2023
Greater New Haven Cat Project Inc CT$228,181 President $30,620 $27,106 2023
Union County Humane Society TN$228,181 Executive Director $55,937 $55,514 2023
Cheshire Abbey MS$232,269 Exect Director $72,000 $73,539 2024
Cavalier Rescue Of Alabama Inc AL$227,631 Presidentco Founder $24,000 $24,480 2023
Friends Of Ncvma Foundation Inc NC$232,527 Secretary/treasurer $1,970 $1,866 2024
New Hope Humane Society WY$227,135 Director/sec $41,642 $42,101 2023
Humane Society Of Greene County Inc PA$232,935 Executive Director $53,790 $49,193 2024
Canyon Lake Animal Shelter Society TX$226,982 Shelter Manager $35,350 $31,593 2025
Blooper Animal Rescue & Transport Incorporated FL$233,145 Executive Director $29,966 $25,816 2024
Beaverhead Animal Shelter MT$233,176 Executive Dir. $22,100 $22,492 2023
Lazy B Equine Rescue And Sanctuary UT$226,726 Director $17,192 $16,613 2023
Friends Of Camden Animal Shelter NJ$233,628 Former Executive Director $5,048 $4,133 2024
Nassau County Spca Inc NY$226,226 Executive Director $73,345 $60,780 2024
North American 3rs Collaborative Inc CO$225,826 Executive Director $120,350 $105,830 2024
Active K9 Rescue Foundation UT$225,732 Director/secretary $11,203 $10,515 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to OH 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 OH 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 default21st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)17th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted21st
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted20th

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 (Karin Gudal-johnson) 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 311 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (D20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $13,411 is reasonable (approximately the 21st 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.