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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Erie Bird Observatory

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 824134595
PA · NTEE D32
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Sarah Sargent, Executive Director / CEO ($22,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 526 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 30th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Sarah Sargent — reported title “FORMER EXEC. DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

526 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 526 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$640 total compensation of comparable organizations → $196,311 $22,000
$8,88010th
$19,25425th
$35,608Median
$55,71975th
$76,12690th
$22,000This org · 30th
p10$8,880
p25$19,254
p50$35,608
p75$55,719
p90$76,126
$22,000

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 PA 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
Sarama Animal Rescue Inc NJ$255,088 Board Member $13,000 $11,639 2024
Keeper Of The Wild Wildlife Re SC$254,651 Center Mgr $25,988 $27,990 2023
Mary Ann Morris Animal Society SC$255,671 President $58,615 $59,739 2025
The Animal Retreat Inc ID$253,716 Executive Dir. $41,592 $44,368 2024
Wild Nature Institute NH$253,575 President $3,794 $3,513 2024
Vegan Hacktivists Inc MD$256,459 Treasurer/consultant $17,505 $16,896 2023
Spay Today Inc NC$253,096 Member At La $22,022 $22,818 2024
Animal Rescue Of Fresno CA$256,925 Member At Large $16,896 $14,630 2024
Gio Fund Corporation NC$257,144 Secretary $13,563 $14,053 2024
Ocean Ecology Network Inc CA$252,754 President $107,330 $95,682 2023
Bro And Tracy Animal Welfare Inc NM$252,612 Vice President $21,120 $22,779 2024
Pawfect Life Rescue Inc MA$252,378 Vice Preside $33,114 $29,839 2024
New England Lab Rescue Inc ME$252,321 Executive Director $12,994 $13,048 2024
Life Animal Rescue CA$252,180 President $18,200 $16,225 2023
Dixie Girl Dog Rescue AL$257,852 President And Director $38,962 $42,209 2024
Simple Sparrow TX$252,007 Founder $18,000 $18,589 2023
Southwest Animal Rescue Fund Inc NM$251,818 Presidentexecutive Director $32,274 $34,809 2024
West Coast Cane Corso Rescue CA$251,584 Director $10,000 $8,659 2024
Animal Wonders Inc MT$251,482 Executive Dir. $40,750 $44,048 2024
Paws For Life UT$251,254 Executive Director $40,310 $41,371 2024
Paws Assisting Veterans OR$251,176 Ceo $41,600 $39,884 2023
Cottontail Cottage Farm Sanctuary ME$251,017 President $8,850 $8,886 2024
Pet Association Of Estes Park Inc CO$250,952 Vice Pres/interim Pres $16,263 $16,099 2023
Fresno Bully Rescue Inc CA$250,829 Ed/president $34,520 $29,891 2024
Foster Tales CA$250,212 President And Director $76,219 $65,998 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to PA 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 PA 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 default30th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)30th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted32nd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted29th

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 (Sarah Sargent) 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 526 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (D), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $22,000 is reasonable (approximately the 30th 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.