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

Colorado Wildlife Federation Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 840576376
CO · NTEE D013
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Suzanne O'neill, Executive Director / CEO ($71,667) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 21 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 62nd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Suzanne O'neill — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

21 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 21 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$12,580 total compensation of comparable organizations → $144,587 $71,667
$25,22810th
$34,10725th
$53,709Median
$85,38775th
$113,99290th
$71,667This org · 62nd
p10$25,228
p25$34,107
p50$53,709
p75$85,387
p90$113,992
$71,667

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 CO 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
Stop Animal Exploitation Now OH$291,300 Executive Director $35,506 $40,378 2023
Scientists Center For Animal Welfare OR$276,502 Executive Director $86,670 $83,938 2024
It Takes A Village Rescue NC$274,160 President $76,500 $82,435 2024
Southern States Bully Rescue Inc FL$271,042 President $25,750 $25,228 2024
A Time 4 Paws Inc TN$298,003 President $40,000 $43,849 2024
Indiana Wildlife Federation IN$270,263 Executive Director $75,413 $85,387 2023
Animal Protection League Of New Jersey NJ$267,578 Trustee $32,016 $30,692 2023
The Raven Corps OR$304,023 Chair/exec Dir $114,325 $113,992 2023
The International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council OR$305,911 Executive Director $53,906 $53,749 2023
Bounce Animal Rescue CO$310,747 Executive Director $60,823 $60,823 2024
Predator Defense OR$313,611 Executive Director $145,010 $144,587 2023
A Hope Inc FL$318,886 Presidentceo $32,714 $32,050 2024
Indy Neighborhood Cats Inc IN$245,759 Executive Director $14,201 $16,079 2023
Louisiana Wildlife Federation LA$325,758 Executive Director $85,785 $101,422 2023
Dusty Tails Animal Rescue SC$219,241 President $11,869 $12,580 2025
Pax Fauna CO$217,386 Board Member At Large $53,709 $53,709 2024
Triangle Vegfest Inc NC$209,509 Executive Director $30,744 $34,107 2023
Save Animals Facing Extinction WA$203,797 Vice President & Treasurer $96,000 $89,635 2024
International Institute For Animal Law Inc IL$191,470 Director $114,000 $116,882 2024
Companion Animal Medical Project OR$384,445 Founderexecutive Director $54,344 $52,631 2024
Angel Paws UT$386,459 President $44,500 $47,498 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CO 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 CO 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 default62nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)62nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted62nd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted62nd

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 (Suzanne O'neill) 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 21 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (D01), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $71,667 is reasonable (approximately the 62nd 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.