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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Phx Cat Cafe

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 852082206
AZ · NTEE D01
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Carrie Schwartz, Executive Director / CEO ($35,772) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 626 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 32nd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

626 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 626 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$135 total compensation of comparable organizations → $362,187 $35,772
$12,90210th
$29,21125th
$50,485Median
$69,86275th
$89,15490th
$35,772This org · 32nd
p10$12,902
p25$29,211
p50$50,485
p75$69,862
p90$89,154
$35,772

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 AZ 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
Save A Life Pet Rescue Inc FL$478,316 President $28,800 $28,132 2024
The Humane Society Of East Texas TX$479,258 Executive Di $1,500 $1,560 2024
The Rescue Village Foundation OH$478,016 Executive Director $9,385 $10,641 2023
The Santa Barbara Bird Sanctuary CA$478,007 Treasurer $36,000 $33,278 2023
Denkai Animal Sanctuary CO$480,162 President $34,747 $35,667 2023
Camp Companion Inc MN$477,029 Executive Dir. $53,669 $56,770 2023
Seacrest Wolf Preserve FL$476,665 President $62,400 $60,953 2024
Almost Home Animal Rescue League MI$476,413 President $55,900 $61,767 2023
Progressive Animal Welfare Society OH$481,137 Op. Man. Non $28,288 $31,154 2024
Horses And Humans OH$481,640 Executive Di $87,500 $96,364 2024
Sunny Skys Animal Rescue And Hospital WA$475,506 President $27,942 $26,012 2024
Native Animal Rescue CA$475,420 Executive Dir. $60,000 $55,463 2023
Animal Refuge Foundation TX$475,195 Secretary $37,520 $39,025 2024
Teller Wildlife Refuge Inc MT$474,608 Executive Director (Former) $87,300 $100,740 2023
Mustang Heritage Foundation TN$483,027 Interim Executive Director $88,747 $96,998 2024
Lukuru Wildlife Research Foundation OH$483,545 President $60,000 $66,078 2024
Legal Impact For Chickens CA$473,745 President Executive Director $72,493 $67,012 2023
Friends Of Butler County Animals Inc KY$473,638 Exective Director $35,527 $39,688 2024
All About Equine Animal Rescue Inc CA$473,172 President $18,000 $16,639 2023
Blue Ocean Society For NH$484,162 Executive Director $78,096 $74,981 2024
Marion County Humane Society WV$484,308 Shelter Director $38,547 $42,278 2025
The Ferndale Cat Shelter MI$484,446 Executive Di $48,836 $52,413 2024
Macoupin County Adopt A Pet IL$472,529 Vp & Executive Director $23,400 $23,921 2024
Martha's Vineyard Shellfish Group Inc MA$484,958 Director $91,367 $87,893 2023
Minnesota-wisconsin Chapter Foundation MN$484,981 Executive Director $60,000 $63,467 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to AZ 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 AZ 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 default32nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)32nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted33rd
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 (Carrie Schwartz) 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 626 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (D), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $35,772 is reasonable (approximately the 32nd 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.