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Nashville Zoo Inc at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

Nashville Zoo Inc

In fulfillment of our mission to inspire a culture of understanding and discovery of our natural world through conservation, innovation and leadership, our goal is to build a first class zoo for middle tennessee and to develop a facility that is recognized for excellence in animal care and global conservation with strong community value…

$1.1M
Granted FY2025still arriving
15
Grants FY2025still arriving
12
States reached
$50k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2024.

Animals$1.8MEnvironment$83kCommunity Improvement$25k
02FY2025 · 15 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 15 grants below total $338,226, the rows itemized in this filing. The $1,116,936 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $778,710 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized rows only.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k2 grants · $18k
  • $10k–50k12 grants · $270k
  • $50k–250k1 grant · $50k
$18,416
Median grant
12
States reached
$215M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
INTERNATIONAL RHINO FDN$50,000
BANOVICH WILDSCAPES FOUNDATION$49,970
SAVE GIRAFFES NOW$44,389
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON$25,000
MINNESOTA ZOO FOUNDATION$25,000
RED PANDA NETWORK$25,000
WILDLIFE CONSERVATION NETWORK$20,000
BANDING COALITION OF THE AMERICAS$18,416
DUKE LEMUR CENTER$16,050
ORIANNE SOCIETY$14,526
TURTLE SURVIVAL ALLIANCE$11,080
WILDLIFE CONSERVATIONGLOBAL$10,594
INTERNATIONAL CRANE FOUNDATION$10,000
GLOBAL GIVING FOUNDATION$9,926
FORT WORTH ZOO (PRCT)$8,275
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY17–25) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 70% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%AMERICAN ASSOCATION OF ZOO KEEPERS: $24k → 15%NEBRASKA WILDLIFE REHAD INC: $25k → 12%MINNESOTA ZOO FOUNDATION: $25k → 6%BANOVICH WILDSCAPES FOUNDATION: $50k → 10%WILDLIFE CONSERVATION NETWORK: $50k → 10%WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY: $75k → 28%INTERNATIONAL RHINO FDN: $59k → 11%SAVE GIRAFFES NOW: $56k → 14%HOUSTON ZOO INC: $30k → 16%PANTHER RIDGE CONSERVATION CENTER INC: $22k → 11%FRIENDS OF ASA WRIGHT NATURE CENTER: $53k → 12%ZOO MIAMI: $25k → 15%UTOPIA FOUNDATION: $25k → 7%BANDING COALITION OF THE AMERICAS: $18k → 12%RED PANDA NETWORK: $50k → 15%DIAN FOSSEY GORILLA FUND: $50k → 13%GRACE CENTER: $50k → 12%CLEVELAND ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY ANDEAN BEAR CONSERVATION ALLIANCE: $25k → 17%UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON: $25k → 9%CHEETAH CONSERVATION FUND: $27k → 9%GORILLA REHABILITATION & CONSERVATION EDUCATION: $85k → 7%MINNESOTA ZOO FOUNDATION: $25k → 6%WILDLIFE CONSERVATION NETWORK: $50k → 10%WILDLIFE CONSERVATION NETWORK: $20k → 28%INTERNATIONAL RHINO FDN: $50k → 11%SAVE GIRAFFES NOW: $44k → 14%HOUSTON ZOO INC: $23k → 16%FRIENDS OF THE ASA WRIGHT NATU: $25k → 12%RED PANDA NETWORK: $25k → 15%CLEVELAND ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY ANDEAN BEAR CONSERVATION ALLIANCE: $25k → 17%GORILLA REHABILITATION & CONSERVATION EDUCATION: $75k → 7%MINNESOTA ZOO FOUNDATION: $25k → 6%WILDLIFE CONSERVATION NETWORK: $25k → 10%INTERNATIONAL RHINO FOUNDATION: $50k → 11%SAVE GIRAFFES NOW: $33k → 14%GORILLA REHABILITATION & CONSERVATION EDUCATION: $30k → 7%MINNESOTA ZOO FOUNDATION: $25k → 6%WILDLIFE CONSERVATION NETWORK: $25k → 10%INTERNATIONAL RHINO FOUNDATION: $50k → 11%GORILLA REHABILITATION & CONSERVATION EDUCATION: $25k → 7%MINNESOTA ZOO FOUNDATION: $25k → 6%INTERNATIONAL RHINO FDN: $50k → 11%MINNESOTA ZOO FOUNDATION: $25k → 6%THE INTERNATIONAL RHINO FDN: $25k → 11%MINNESOTA ZOO FOUNDATION: $25k → 6%THE INTERNATIONAL RHINO FDN: $25k → 11%THE INTERNATIONAL RHINO FDN: $25k → 11%THE INTERNATIONAL RHINO FDN: $25k → 11%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.

Which US states its grants reach

ME
WA
MN
MI
NY
OR
OH
CA
CO
NE
KY
VA
MD
AZ
NC
SC
OK
GA
TX
FL

Grants abroad, by region: $548k on the FY2025 return

Schedule F, as filed: 3 regions. The IRS asks for region and purpose, not the recipient, so no country or grantee can be named here.

South America$268k · 49% · 1 grant

Stated purpose: GIANT ANTEATER, TAPIR, COTTON TOP TAMARIN, SPIDER MONKEY, AND ALPACA CONSERVATION

Sub-Saharan Africa$172k · 31% · 1 grant

Stated purpose: AFRICAN VULTURES, GRAUERS GORILLAS, KOMODO, MOUNTAIN BONGO, ORPHANED, RHINA, GORILLA, AND OSTRICH CONSERVATION

East Asia and the Pacific$108k · 20% · 1 grant

Stated purpose: ASIAN HORNBILLS, BABIRUSA, SAOLA, TOMPOTIKA, AND CIVET CONSERVATION

How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving. Grants abroad on Schedule F are filed by region, purpose and amount with no recipient name, so they are shown by region and cannot be placed on the country map or matched to a grantee.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

88%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$2.0M · 22 repeat orgs$276k to everyone else

22 repeat relationships: 10 still active in FY2025, 12 since wound down; 5 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

22
9

Total granted

$2.0M
$174k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+51%
+52%

Still filing today

95%
100%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 70% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $101k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
AnimalsEnvironmentEducationPublic BenefitInternationalPhilanthropyOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • TI
    THE INTERNATIONAL RHINO FOUNDATION
    9× · 2017–2025 · $359k · revenue +27%
  • GR
    GORILLA REHABILITATION CONSERVATION EDUCATION (GRACE) CENTER INC
    5× · 2017–2021 · $265k · revenue +87%
  • MZ
    MINNESOTA ZOO FOUNDATION
    8× · 2017–2025 · $185k · revenue +158%

Funded once

  • DF
    Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International Inc
    one grant, 2021 · $50k · revenue +20%
  • ZM
    ZOO MIAMI FOUNDATION INC
    one grant, 2023 · $25k · revenue -3%
  • NW
    NEBRASKA WILDLIFE REHAB INC
    one grant, 2019 · $25k · revenue -38%
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Zoo Outreach Organisation

Wildlife conservation, research and education.

Environment
2
World Wildlife Fund Inc

Wwf's mission is to conserve nature and reduce the most pressing threats to the diversity of life on earth. (continued on schedule o)

Environment
3
African Wildlife Foundation Inc

Awf's mission is to ensure wildlife and wild lands thrive in modern africa. we work to equip african governments, institutions, business, and communities with the tools, insights, and support they need to define, own, and realize a…

Animals
4
Wilderness Conservation Foundation
Environment
5
Wild Earth Allies Inc

Our mission is to protect vital areas of our planet for wildlife and people through local conservation action. Our vision is a world where wildlife and people flourish in healthy ecosystems that sustain us all.

Environment
6
Panthera Corporation

Panthera's mission is the conservation of the world's 40 wild cat species, many of which are endangered or threatened. panthera develops, implements and oversees wild cat conservation strategies on a global scale.

Animals
7
Zambia Carnivore Programme

To safeguard large carnivores, their prey, and habitat in zambia through applied research, conservation, and education.

Animals
8
Wildlife Alliance Inc

Wildlife alliance is the leader in direct protection of forests and wildlife in tropical asia. our mission is to combat deforestation, biodiversity loss, climate change, and poverty by partnering with local communities and governments.…

Animals
9
International Primate Protection League

Protecting the world's remaining primates by monitoring and exposing illegal trade, supporting a worldwide network of overseas sanctuaries and ngo's, publicising the plight of abused primates, and operating a sanctuary for resued gibbons.

Animals
10
Conservation International Foundation

Ci works to spotlight and secure the critical benefits that nature provides to humanity.

Environment
11
Akashinga Inc

Deliver ecological stability and long-term protection of large-scale wilderness by supporting and empowering local communities.

Animals
12
Wild Forests and Fauna

Wild forests and fauna (wildff) is a 501(c)(3) us-based non-profit organization that addresses landscape-scale conservation issues in globally important forests. we are a diverse network of science and business professionals who, together…

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Minnesota Zoo Foundation; the most unlike its peers is Southeastern Bat Diversity Network. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

34 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2026.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2026, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 34 of the 36 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
11
Early backer (in before they grew)
33/34
Grantees still filing
26/34
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

THE INTERNATIONAL RHINO FOUNDATION: $359,075 · AnimalsTHE INTERNATIONAL RHINO FOUNDATIONGORILLA REHABILITATION CONSERVATION EDUCATION (GRACE) CENTER INC: $265,000 · AnimalsGORILLA REHABILITATION CONSERVATION EDUCATION (GRACE) CENTER INCMINNESOTA ZOO FOUNDATION: $185,000 · AnimalsMINNESOTA ZOO FOUNDATIONWILDLIFE CONSERVATION NETWORK INC: $158,771 · AnimalsWILDLIFE CONSERVATION NETWORK INCSAVE GIRAFFES NOW: $133,008 · AnimalsSAVE GIRAFFES NOWRED PANDA NETWORK: $105,000 · AnimalsRED PANDA NETWORKWildlife Conservation Society: $95,000 · AnimalsAMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF ZOOLOGICAL PARKS AND AQUARIUMS INC: $81,311 · AnimalsHouston Zoo Inc: $63,600 · Animals+13 more: $361,303 · Animals+13 moreDian Fossey Gorilla Fund International Inc: $50,000 · OtherSia Inc: $35,000 · OtherBANDING COALITION OF THE AMERICAS: $18,416 · OtherBAT CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL: $10,000 · OtherSOUTHEASTERN BAT DIVERSITY NETWORK: $7,293 · OtherRAINFOREST TRUST: $6,850 · OtherFRIENDS OF THE ASA WRIGHT NATURE CENTRE INC: $88,000 · EnvironmentProyecto Titi Inc: $15,000 · EnvironmentCONSERVATION ALLIES: $8,202 · EnvironmentDUKE UNIVERSITY: $41,050 · EducationUNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON FOUNDATION: $39,760 · EducationBANOVICH WILDSCAPES FOUNDATION: $49,970 · PhilanthropyAMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF ZOO KEEPERS: $38,926 · Public BenefitUTOPIA FOUNDATION INC: $25,000 · Community Improvement
Animals$1,807,068Other$127,559Environment$111,202Education$80,810Philanthropy$49,970Public Benefit$38,926Community Improvement$25,000

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetTHE INTERNATIONAL RHINO FOUNDATION: $359,075 over 9y, 1.7% of budgetGORILLA REHABILITATION CONSERVATION EDUCATION (GRACE) CENTER INC: $265,000 over 5y, 13% of budgetMINNESOTA ZOO FOUNDATION: $185,000 over 8y, 0.6% of budgetWILDLIFE CONSERVATION NETWORK INC: $158,771 over 5y, 0.2% of budgetSAVE GIRAFFES NOW: $133,008 over 3y, 11% of budgetRED PANDA NETWORK: $105,000 over 5y, 5.6% of budgetWildlife Conservation Society: $95,000 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetFRIENDS OF THE ASA WRIGHT NATURE CENTRE INC: $88,000 over 3y, 87% of budgetAMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF ZOOLOGICAL PARKS AND AQUARIUMS INC: $81,311 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetHouston Zoo Inc: $63,600 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCLEVELAND ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $60,000 over 3y, 0.3% of budgetPOINT DEFIANCE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $60,000 over 6y, 1.1% of budgetCheetah Conservation Fund: $51,883 over 4y, 0.7% of budgetDian Fossey Gorilla Fund International Inc: $50,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetDUKE UNIVERSITY: $41,050 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON FOUNDATION: $39,760 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF ZOO KEEPERS: $38,926 over 3y, 2.6% of budgetTHE TURTLE SURVIVAL ALLIANCE FOUNDATION: $36,425 over 5y, 0.3% of budgetWildlife Conservation Global Inc: $25,594 over 2y, 1.6% of budgetZOO MIAMI FOUNDATION INC: $25,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetNEBRASKA WILDLIFE REHAB INC: $25,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetUTOPIA FOUNDATION INC: $25,000 over 1y, 1.7% of budgetPANTHER RIDGE CONSERVATION CENTER INC: $22,000 over 1y, 14% of budgetLewa Wildlife Conservancy USA: $17,500 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetProyecto Titi Inc: $15,000 over 2y, 9.8% of budgetTHE ORIANNE SOCIETY: $14,526 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetINTERNATIONAL CRANE FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetBAT CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL: $10,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetTHE FORT WORTH ZOOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION: $8,275 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetCONSERVATION ALLIES: $8,202 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetSOUTHEASTERN BAT DIVERSITY NETWORK: $7,293 over 1y, 19% of budgetRAINFOREST TRUST: $6,850 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetAMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF ZOO VETERINARIANS CO: $5,100 over 1y, 0.4% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Houston Zoo IncUtah Zoological Socie…Dallas Zoo Management…Jacksonville Zoologic…Detroit Zoological So…Columbus Zoological P…Zoological Society of…Dallas Zoological Soc…East Coast Zoological…Jpmorgan Chase Founda…Network for GoodMorgan Stanley Global…
Houston Zoo IncTX17.9× affinity6 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Houston Zoo Inc · Utah Zoological Society · Dallas Zoo Management Inc · Jacksonville Zoological Society Inc · Detroit Zoological Society · Columbus Zoological Park Association · Zoological Society of San Diego · Dallas Zoological Society · East Coast Zoological Society of Florida Inc · Jpmorgan Chase Foundation · Network for Good · Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Nashville Zoo Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Nashville Zoo Inc. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 60%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 0%
  • Zoo Miami Foundation Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
6get no government money at all
1report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
typical government reliance, FY20–25
How this is measured
Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.

On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 36 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

How this is measured
Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

Generated from the IRS Form 990 e-file return for fiscal year 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Nashville Zoo’s filings →

More from the funding graph

The unnamed billions
grants reported with no recipient in the public record
The regranting layer
51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
The DAF merry-go-round
$9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
The endowment market
who holds foundation money, and what just moved
The camps
funders cluster by geography, not ideology
By state
where grant money is based, and what stays home