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Point Defiance Zoological Society at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

Point Defiance Zoological Society

The point defiance zoo society (the zoo society) fosters the relationship between point defiance zoo & aquarium (pdza) and our community by raising funds and generating community support.

$1.1M
Granted FY2025still arriving
1
Grants FY2025still arriving
1
States reached
$900k
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 2025.

Animals$9.8MEnvironment$51k
02FY2025 · 1 grant

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 1 grants below total $900,266, the rows itemized in this filing. The $1,059,275 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $159,009 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.
$900,266
Median grant
1
States reached
$32M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
METROPOLITAN PARK DISTRICT$900,266
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 9%, against an area that typically sits at 8%. 100% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 8%OMAHA HENRY DOORLY ZOO & AQUARIUM: $16k → 12%MINNESOTA ZOO FOUNDATION: $10k → 6%POLAR BEARS INTERNATIONAL: $15k → 10%NASHVILLE ZOO: $15k → 19%HAWAI'I WILDLIFE FUND: $12k → 9%SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION - ZOO SUBACCOUNT: $18k → 14%ENDANGERED WOLF CENTER: $5k → 11%UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON SCHOOL OF AQUATIC & FISHERY SCIENCES: $11k → 9%METROPOLITAN PARK DISTRICT: $905k → 9%SEWARD ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF MARINE SCIENCE: $9k → 11%MINNESOTA ZOO FOUNDATION: $10k → 6%POLAR BEARS INTERNATIONAL: $14k → 10%METROPOLITAN PARK DISTRICT: $900k → 9%METROPOLITAN PARK DISTRICT: $894k → 9%METROPOLITAN PARK DISTRICT: $1.6M → 9%METROPOLITAN PARK DISTRICT: $1.5M → 9%METROPOLITAN PARK DISTRICT: $1.4M → 9%METROPOLITAN PARK DISTRICT: $901k → 9%METROPOLITAN PARK DISTRICT: $792k → 9%METROPOLITAN PARK DISTRICT: $700k → 9%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

AK
WA
MT
MN
NE
MO
DE
TN
DC
HI
TX
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.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

98%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$9.7M · 4 repeat orgs$168k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +73% since the first grant, against +56% for those funded once.

4 repeat relationships: 1 still active in FY2025, 3 since wound down.

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

4
10

Total granted

$9.7M
$168k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+73%
+56%

Still filing today

75%
80%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 100% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $0 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
AnimalsArts & CultureEnvironmentEducationOther
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

  • IE
    INTERNATIONAL ELEPHANT FOUNDATION
    2× · 2018–2019 · $32k · revenue +73%
  • PB
    POLAR BEARS INTERNATIONAL
    2× · 2018–2019 · $29k · revenue +8%
  • MZ
    MINNESOTA ZOO FOUNDATION
    2× · 2018–2019 · $20k · revenue +263%

Funded once

  • WD
    WASHINGTON DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE
    one grant, 2018 · $51k
  • SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTIONgraduated
    one grant, 2018 · $18k · revenue +30%
  • OZ
    OMAHA ZOO FOUNDATION
    one grant, 2019 · $16k · revenue -59%
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
Denver Zoological Foundation

Inspiring communities to save wildlife for future generations.

Animals
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
American Museum of Natural History

The museum's mission statement is: "to discover, interpret, and disseminate - through scientific research and education - knowledge about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe."

Arts & Culture
4
Utah Zoological Society

Create champions for wildlife by making connections between people and animals to inspire action.

Animals
5
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
6
American Humane Association

Founded in 1877, american humane association, dba american humane society (american humane) is committed to ensuring the safety, welfare and well-being of animals. our leadership programs are first to serve in promoting and nurturing the…

Animals
7
Wildlife Conservation Society

The wildlife conservation society (wcs) saves wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation action, education, and inspiring people to value nature.

Animals
8
The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia

The mission is "to understand the natural world and inspire everyone to care for it." the academy implements its mission through understanding the diversity of life; developing and applying science to protect the environment; and informing…

Science & Tech
9
Conservation Society of California

Through management of oakland zoo, the conservation society of california deepens connection with animals, saves wildlife, and inspires champions for the natural world.

Animals
10
Atlanta Fulton County Zoo Inc

Zoo atlanta's mission is to save wildlife and their habitats through research, conservation, education and engaging experiences. the zoo's efforts connect people to animals and inspire conservation action.

Animals
11
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
—
12
The Coral Reef and Marine Science Foundation Inc C/O James Bildner
—
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Seward Association for the Advancement of Marine Science; the most unlike its peers is Smithsonian Institution. 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

11 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

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 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 11 of the 14 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.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
3
Early backer (in before they grew)
11/11
Grantees still filing
9/11
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Metro Parks District of Tacom: $9,575,863 · OtherMetro Parks District of Tacom+3 more: $77,381 · OtherINTERNATIONAL ELEPHANT FOUNDATION: $32,450 · AnimalsPOLAR BEARS INTERNATIONAL: $28,526 · AnimalsMINNESOTA ZOO FOUNDATION: $20,000 · AnimalsOMAHA ZOO FOUNDATION: $16,250 · AnimalsNASHVILLE ZOO INC: $15,000 · AnimalsSEWARD ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF MARINE SCIENCE: $8,533 · AnimalsWILD CANID SURVIVAL AND RESEARCH CENTER INC DBA ENDANGERED WOLF CENTER: $5,000 · AnimalsSMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION: $17,622 · Arts & CultureUNIVERSITY OF HAWAII FOUNDATION: $15,918 · EducationHAWAII WILDLIFE FUND: $12,000 · Environment
Other$9,653,244Animals$125,759Arts & Culture$17,622Education$15,918Environment$12,000

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 budgetINTERNATIONAL ELEPHANT FOUNDATION: $32,450 over 2y, 1.6% of budgetPOLAR BEARS INTERNATIONAL: $28,526 over 2y, 0.5% of budgetMINNESOTA ZOO FOUNDATION: $20,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetSMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION: $17,622 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetOMAHA ZOO FOUNDATION: $16,250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF HAWAII FOUNDATION: $15,918 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetNASHVILLE ZOO INC: $15,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetUNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE: $14,800 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHAWAII WILDLIFE FUND: $12,000 over 1y, 2.9% of budgetSEWARD ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF MARINE SCIENCE: $8,533 over 1y, 0.1% 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.

American Online Givin…Donor Advised Charita…Fidelity Investments …Amazonsmile Foundation
American Online Giving Foundation IncDE8.3× affinity5 shared granteesties to 3 of 3Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: American Online Giving Foundation Inc · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Amazonsmile Foundation

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 Point Defiance Zoological Society funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Point Defiance Zoological Society. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%23%45%68%90%share of the org’s income from government →median 30%
  • University of Delaware: 30% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
0get no government money at all
2report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
0rely on government for over half their income
⤢ axis zoomed · 0–90%
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 14 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

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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