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Zoological Society of San Diego at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

Zoological Society of San Diego

San diego zoo wildlife alliance is committed to saving species worldwide by uniting our expertise in wildlife care and conservation science with our dedication to inspiring passion for nature.

$5.7M
Granted FY2024still arriving
24
Grants FY2024still arriving
11
States reached
$500k
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$7.6MEnvironment$2.5MEducation$201kArts & Culture$126kScience & Tech$100kHealth$55kPhilanthropy$29kEmployment$14kOther$0
02FY2024 · 24 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 24 grants below total $1,632,824, the rows itemized in this filing. The $5,703,872 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $4,071,048 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 · FY2024

  • Under $10k5 grants · $36k
  • $10k–50k12 grants · $200k
  • $50k–250k5 grants · $530k
  • $250k+2 grants · $868k
$20,000
Median grant
11
States reached
$1.0B
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
THE NATURE CONSERVANCY$500,000
CENTER FOR PLANT CONSERVATION INC$367,841
REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA DAVIS$155,820
REWILD$110,000
WILDLIFE CONSERVATION NETWORK INC$104,104
NATURAL STATE LTD$100,000
THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA$60,000
MONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM FOUNDATION$25,000
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF ZOOLOGICAL PARKS AND AQUARIUMS INC$25,000
INTERNATIONAL ELEPHANT FOUNDATION$25,000
SPECIES360$20,000
THE PEREGRINE FUND INC$20,000
COLLEGE OF WILLIAM AND MARY$19,549
GLOBAL CONSERVATION NETWORK$15,000
MONARCH JOINT VENTURE$10,000
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:

Its human-services grants (FY18–18, $25k) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%ELEPHANT CLUB: $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

WA
ID
MT
MN
IL
MI
NY
MA
OR
PA
CA
UT
CO
MO
VA
MD
AZ
DC
HI
LA
TX
FL

Grants abroad, by region: $3.7M on the FY2024 return

Schedule F, as filed: 5 regions, $3.6M to organizations and $74k to individuals. The IRS asks for region and purpose, not the recipient, so no country or grantee can be named here.

East Asia and the Pacific$1.4M · 37% · 6 grants · 1 person

Stated purpose: CONSERVATION SUPPORT FOR GIANT PANDAS · CONSERVATION SUPPORT FOR PLATYPUS · CONSERVATION SUPPORT FOR KOALAS

Sub-Saharan Africa$1.1M · 29% · 9 grants

Stated purpose: CONSERVATION SUPPORT FOR GIRAFFE, LEOPARD, BLACK RHINO, AND HUMAN WILDLIFE CONFLICT RESEARCH · CONSERVATION SUPPORT FOR GREVY'S ZEBRA · CONSERVATION SUPPORT FOR VETERINARY SERVICES IN KENYA

South America$1.1M · 29% · 2 grants

Stated purpose: CONSERVATION SUPPORT FOR ANDEAN BEAR, JAGUAR, AND COCHA CASHU PROJECTS · CONSERVATION SUPPORT FOR LABORATORY TECHNICIANS IN PERU

North America (Canada and Mexico)$145k · 4% · 3 grants

Stated purpose: CONSERVATION SUPPORT FOR POLAR BEARS · CONSERVATION SUPPORT FOR THICK BILLED PARROT · CONSERVATION SUPPORT FOR HORNBILLS

Europe (including Iceland and Greenland)$44k · 1% · 1 grant · 1 person

Stated purpose: SUPPORT FOR WILDLIFE RANGER CHALLENGE FOR AFRICAN CONSERVATION · POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH

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.
04

Where the work is directed

The same grants placed two ways: where each recipient sits, and where its stated purpose sends the money.

About 25% of Zoological Society of San Diego’s grant dollars are earmarked for a different county than the recipient’s own address.

Zoological Society of San Diegolessmore of its giving
Placed by recipient address
How this is measured
Recipient view: each grant at its grantee’s ZIP, mapped to a county. Directed view: each grant at the county its stated purpose names, falling back to the recipient’s county when the purpose names no place; US grants only. A county shows only if it carries the top 95% of that view’s dollars. Purposes are read from the funder’s own 990 grant descriptions.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

93%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$7.6M · 36 repeat orgs$614k to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +46% since the first grant, against +44% for those funded once.

36 repeat relationships: 17 still active in FY2024, 19 since wound down; 6 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

36
30

Total granted

$7.6M
$455k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+46%
+44%

Still filing today

83%
77%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 86% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $159k went to new ones.

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

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

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24
AnimalsEducationEnvironmentArts & CultureCommunity ImprovementHuman ServicesOther
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

  • AN
    Audubon Nature Institute Inc
    6× · 2018–2023 · $3.1M · revenue +75%
  • WC
    WILDLIFE CONSERVATION NETWORK INC
    6× · 2017–2024 · $415k · revenue +302%
  • REWILD
    6× · 2017–2024 · $320k · revenue +550%

Funded once

  • RR
    REVIVE & RESTOREgraduated
    one grant, 2023 · $49k · revenue +100%
  • BC
    Baylor College of Medicinegraduated
    one grant, 2019 · $40k · revenue +47%
  • SL
    SAINT LOUIS ZOO ASSOCIATION
    one grant, 2017 · $30k
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
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
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
Rainforest Trust

Rainforest trust saves endangered wildlife and protects our planet by creating rainforest reserves through partnerships, community engagement, and donor support.

International
4
Conservation International Foundation

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

Environment
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
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
7
Denver Zoological Foundation

Inspiring communities to save wildlife for future generations.

Animals
8
Zoological Society of San Diego

San diego zoo wildlife alliance is committed to saving species worldwide by uniting our expertise in wildlife care and conservation science with our dedication to inspiring passion for nature.

Animals
9
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
10
Zoo Outreach Organisation

Wildlife conservation, research and education.

Environment
11
The Wildlife Society

The wildlife society's mission is to inspire, empower, and enable wildlife professionals to sustain wildlife populations and habitats through science-based management and conservation.

Animals
12
San Francisco Zoological Society

To connect all people with wildlife, inspire caring for nature, and advance conservation action.

Animals
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is SPECIES360; the most unlike its peers is The Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
05the grantee network

60 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. 60 of the 73 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)
13
Early backer (in before they grew)
60/60
Grantees still filing
48/60
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

Audubon Nature Institute Inc: $3,089,984 · AnimalsAudubon Nature Institute IncWILDLIFE CONSERVATION NETWORK INC: $414,783 · AnimalsWILDLIFE CONSERVATION NETWORK INCREWILD: $320,000 · AnimalsREWILDPOLAR BEARS INTERNATIONAL: $177,500 · Animals+29 more: $1,137,023 · Animals+29 moreTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $2,369,872 · OtherTHE NATURE CONSERVANCYUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA DAVIS: $428,092 · OtherUNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA DAVISREGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT SAN DIEGO: $417,207 · OtherREGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA…+20 more: $521,032 · Other+20 moreCENTER FOR PLANT CONSERVATION INC: $977,392 · EnvironmentCENTER FOR P…NATURAL STATE LTD: $100,000 · EnvironmentNATURAL STAT…+2 more: $51,412 · EnvironmentSMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION: $144,646 · Arts & CultureSAN DIEGO SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY: $136,000 · Arts & CulturePOINT LOMA NAZARENE UNIVERSITY: $128,200 · EducationCSU FULLERTON AUXILIARY SERVICES CORPORATION: $52,500 · EducationBaylor College of Medicine: $40,000 · EducationUC SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION: $13,000 · EducationMONARCH JOINT VENTURE: $10,000 · EducationFLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION INC: $10,000 · Education+2 more: $16,231 · EducationGIRAFFE CONSERVATION FOUNDATION USA: $38,950 · InternationalNORTH SAN DIEGO BUSINESS CHAMBER: $26,500 · Community ImprovementINTERNATIONAL ZOO EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION INC: $10,000 · Community Improvement
Animals$5,139,290Other$3,736,203Environment$1,128,804Arts & Culture$280,646Education$269,931International$38,950Community Improvement$36,500

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 budgetAudubon Nature Institute Inc: $3,089,984 over 6y, 3.5% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $2,369,872 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetCENTER FOR PLANT CONSERVATION INC: $977,392 over 3y, 24% of budgetWILDLIFE CONSERVATION NETWORK INC: $414,783 over 6y, 0.3% of budgetREWILD: $320,000 over 6y, 0.5% of budgetPOLAR BEARS INTERNATIONAL: $177,500 over 2y, 3.8% of budgetAMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF ZOOLOGICAL PARKS AND AQUARIUMS INC: $160,230 over 7y, 0.3% of budgetSMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION: $144,646 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetSAN DIEGO SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY: $136,000 over 2y, 1.1% of budgetTHE TURTLE SURVIVAL ALLIANCE FOUNDATION: $132,500 over 6y, 2.2% of budgetTHE SAINT LOUIS ZOO ASSOCIATION: $130,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetPOINT LOMA NAZARENE UNIVERSITY: $128,200 over 5y, 0.0% of budgetINTERNATIONAL ELEPHANT FOUNDATION: $121,000 over 5y, 3.1% of budgetNATURAL STATE LTD: $100,000 over 1y, 1.2% of budgetGLOBAL CONSERVATION NETWORK: $82,500 over 4y, 5.7% of budgetChicago Zoological Society: $70,000 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetTHE PEREGRINE FUND INC: $70,000 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetTHE INTERNATIONAL IGUANA FOUNDATION: $60,000 over 6y, 9.2% of budgetRED PANDA NETWORK: $55,750 over 5y, 2.9% of budgetCSU FULLERTON AUXILIARY SERVICES CORPORATION: $52,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetREVIVE & RESTORE: $48,500 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetBaylor College of Medicine: $40,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetGIRAFFE CONSERVATION FOUNDATION USA: $38,950 over 3y, 1.1% of budgetSAHARA CONSERVATION FUND: $30,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetSPECIES360: $30,000 over 2y, 0.3% of budgetASSOCIATION OF FUNDRAISING PROFESSIONALS SAN DIEGO CHAPTER: $29,000 over 4y, 5.8% of budgetNORTH SAN DIEGO BUSINESS CHAMBER: $26,500 over 2y, 2.2% of budgetDefenders of Wildlife: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetELEPHANT COOPERATION: $25,000 over 1y, 2.0% of budgetMONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM FOUNDATION: $25,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetDALLAS ZOO MANAGEMENT INC: $23,500 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetCARNIVORES LIVELIHOODS AND LANDSCAPES: $21,750 over 3y, 17% of budgetINT'L UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE & NATURAL RESOURCES - US: $21,412 over 1y, 2.6% of budgetPORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION: $20,600 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetXERCES SOCIETY INC: $20,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetWildlife Conservation Global Inc: $20,000 over 3y, 1.1% of budgetWOODLAND PARK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY: $17,500 over 2y, 0.0% of budgetTHE INTERNATIONAL RHINO FOUNDATION: $15,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetSANFORD BURNHAM PREBYS MEDICAL DISCOVERY INSTITUTE: $15,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetINTERNATIONAL SNOW LEOPARD TRUST: $15,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetErie Zoological Society: $14,000 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetPAN AFRICAN SANCTUARY ALLIANCE INC: $14,000 over 1y, 1.4% of budgetWILDLIFE SOS: $13,100 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetUC SAN DIEGO FOUNDATION: $13,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetPrimates Peru: $10,000 over 1y, 2.5% of budgetFOREVER BALBOA PARK: $10,000 over 1y, 0.7% of budgetWildlife Conservation Society: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE ALLEN INSTITUTE FOR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% 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.

Columbus Zoological P…Utah Zoological Socie…Dallas Zoo Management…Living Desert TheDetroit Zoological So…East Coast Zoological…Jacksonville Zoologic…American Association …Fort Wayne Zoological…Houston Zoo IncNational Fish and Wil…Riverbanks Society
Columbus Zoological Park AssociationOH26.3× affinity10 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Columbus Zoological Park Association · Utah Zoological Society · Dallas Zoo Management Inc · Living Desert The · Detroit Zoological Society · East Coast Zoological Society of Florida Inc · Jacksonville Zoological Society Inc · American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums Inc · Fort Wayne Zoological Society Inc · Houston Zoo Inc · National Fish and Wildlife Foundation · Riverbanks Society

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 40%2%6%14%25%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 22%
  • Pan African Sanctuary Alliance Inc: 68% of income from government
  • Xerces Society Inc: 22% of income from government
  • Giraffe Conservation Foundation Usa: 2% of income from government
  • Portland State University Foundation: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
4get no government money at all
6report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
1rely 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 73 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 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

Source object · view filing

Play a game based on Zoological Society of San Diego’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