Georgia · Nonprofit
ATLANTA FULTON COUNTY ZOO INC
ATLANTA FULTON COUNTY ZOO INC (Georgia) receives grants from 65 organizations whose IRS filings report $10,528,035 to it, the largest being THE ARTHUR M BLANK FAMILY FOUNDATION ($2,000,000). 43 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $42M
- Funders on record
- 65
- Grants received
- $11M
- Net assets
- $119M
What Atlanta Fulton County Zoo Inc does
Mission
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.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
The animal collection & work with endangered species: 2025 highlights include the arrival of titan, a 16-year-old male african elephant; buttercup, a young female sumatran tiger, both recommended through the association of zoos and aquariums species survival plan (ssp); waffles, a hoffmann's two-toed sloth born to nutella and cocoa; nafis, a 10-year-old schmidt's guenon in the ford african rain forest; and a new ostrich, olive, and plains zebra, neighomi, in the african savanna. In a cross-organizational milestone, the zoo also transferred three female gorillas, andi, merry, and anaka, to san antonio zoo to be part of a new troop.
$10,878,528 spentof which $197,125 as grants34% of program spendingEnvironmental stewardship & workforce excellence: the zoo incorporates environmental considerations into its business by reducing impact through pollution prevention, waste reduction, and conservation of resources. The green team monitors the zoo's environmental efforts and maintains a sustainable workplace. The zoo's board and team members are composed of talented individuals with a broad range of professional experiences, perspectives, skills, and backgrounds, supporting thoughtful decision-making and the zoo's mission.
$10,607,205 spent33% of program spendingEducation & conservation: in 2025, the zoo's public, school, and family education programs served 775,116 individuals. Education programs create fun and engaging experiences to connect zoo visitors with wildlife, support science curricula to improve students' understanding of the natural world, and empower individuals to take action. 25 cents of every zoo admission ticket benefit conservation projects for wildlife and wild places around the world. The mabel dorn reeder conservation endowment fund awarded seven grants totaling $66,000 in 2025.
$3,634,831 spentof which $66,000 as grants$1,331,646 earned by the program11% of program spendingThe visitor experience: in 2025, zoo atlanta welcomed 816,026 visitors, offering unforgettable opportunities to connect with wildlife from around the world. From familiar native species to critically endangered animals on the brink of extinction, the zoo created meaningful, up-close experiences that inspired guests to care for the natural world. Internationally recognized for its leadership in science, conservation, education, and behavioral research, zoo atlanta brought its mission to life through. Daily keeper talks, interactive wildlife presentations, education programs, and year-round special events. In 2025, the zoo also invested in enhancing both the guest experience and animal wellbeing through significant capital improvements, including a $3 million transformation to the african lion complex and a reimagined experience aboard the norfolk southern zoo train. Community access programs: zoo atlanta broadened its reach through new programs and events in 2025. We launched a new access program, offering significantly reduced general admission and memberships for supplemental nutrition assistance program ("snap") cardholders and their families, helping to ensure that financial…
$6,917,069 spent$17,253,478 earned by the program22% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $32,037,633.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2022 to 2023, from $101M to $120M (+18%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2017 0% · 2018 0% · 2019 0% · 2020 12% · 2021 7% · 2023 0%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
51% of ATLANTA FULTON COUNTY ZOO INC’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (67% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 3 of the last 9 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Chief executive
Raymond King
CEO & president
Board chair
Lisa Laube
Director & chair
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 13 funders to 32 funders, grant income rose $1.8M → $3.4M.
15 of 65 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 26% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
Left out of every figure on this page: $19M from 5 payers (the payer shares this organization's board, largest Robert W Woodruff Foundation Inc). These are real filings, and they are not money ATLANTA FULTON COUNTY ZOO INC raised.
From the IRS filings of ATLANTA FULTON COUNTY ZOO INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 65 funders by total. Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
ATLANTA FULTON COUNTY ZOO INC has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 19% of grant income, and it takes 4 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 4 funders to its left
39% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund ATLANTA FULTON COUNTY ZOO INC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 55% · 2018 25% · 2019 67% · 2020 16% · 2021 25% · 2022 12% · 2023 29% — diversifying over time.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
51% of ATLANTA FULTON COUNTY ZOO INC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 66% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
84% of ATLANTA FULTON COUNTY ZOO INC's grant income comes from Georgia funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $2.7M arriving through sponsors registered in 11 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
ATLANTA FULTON COUNTY ZOO INC runs a healthier operating margin than half of the 134 animals nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 134 animals nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2025
Government funding ATLANTA FULTON COUNTY ZOO INC receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $1.4M on record.
- Institute of Museum and Library Services$1.4M
Federal grants vs contracts are distinguished; state line items keep their reported category. Matched by name + geography (the BMF), so coverage is partial and precision-first.
Organizations like ATLANTA FULTON COUNTY ZOO INC
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In Georgia
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
90% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
73%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Part of a family of 1 related entity
- Zoological Foundation of Georgia Inc · exempt
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for ATLANTA FULTON COUNTY ZOO INC: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds ATLANTA FULTON COUNTY ZOO INC?
- ATLANTA FULTON COUNTY ZOO INC (Georgia) receives grants from 65 organizations whose IRS filings report $10,528,035 to it, the largest being THE ARTHUR M BLANK FAMILY FOUNDATION ($2,000,000). 43 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does ATLANTA FULTON COUNTY ZOO INC have?
- IRS filings report 65 organizations giving $10,528,035 in grants to ATLANTA FULTON COUNTY ZOO INC, 43 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of ATLANTA FULTON COUNTY ZOO INC?
- THE ARTHUR M BLANK FAMILY FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $2,000,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like ATLANTA FULTON COUNTY ZOO INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Georgia. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 65 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing