Illinois · Nonprofit
Chicago Zoological Society
Chicago Zoological Society (Illinois) receives grants from 195 organizations whose IRS filings report $37,568,250 to it, the largest being The Chicago Community Trust ($5,887,842). 123 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2026
- $91M
- Funders on record
- 195
- Grants received
- $38M
- Net assets
- $233M
What Chicago Zoological Society does
Mission
To inspire conservation leadership by connecting people with wildlife and nature.
As stated on its FY2026 Form 990.
Programs
Park Operations The CZS maintains 76 buildings on 235 acres of land to exhibit over 2,500 animals. In a typical year, two million visitors annually enjoy the experience of seeing and learning about the animals of the world. Each individual that enters through Brookfield Zoos gates represents an opportunity to introduce representatives of the wild world, to convey our intertwined connections to the animal kingdom, and to encourage positive change in the world. The Zoo is open almost every day of the year. Admission is free to the general public 52 days/year and at all times to Illinois school groups and military personnel. The membership team services our 100,000 member households, providing them with the opportunity to participate in the conservation and educational efforts of CZS. The events team provides seasonal and animal themed events such as Earth Day, Spring Fest, Lantern Festival, Holiday Magic and Boo at the Zoo. Visitor services provides narrated tram tours and accessible transportation options in the park.
$30,984,178 spent$28,140,916 earned by the program45% of program spendingAnimal Health, Welfare, Care and Programs More than 2500 ambassadors of the animal kingdom provide our visitors with a rare opportunity to see species from around the globe and experience up close, personal encounters. CZS staff provide expert care of these ambassadors, where innovations in husbandry techniques and pioneering breeding programs are part of the cuttting edge culture of excellence and integrating disciplines such as population biology, behavioral science, nutrition and veterinary science help determine the best ways to provide and continuously care for the animals. CZS also incorporates models and practices from an array of animal care professionals around the world, to develop the best possible zoo-based animal care and management practices. Through Keeper Chats and Ambassador Animal Encounters, staff share their knowledge of the animals in their care with zoo guests, helping them gain an appreciation for all citizens of the natural world. Through field programs,CZS support efforts to protect and restore populations of threatened species in other parts of the world.
$34,094,000 spentof which $197,674 as grants$3,194,219 earned by the program49% of program spendingEducation and Community Engagement Through its education programs, CZS communicates with others to engender in them a sense of ownership about living harmoniously with nature and helping save endangered species. Education specialists, volunteers, curators, graphic and exhibit designers, photographers and many others contribute to sharing this information both in person and virtually. As well as reaching the daily visitors to the Zoo, CZSs education and outreach programming reaches out to would be conservationists outside of the Zoo including classrooms of school children and teachers, local libraries and community organizations to engage them in nature based programs, strengthening the bridge between education and conservation and working together to create healthy spaces for people and wildlife.
$4,103,000 spentof which $54,000 as grants$298,892 earned by the program6% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2026 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $69,181,178.
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 2024 to 2025, from $265M to $317M (+20%).
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 21% · 2018 22% · 2019 21% · 2020 36% · 2022 37% · 2023 24% · 2024 31% · 2025 22% · 2026 31%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
50% of Chicago Zoological Society’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
Dr Michael Adkesson
President and CEO
Board chair
Cherryl T Thomas
Chair of the Board
As listed on its FY2026 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 59 funders to 84 funders, grant income rose $2.2M → $4.6M.
26 of 195 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 35% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of Chicago Zoological Society’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 195 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
Chicago Zoological Society has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 16% of grant income, and it takes 5 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 5 funders to its left
37% 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 Chicago Zoological Society.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 66% · 2018 24% · 2019 25% · 2020 34% · 2021 23% · 2022 23% · 2023 22% — 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
54% of Chicago Zoological Society's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 63% 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
77% of Chicago Zoological Society's grant income comes from Illinois funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $13M arriving through sponsors registered in 16 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
Chicago Zoological Society's funding base is broadening — from 59 funders to 84 as grant income climbed.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 235 animals nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2026
Government funding Chicago Zoological Society receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $4.3M on record — $4.3M federal, $639 state.
- Institute of Museum and Library Services$2.7M
- Department of Education$825k
- Department of Commerce$452k
- National Science Foundation$238k
- Department of Veterans Affairs$16k
- FREIGHT$639
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 Chicago Zoological Society
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 Illinois
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
81% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
84%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 3 states
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for Chicago Zoological Society: 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 Chicago Zoological Society?
- Chicago Zoological Society (Illinois) receives grants from 195 organizations whose IRS filings report $37,568,250 to it, the largest being The Chicago Community Trust ($5,887,842). 123 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does Chicago Zoological Society have?
- IRS filings report 195 organizations giving $37,568,250 in grants to Chicago Zoological Society, 123 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of Chicago Zoological Society?
- The Chicago Community Trust is the largest funder on record, with $5,887,842 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like Chicago Zoological Society find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Illinois. 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 FY2026 (financials across 2017–2026), and the filings of 195 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