Colorado · Nonprofit
DENVER ZOOLOGICAL FOUNDATION
DENVER ZOOLOGICAL FOUNDATION (Colorado) receives grants from 191 organizations whose IRS filings report $12,426,602 to it, the largest being SCHLESSMAN FOUNDATION INC ($2,050,500). 117 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $60M
- Funders on record
- 191
- Grants received
- $12M
- Net assets
- $21M
What Denver Zoological Foundation does
Mission
Inspiring communities to save wildlife for future generations.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Life sciences: the denver zoo's mission is inspiring communities to save wildlife for future generations. The denver zoo cares for approximately 2,600 animals, representing over 450 species, many of which are endangered or threatened. Our largest program area is caring for our animal residents who connect our guests to wildlife around the world. Denver zoo is a recognized leader in all areas relating to the highest level of care for our animal collection as we are focused on providing the best nutritional, emotional, social, and physical care possible. With the addition of the lembke family preserve, a 570-acre parcel in weld county, colorado, the denver zoo will be able to dramatically increase its holding, breeding, research and reintroduction efforts. Animals at the denver zoo receive the very best care from their dedicated animal care staff, animal behaviorists, veterinary medicine staff, and zoo nutrition and welfare staff. Our animals are bred under the recommendations of the association of zoos and aquariums' (aza) species survival plan (ssp), which ensures genetic diversity and healthy populations. Animal welfare is everyone's job at the denver zoo. The denver zoo is…
$41,476,060 spent$10,606,322 earned by the program73% of program spendingGuest experiences: the denver zoo exists to help our community connect with wildlife here and around the world so that we can all be part of the solution to helping species thrive. Our passion and reason for being is to inspire communities to save wildlife for future generations. We achieve this by providing an outstanding guest experience every day. The denver zoo monitors and evaluates the guest experience through a mystery shopper program, consistently monitoring online feedback, and extensive guest satisfaction surveys. The denver zoo continues to make a profound impact, creating meaningful experiences for guests, both at the denver zoo and off-site in the community, engaging citizens through impactful animal encounters that inspire a lifelong love of science learning. The denver zoo is a place where guests make local, regional, and international connections, linking people, animals, and nature. The denver zoo connects people with animals, inspiring them to champion the denver zoo's mission to inspire communities to save wildlife for future generations. As an accredited association of zoos and aquariums (aza) institution, the denver zoo is an important resource for the denver…
$9,776,276 spent$19,497,486 earned by the program17% of program spendingLearning experiences: denver zoos conservation learning, conservation engagement, community engagement and community research & evaluation teams aim to help students, families, and communities connect with the environment, become scientific thinkers, and ultimately champions for animals and habitats. The denver zoo is a one-of-a-kind place where people of all ages and backgrounds can experience the joy and wonders of animals, conservation, and the environment. The conservation learning team provided a variety of in-person learning experiences which were very well received by our local schools and community partners. The denver zoo had over 33,000 participants in education and outreach programs in 2025.
$3,843,620 spent$996,984 earned by the program7% of program spendingField conservation: the denver zoo is a zoo-based conservation organization and a dedicated player in the movement to save wildlife. We conduct extensive field work in colorado and globally for animals and habitats in the wild. Our approach is to work with communities to understand conservation issues, then co-develop sustainable strategies to protect wildlife and wild places. Denver zoo is a leader among zoos in field conservation. In addition to connecting audiences with a wide variety of species at our 80-acre urban campus, we work to protect animals and habitats through core programs around the world in - laos, africa, peru, and the colorado rocky mountains and great plains. We commit full-time, part-time, and contract staff along with other resources to these programs each year. We develop the next generation of conservation leaders through internships, apprenticeships, and educational programs. Using both social and ecological science to identify and understand target species and threats to their survival, we work to mitigate threats by strengthening protected area management, engaging local communities, influencing conservation policy, and building the capacity of…
$1,737,879 spentof which $348,217 as grants$11,727 earned by the program3% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $56,833,835.
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 2020 to 2021, from $28M to $46M (+64%).
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 25% · 2018 31% · 2019 38% · 2020 45% · 2021 43% · 2022 32% · 2023 30% · 2024 27%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
53% of DENVER ZOOLOGICAL FOUNDATION’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. 5 of the last 8 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
Cristal Torres
Acting CEO
Board chair
Charles Scoggin
Chair
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 49 funders to 72 funders, grant income rose $680k → $1.7M.
28 of 191 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 34% 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: $10M from one payer (the payer shares this organization's board, largest Colorado Zoological Trust). These are real filings, and they are not money DENVER ZOOLOGICAL FOUNDATION raised.
From the IRS filings of DENVER ZOOLOGICAL FOUNDATION’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 191 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
DENVER ZOOLOGICAL FOUNDATION has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 16% of grant income, and it takes 6 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 6 funders to its left
44% 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 DENVER ZOOLOGICAL FOUNDATION.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 37% · 2018 29% · 2019 14% · 2020 17% · 2021 18% · 2022 33% · 2023 24% — 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
39% of DENVER ZOOLOGICAL FOUNDATION's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 61% 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
79% of DENVER ZOOLOGICAL FOUNDATION's grant income comes from Colorado funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $4.2M arriving through sponsors registered in 15 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
DENVER ZOOLOGICAL FOUNDATION is better cushioned than half of the 235 animals nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 235 animals nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2024
Government funding DENVER ZOOLOGICAL FOUNDATION receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $778k on record.
- Institute of Museum and Library Services$778k
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 DENVER ZOOLOGICAL FOUNDATION
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 Colorado
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
84% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
99%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Part of a family of 1 related entity
- Colorado Zoological Trust · exempt
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for DENVER ZOOLOGICAL FOUNDATION: 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 DENVER ZOOLOGICAL FOUNDATION?
- DENVER ZOOLOGICAL FOUNDATION (Colorado) receives grants from 191 organizations whose IRS filings report $12,426,602 to it, the largest being SCHLESSMAN FOUNDATION INC ($2,050,500). 117 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does DENVER ZOOLOGICAL FOUNDATION have?
- IRS filings report 191 organizations giving $12,426,602 in grants to DENVER ZOOLOGICAL FOUNDATION, 117 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of DENVER ZOOLOGICAL FOUNDATION?
- SCHLESSMAN FOUNDATION INC is the largest funder on record, with $2,050,500 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like DENVER ZOOLOGICAL FOUNDATION find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Colorado. 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 FY2024 (financials across 2017–2024), and the filings of 191 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