Michigan · Nonprofit
JOHN BALL ZOO
JOHN BALL ZOO (Michigan) receives grants from 64 organizations whose IRS filings report $14,512,647 to it, the largest being BILL AND BEA IDEMA FOUNDATION ($3,550,000). 45 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $37M
- Funders on record
- 64
- Grants received
- $15M
- Net assets
- $26M
What John Ball Zoo does
Mission
We inspire our community to be actively engaged in the conservation of wildlife and our natural environment.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Guest services-the zoo incurs expenses related to the operation and management of its food service, gift shop, visitor experiences and admission sales.
$6,079,299 spent$12,582,039 earned by the program20% of program spendingAnimal care-the zoo incurs expenses related to the support in caring for their animal collection. This includes food, veterinary services, animal enrichment, equipment and appropriate staffing.
$4,980,980 spentof which $36,500 as grants17% of program spendingZoo operations-the zoo incurs expenses related to the management and maintenance of the buildings, equipment, and zoo and park outdoor spaces. This includes repairs, renovations, exhibit development and exhibit construction.
$16,905,304 spent$6,650,357 earned by the program56% of program spendingEducation-the zoo offers education programs which include classes, tours, camps, teen programs, scout programs, school programs, family programs, educational exhibit graphics and exhibit interpretation.
$917,196 spent$470,236 earned by the program3% of program spendingInstitutional advancement-the zoo incurs costs related to the operation and management of membership sales, events, promotions and rentals.
$1,281,973 spent4% of program spending
The 5 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $30,164,752.
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 2018 to 2019, from $8.4M to $17M (+103%).
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: 2019 6% · 2020 15% · 2021 27% · 2022 2% · 2023 6% · 2024 16%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
47% of JOHN BALL ZOO’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. 2 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
Peter F D'Arienzo
CEO
Board chair
Matt Becker
Board chair
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 9 funders to 27 funders, grant income rose $83k → $2.5M.
11 of 64 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 7% 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 JOHN BALL ZOO’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 64 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
JOHN BALL ZOO has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 24% of grant income, and it takes 3 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 3 funders to its left
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 33% · 2018 32% · 2019 27% · 2020 44% · 2021 31% · 2022 35% · 2023 79% — growing more concentrated.
“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 JOHN BALL ZOO's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 70% 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
99% of JOHN BALL ZOO's grant income comes from Michigan funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $1.0M arriving through sponsors registered in 8 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
JOHN BALL ZOO has grown faster than three-quarters of the 235 animals nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 235 animals nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2024
Government funding JOHN BALL ZOO receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $250k on record.
- Institute of Museum and Library Services$250k
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 JOHN BALL ZOO
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 Michigan
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
89% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
95%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for JOHN BALL ZOO: 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 JOHN BALL ZOO?
- JOHN BALL ZOO (Michigan) receives grants from 64 organizations whose IRS filings report $14,512,647 to it, the largest being BILL AND BEA IDEMA FOUNDATION ($3,550,000). 45 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does JOHN BALL ZOO have?
- IRS filings report 64 organizations giving $14,512,647 in grants to JOHN BALL ZOO, 45 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of JOHN BALL ZOO?
- BILL AND BEA IDEMA FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $3,550,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like JOHN BALL ZOO find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Michigan. 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 64 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 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing