Illinois · Nonprofit
LINCOLN PARK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY
LINCOLN PARK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY (Illinois) receives grants from 331 organizations whose IRS filings report $64,931,454 to it, the largest being WALTER FAMILY FOUNDATION INC ($9,029,800). 235 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $51M
- Funders on record
- 331
- Grants received
- $65M
- Net assets
- $197M
What Lincoln Park Zoological Society does
Mission
Lincoln park zoo is dedicated to connecting people with nature by providing a free, family-oriented wildlife experience in the heart of chicago and by advancing the highest quality of animal care, horticulture, education, science and conservation.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Building and grounds sitting on 49 acres on the lake michigan shoreline in the heart of chicago, lincoln park zoo is the only privately-managed free admissions zoo in the nation. Caring for more than 700 animals, many of which are endangered or threatened, that reside in a variety of buildings designed to house animals habitats, some of which are historically landmarked. Lincoln park zoo is also an accredited botanic garden by botanic gardens conservation international and an accredited level iii arboretum.
$11,614,177 spent30% of program spendingAnimal care and conservation lincoln park zoo is home to both the largest zoo-based conservation & science departments and the largest zoo-based animal welfare department in the country, with experts in areas including urban wildlife; behavior cognition, statistical population modeling; veterinary services; and the correlation between human, animal and ecosystem health.
$14,707,781 spentof which $139,288 as grants38% of program spendingVisitor services lincoln park zoo welcomes more than 3.5 million visitors every year to discover ther wonders of wildlife in the heart of chicago. The zoo is open 365 days per year and is dedicated to a family-friendly and safe place for visitors.
$6,170,243 spent16% of program spendingOther program services - including public education and membership.
$5,996,644 spentof which $361,097 as grants$8,829,234 earned by the program16% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $38,488,845.
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 2023 to 2024, from $226M to $265M (+17%).
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 14% · 2018 13% · 2019 13% · 2020 13% · 2021 27% · 2022 32% · 2023 18% · 2024 12% · 2025 17%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
51% of LINCOLN PARK 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. 2 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
Megan Ross
President/CEO
Board chair
Francesca M Edwardson
Chair
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 89 funders to 173 funders, grant income rose $3.4M → $9.1M.
28 of 331 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 23% 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 LINCOLN PARK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 331 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
LINCOLN PARK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 14% 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
32% 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 LINCOLN PARK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 28% · 2018 32% · 2019 28% · 2020 19% · 2021 25% · 2022 17% · 2023 15% — 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
62% of LINCOLN PARK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 71% 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
73% of LINCOLN PARK 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. $15M arriving through sponsors registered in 17 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
LINCOLN PARK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY 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 LINCOLN PARK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $5.6M on record.
- National Science Foundation$2.9M
- Institute of Museum and Library Services$1.6M
- Department of Housing and Urban Development$1.0M
- Department of the Interior$90k
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 LINCOLN PARK 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
87% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
82%
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 LINCOLN PARK 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 LINCOLN PARK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY?
- LINCOLN PARK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY (Illinois) receives grants from 331 organizations whose IRS filings report $64,931,454 to it, the largest being WALTER FAMILY FOUNDATION INC ($9,029,800). 235 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does LINCOLN PARK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY have?
- IRS filings report 331 organizations giving $64,931,454 in grants to LINCOLN PARK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY, 235 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of LINCOLN PARK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY?
- WALTER FAMILY FOUNDATION INC is the largest funder on record, with $9,029,800 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like LINCOLN PARK 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 FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 331 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