California · Nonprofit
LIVING DESERT THE
LIVING DESERT THE (California) receives grants from 210 organizations whose IRS filings report $28,848,199 to it, the largest being CONNIE AND BOB LURIE FOUNDATION INC ($4,427,492). 121 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $48M
- Funders on record
- 210
- Grants received
- $29M
- Net assets
- $163M
What Living Desert The does
Mission
The living desert mission is to enhance desert conservation through preservation, education and appreciation.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
On its FY2024 return the organization reported starting a significant new program.
1. In april 2025 the bighorn cafe and the bill gross and pax stengaard gross oasis splash pad opened. The bighorn cafe is the living desert's newest and largest restaurant, located next to our bighorn sheep habitat where the cafe will seat 150 guests indoors with outdoor patio seating overlooking the habitat. It provides a fresh and diverse menu with more vegan and vegetarian options to give guest the opportunity to "eat like a giraffe." the bill gross and pax stengaard gross oasis splash pad is a desert-themed interactive water play area designed for visitors of all ages. Featuring desert inspired elements, educating guests about the importance of water conservation. The facility uses a recirculated and treated water system that consumes less water than a single-family household. 2. Starting in may 2025 only the bighorn cafe remained open during summer, to promote the newly built cafe. Our other food and beverage outlets will open with the new season as visitation picks up. 3. Beyond the completion of the bighorn cafe and splash pad several renovations were made to the park. Enhancements were made to the viewing area for some of our animal habitats including the bighorn sheep, spekes gazelle, and arabian oryx habitats. The area across from our carousel was reconstructed as the pronghorn picnic place to have shade, seating and additional space for events. Our train exhibit was renovated to showcase the coachella valley. Ev chargers were installed in our parking lot including…
Its own explanation, from Schedule O of that return (Part III, line 2).
Conservation and education programing: the living desert is an agent of conservation with 100+ projects in 12 countries on 3 continents, collaborating with 70+ in-country organizations. We are global leaders in community-based conservation using successful biological and social science-based training, research, and implementation projects all around the world, while also inspiring resource sustainability efforts among our visitors. The educational programs of the living desert cover all elements of desert conservation awareness to provoke conservation actions and behavioral change. We reach over 600,000 guests annually. We provide informal educational programming to more than 50,000 adults and children, including over 30,000 school children. We offer a diversity of engaging programing that sparks a passion to care for the natural world.
$4,611,459 spentof which $464,689 as grants$88,797 earned by the program18% of program spendingCollections: the plants and animals at the living desert have important roles, as they are ambassadors for their wild counterparts. The living desert maintains one of the most notable and extensive collections of desert flora and fauna in the united states. As one of only two zoological and botanical gardens in the country with desert conservation as its mission, we proudly provide a home to almost 600 individual desert animals of over 152 species and over 10,000 desert plants of over 1000 species in over 50 themed gardens and habitats. The zoo and gardens is set within the natural sonoran desert environment in the foothills of the santa rosa mountains. The caretakers of the animals and plants provide exceptional care and well-being for all of these species. These caretakers provide connections with these animals and plants with our guests so they can be inspired to make a positive difference for the deserts of the world.
$11,529,753 spent$11,196,886 earned by the program45% of program spendingMembership/park services: the living desert has been in operation for almost 55 years. Various memberships are offered including single, family, and other levels, up to donative memberships. The living desert's membership program expands the guest experience to include an ongoing connection to the mission and special events. Each department within the living desert team strives to assure excellence in their area of expertise to provide optimal animal well- being, park preservation and meaningful guests connections. The experience begins with the ease of parking and park entry; to the enjoyment of the animal and botanical collections; to the outstanding community events. The living desert brings in an audience from around the world, but particularly across the coachella valley, a region noted for its resorts and informal learning processes.
$9,230,299 spent$5,841,723 earned by the program36% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $25,371,511.
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 $97M to $125M (+29%).
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: 2021 9% · 2022 14% · 2023 3% · 2024 2% · 2025 3%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
24% of LIVING DESERT THE’s revenue is contributions — more earned-revenue than three-quarters of its peers (87% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 0 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.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 41 funders to 85 funders, grant income rose $765k → $4.6M.
26 of 210 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 27% 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: $38k from one payer (the payer shares this organization's board, largest California Community Foundation). These are real filings, and they are not money LIVING DESERT THE raised.
From the IRS filings of LIVING DESERT THE’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 210 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
LIVING DESERT THE has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 15% 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
30% 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 LIVING DESERT THE.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 37% · 2018 30% · 2019 21% · 2020 41% · 2021 45% · 2022 24% · 2023 44% — 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
50% of LIVING DESERT THE's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 58% 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
58% of LIVING DESERT THE's grant income comes from California funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $7.8M 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
LIVING DESERT THE runs a healthier operating margin than half of the 210 environment nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 210 environment nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2025
Government funding LIVING DESERT THE receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $1.0M on record.
- Department of the Interior$1.0M
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 LIVING DESERT THE
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 California
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
88% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
93%
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 LIVING DESERT THE: 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 LIVING DESERT THE?
- LIVING DESERT THE (California) receives grants from 210 organizations whose IRS filings report $28,848,199 to it, the largest being CONNIE AND BOB LURIE FOUNDATION INC ($4,427,492). 121 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does LIVING DESERT THE have?
- IRS filings report 210 organizations giving $28,848,199 in grants to LIVING DESERT THE, 121 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of LIVING DESERT THE?
- CONNIE AND BOB LURIE FOUNDATION INC is the largest funder on record, with $4,427,492 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like LIVING DESERT THE find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in California. 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 210 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