Tennessee · Nonprofit
Tennessee Aquarium
Tennessee Aquarium (Tennessee) receives grants from 32 organizations whose IRS filings report $3,194,295 to it, the largest being AMERICAN ENDOWMENT FOUNDATION ($1,500,000). 19 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 62% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2024
- $34M
- Funders on record
- 32
- Grants received
- $3.2M
- Net assets
- $73M
What Tennessee Aquarium does
Mission
The mission of the Tennessee Aquarium is to connect people with nature and empower them to make informed decisions about water and wildlife.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
The Tennessee Aquarium, a highly visited attraction, consistently rates very high in guest satisfaction. After more than 30 years, the Aquarium continues to be a major catalyst for economic development, providing strong fiscal and economic impacts on the region. In 2024, the Aquarium welcomed nearly 752,000 visitors. Guests are immersed in the fascinating stories of life above and below the water within our River Journey and Ocean Journey buildings. Habitats replicating global ecosystems are home to more than 10,000 animals representing 550 species. Many animals are part of species survival plans coordinated by zoos and aquariums across the country. The Aquarium has been continuously accredited by The Association of Zoos and Aquariums for over 30 years, affirming our commitment to the highest standards of animal care. This accreditation also reflects our dedication to the best practices in other facets of our profession. The Aquarium also operates an IMAX 3D theater showing educational and inspiring films daily.
$20,042,399 spent92% of program spendingThe rivers of the southeastern United States harbor some of the highest freshwater diversity on the planet. The Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute furthers the mission of the Tennessee Aquarium by conducting scientific studies, restoring and protecting our regions natural ecosystems, and educating the public to take conservation action. Scientific research is performed in a LEED Gold-certified freshwater science center on the banks of the Tennessee River. There, our scientists identify which southeastern waters have the greatest biodiversity. This is vital for conservation planning in the Southeast because it can be used to identify hotspots of diversity that need protection. One signature program is the propagation and reintroduction of Lake Sturgeon to the Tennessee and Cumberland river watersheds. 2025 will mark 25 years of these efforts, and the Tennessee Aquarium and its partners will have released more than 430,000 Lake
$787,882 spent4% of program spendingThe Tennessee Aquarium is a leader in environmental and conservation education and has received overwhelming acclaim for its education programs. Frequently honored for its conservation education and research work, the Aquarium has also received awards for its customer service and guest experience, including Conservation Education of the Year from the Tennessee Wildlife Federation, Office of the Governor Environmental Stewardship award, and the North American Conservation award. Aquarium educators have connected more than 2.5 million students with the natural world through the Aquariums dynamic living collection. School groups can select from several activities, including self-guided tours of the Aquarium, standards-based classroom programs, and educational IMAX films. The Aquarium offers complimentary admission and bus transportation for economically disadvantaged students in Title 1 schools.
$965,367 spent4% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $21,795,648.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2019, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2019, 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 $68M to $82M (+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: 2019 1% · 2020 17% · 2021 28% · 2022 3% · 2023 2% · 2024 2%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
17% of Tennessee Aquarium’s revenue is contributions — more earned-revenue than three-quarters of its peers (67% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 2 of the last 6 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
Walter K Sanford
President, CEO
Board chair
Val Armstrong
Trustee, Chair
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 6 funders to 10 funders, grant income rose $71k → $269k.
9 of 32 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 62% 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: $444k from one payer (the payer shares this organization's board, largest The Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga Inc). These are real filings, and they are not money Tennessee Aquarium raised.
From the IRS filings of Tennessee Aquarium’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 32 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
Tennessee Aquarium leans on a few funders — its largest provides 47% of grant income and the top three 63%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
78% 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 Tennessee Aquarium.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 70% · 2018 63% · 2019 76% · 2020 74% · 2021 26% · 2022 45% · 2023 61% — 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
28% of Tennessee Aquarium's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 59% 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
62% of Tennessee Aquarium's grant income arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors, whose addresses record where the money is held rather than where the donor is. Of the $1.2M that is directly attributable, 52% of it comes from funders outside Tennessee, across 12 states.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $2.0M arriving through sponsors registered in 9 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
Tennessee Aquarium runs a healthier operating margin 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 Tennessee Aquarium receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $716k on record.
- Institute of Museum and Library Services$461k
- Department of the Interior$254k
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 Tennessee Aquarium
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 Tennessee
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
71% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
77%
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 Tennessee Aquarium: 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 Tennessee Aquarium?
- Tennessee Aquarium (Tennessee) receives grants from 32 organizations whose IRS filings report $3,194,295 to it, the largest being AMERICAN ENDOWMENT FOUNDATION ($1,500,000). 19 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 62% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does Tennessee Aquarium have?
- IRS filings report 32 organizations giving $3,194,295 in grants to Tennessee Aquarium, 19 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of Tennessee Aquarium?
- AMERICAN ENDOWMENT FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $1,500,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like Tennessee Aquarium find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Tennessee. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
Play a game about who funds Tennessee Aquarium →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2019–2024), and the filings of 32 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