Tennessee · Nonprofit
THE ELEPHANT SANCTUARY IN TENNESSEE
THE ELEPHANT SANCTUARY IN TENNESSEE (Tennessee) receives grants from 278 organizations whose IRS filings report $13,304,599 to it, the largest being JANET M JOHNSTON FOUNDATION ($1,615,084). 183 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $9.4M
- Funders on record
- 278
- Grants received
- $13M
- Net assets
- $100M
What The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee does
Mission
Provide a natural habitat refuge developed around the needs of asian and african elephants where elephants are provided with lifetime care; to support and promote elephant welfare and conservation; to provide and support public education regarding the complex needs of elephants and the challenges facing elephants in the wild.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Shelter & care program- the organization provides elephants with the opportunity to live out their lives in a safe haven dedicated to their well being. Individualized care has been enhanced by adding laser therapy, new digital radiography equipment, allergy testing and other diagnostic tests. There were a total of 14 elephants inhabiting the facilities during the year.
$6,225,369 spentof which $266,985 as grants85% of program spendingEducation program- the organization seeks to raise public awareness of the complex needs of elephants and the crisis facing elephants in the wild by providing education opportunities for the public relating to elephant care and habitat, including materials and programs within the elephant discovery center and on-line distance learning.these education opportunities resulted in:*12,615 students in 40 states and 6 countries participated in distance learning programs; 121 volunteers onsite which included 2 college alternative spring breaks and 12 volunteer days.*3,100 visitors came to the elephant discovery center
$1,100,135 spent$36,178 earned by the program15% of program spending
The 2 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $7,325,504.
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 $65M to $80M (+23%).
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.
111% of THE ELEPHANT SANCTUARY IN TENNESSEE’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (74% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 1 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
Janice Zeitlin
President / CEO
Board chair
Dr Richard Rhoda
Board chair
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 94 funders to 120 funders, grant income rose $989k → $1.8M.
37 of 278 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 37% 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 THE ELEPHANT SANCTUARY IN TENNESSEE’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 278 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
THE ELEPHANT SANCTUARY IN TENNESSEE has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 12% of grant income, and it takes 7 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 7 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 THE ELEPHANT SANCTUARY IN TENNESSEE.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 15% · 2018 18% · 2019 17% · 2020 15% · 2021 20% · 2022 17% · 2023 18% — 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 THE ELEPHANT SANCTUARY IN TENNESSEE's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 66% 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
THE ELEPHANT SANCTUARY IN TENNESSEE draws 98% of its grant income from funders outside Tennessee, across 38 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $4.9M arriving through sponsors registered in 19 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
THE ELEPHANT SANCTUARY IN TENNESSEE runs a healthier operating margin than half of the 1,559 animals nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 1,559 animals nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2024
Organizations like THE ELEPHANT SANCTUARY IN TENNESSEE
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
90% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
86%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 38 states
Part of a family of 1 related entity
- Highland Lake Properties · corp_trust
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for THE ELEPHANT SANCTUARY IN TENNESSEE: 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 THE ELEPHANT SANCTUARY IN TENNESSEE?
- THE ELEPHANT SANCTUARY IN TENNESSEE (Tennessee) receives grants from 278 organizations whose IRS filings report $13,304,599 to it, the largest being JANET M JOHNSTON FOUNDATION ($1,615,084). 183 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does THE ELEPHANT SANCTUARY IN TENNESSEE have?
- IRS filings report 278 organizations giving $13,304,599 in grants to THE ELEPHANT SANCTUARY IN TENNESSEE, 183 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of THE ELEPHANT SANCTUARY IN TENNESSEE?
- JANET M JOHNSTON FOUNDATION is the largest funder on record, with $1,615,084 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like THE ELEPHANT SANCTUARY IN TENNESSEE 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.
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 278 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