Florida · Nonprofit
THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF THE PALM BEACHES INC
THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF THE PALM BEACHES INC (Florida) receives grants from 136 organizations whose IRS filings report $25,109,934 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($11,265,751). 73 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 72% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- Revenue FY2025
- $27M
- Funders on record
- 136
- Grants received
- $25M
- Net assets
- $65M
What The Zoological Society of the Palm Beaches Inc does
Mission
The zoological society of the palm beaches, inc. Exists to inspire people to act on behalf of wildlife and the natural world. We advance our conservation mission through endangered species propagation, education and support of conservation initiatives in the field. Our commitment to sustainable business practices elevates our capacity to inspire others.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Wildlife programs:the zoological society of the palm beaches is a fully accredited public zoo caring for over 400 animals, many of whom are endangered and whose native territories are threatened. The primary mission of the zoo is to inspire the almost 400,000 guests who visit the zoo annually to take action that will have a positive, life-saving impact on these same species in the wild. We do this through a series of daily zoologist chats, training demonstrations and up close animal experiences for the public. Included within this primary function is the operation and management of the zoo's grounds, guest experiences, animal habitats and a state of the art animal hospital which provides both preventative and responsive care for the animals who make their home at the palm beach zoo.
$10,629,701 spent$7,749,686 earned by the program93% of program spendingConservation programs: the zoo is committed to conservation of animals in the wild and their homes in the wild. We participate in projects in the field that align with our mission by providing monetary support to other conservation organizations through our grant program as well as performing hands on conservation work both within our local community as well as other wild areas of the world. These programs include support of avian research & conservation institute's swallow tail kite and snail kite programs and the belize zoo & tropical education center's jaguar conservation programs.our staff works directly in our community in conservation programs including the swallow tail kite and snail kite programs in association with palm beach county's department of environmental protection, coral monitoring off the east coast of florida in cooperation with the florida wildlife commission and shedd aquarium, citizen science programs including frog watch and other smaller programs that are saving wildlife.
$507,485 spentof which $146,200 as grants4% of program spendingEducation programs:we rolled out a new approach to education and engagement at the zoo during our fiscal year '23 that redefines our education programs to create connections with all our audiences. We spent the next year piloting the new programming with two of our neighborhood schools. The programming provides a more purposeful alignment of our education programs with our core mission of inspiring people to act on behalf of wildlife. And this year, we have launched a new teen summer camp program as well as a teen volunteer programs, providing a very important connection between nature and our next generation of conservationists.
$273,020 spent$129,549 earned by the program2% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $11,410,206.
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 2024 to 2025, from $56M to $68M (+22%).
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 7% · 2018 3% · 2019 4% · 2020 2% · 2021 20% · 2022 15% · 2023 6% · 2024 1% · 2025 1%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
71% of THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF THE PALM BEACHES INC’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (67% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 1 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
Margo Mcknight
President/CEO
Board chair
Michele Kessler
Chairman
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 32 funders to 41 funders, grant income rose $514k → $2.3M.
19 of 136 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 72% 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 ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF THE PALM BEACHES INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 136 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 ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF THE PALM BEACHES INC leans on a few funders — its largest provides 45% of grant income and the top three 74%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
74% 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 ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF THE PALM BEACHES INC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 22% · 2018 31% · 2019 27% · 2020 16% · 2021 17% · 2022 11% · 2023 22% — broadly stable.
“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
40% of THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF THE PALM BEACHES INC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 54% 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
72% of THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF THE PALM BEACHES INC'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 $7.1M that is directly attributable, 86% of it comes from Florida funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $18M arriving through sponsors registered in 13 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 ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF THE PALM BEACHES INC runs a healthier operating margin than three-quarters of the 119 animals nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 119 animals nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2025
Government funding THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF THE PALM BEACHES INC receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $300k on record.
- Institute of Museum and Library Services$300k
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 THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF THE PALM BEACHES INC
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 Florida
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
78% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
71%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF THE PALM BEACHES INC: 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 ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF THE PALM BEACHES INC?
- THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF THE PALM BEACHES INC (Florida) receives grants from 136 organizations whose IRS filings report $25,109,934 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($11,265,751). 73 of them have funded it in more than one year, and 72% of the money arrives through donor-advised or pass-through sponsors rather than from an institution directly.
- How many funders does THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF THE PALM BEACHES INC have?
- IRS filings report 136 organizations giving $25,109,934 in grants to THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF THE PALM BEACHES INC, 73 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF THE PALM BEACHES INC?
- FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND is the largest funder on record, with $11,265,751 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF THE PALM BEACHES INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Florida. 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 136 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