Phoenix Zoo

Legal name: Arizona Center for Nature Conservation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
860174843
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Aug 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Phoenix, AZ, US
Phone
602.286.3800
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Zoo, Zoological Society

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$63,967,380
Expenses
$46,612,025
Assets
$132,631,795
Liabilities
$13,483,976

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

43 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • NORBERTO CASTRO (PRESIDENT/CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • NORBERTO CASTRO (PRESIDENT/CEO): $684,831 total reported compensation
  • BONNIE MENDOZA (COO /CFO): $423,336 total reported compensation
  • DR GARY WEST (SVP OF ANIMAL HEALTH & CO): $396,123 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The Phoenix Zoo is dedicated to providing a safe, fun, and educational experience for all guests while inspiring people to care for and conserve the natural world.

What it reported doing in 2024

Acnc operates the phoenix zoo, a 126-acre zoological park, within papago park, with over 3,000 animals in exhibitions, and participates in worldwide species survival plans. Through ecosystem exhibition, education and conservation, the zoo serves visitors with a mission to provide experiences that inspire people and motivate them to care for the natural world. With a focus on experiential learning, the zoo also conducts a variety of educational activities with children as their primary audience to emphasize caring relationships, personal responsibility, and action to conserve animals and nature in general.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of total spending goes to programs and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 64
  • Transparency & Controls: 77
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 75
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 59.4%; rating input score 59
  • Program expense ratio: 82.7%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.32 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Pass
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 87.8%; rating input score 88; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 27.1%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.85; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.1; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.5% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.7% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 6 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 59.4% of revenue deployed · 82.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 29 of 29 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $38.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $685K · 43 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $5.2M reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 39 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 19 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 11 filed related-organization links
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 59/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 6 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 28/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 7/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.