Zoo Atlanta

What it reported doing in 2025

The visitor experience: in 2025, zoo atlanta welcomed 816,026 visitors, offering unforgettable opportunities to connect with wildlife from around the world. From familiar native species to critically endangered animals on the brink of extinction, the zoo created meaningful, up-close experiences that inspired guests to care for the natural world. Internationally recognized for its leadership in science, conservation, education, and behavioral research, zoo atlanta brought its mission to life through. Daily keeper talks, interactive wildlife presentations, education programs, and year-round special events. In 2025, the zoo also invested in enhancing both the guest experience and animal wellbeing through significant capital improvements, including a $3 million transformation to the african lion complex and a reimagined experience aboard the norfolk southern zoo train. Community access programs: zoo atlanta broadened its reach through new programs and events in 2025. We launched a new access program, offering significantly reduced general admission and memberships for supplemental nutrition assistance program ("snap") cardholders and their families, helping to ensure that financial barriers do not prevent guests from enjoying the zoo. From its launch in may through the end of 2025, the program served nearly 33,000 guests with nearly 2,000 memberships purchased. In addition to this new program, we were also proud to continue many ongoing access programs in 2025, such as the safari camp scholarship program, which made the zoo atlanta camp experience accessible to 96 students; the sponsored admissions and wild walks programs, which provided free admission to over 13,000 students from title i schools; and our special programming for educators at the zoo, which reached nearly 600 educators. We also expanded our commitment to workforce development through a new partnership with fort valley state university, creating clear pathways for students, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds, to pursue careers in veterinary medicine and animal care through hands-on learning, mentorship, and professional exposure. Lastly, zoo atlanta continued to provide free admission through programs like zoo access and city of atlanta and fulton county family days. Combined, free admission through the zoo's access programs accounted for 6% of our total attendance in 2025. Conservation initiatives: zoo atlanta is directly involved in field conservation programs for wildlife and wild places around the globe, including work in africa, asia, central and south america, in addition to the state of Georgia. The zoo's contributions range from funding for other established conservation organizations who share its mission, enabling a greater total impact in the field than might be achievable by a single organization, to projects in which its own staff are personally engaged in field work, community outreach programs, research, and education programs on continents around the globe. The zoo strengthened its global conservation impact through enduring partnerships and new investments in field-based work in 2025. We proudly celebrated 30 years of collaboration with the dian fossey gorilla fund, formalizing the organization as zoo atlanta's third signature conservation partner. This milestone underscores a shared commitment to protecting gorillas and their habitats through long-term research, anti-poaching efforts, and community engagement in central africa. Zoo atlanta also joined the wildlife confiscations network, expanding our role in international efforts to combat illegal wildlife trade by supporting the rescue, rehabilitation, and placement of confiscated animals. We also continued to honor the legacy of the late dr. Jennifer mickelberg, zoo atlanta's former vice president of collections and conservation, through awarding the second annual recipients of the mickelberg field conservation grant to zoo atlanta team members pursuing hands-on conservation pro

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 79.8%; rating input score 80
• Program expense ratio: 90%; rating input score 90
• Fundraising efficiency: $16.69 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 25th percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
  • Compensation committee: Pass
  • Independent consultant: Missing
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
  • Written employment contract: Missing
  • Compensation survey or study: Missing
  • Board or committee approval: Pass
• Foreign activity oversight: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
  • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
  • Requires narrative reports: Limited
  • Conducts field audits: Limited
  • May suspend future funding: Limited
  • Requires financial reports: Pass
  • Conducts site visits: Limited
  • Requires grant agreements: Pass
  • May require repayment: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: 94.3%; rating input score 94; 32nd 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
  • 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: Fail
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 15.8%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.54; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 6.2%; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 5.2% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 4.5% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 8% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings