Brookfield Zoo Chicago

Legal name: Chicago Zoological Society

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
362167016
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-T 2025
Location
Brookfield, Illinois, US
Phone
708-688-8310
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Zoo, Zoological Society

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$90,541,500
Expenses
$85,502,432
Assets
$329,655,000
Liabilities
$96,426,000

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

56 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Dr Michael Adkesson (President and CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • Dr Michael Adkesson (President and CEO): $904,023 total reported compensation
  • David E Burns (Chief Financial and Admin. Officer): $432,456 total reported compensation
  • Cathleen Brueggemann (Sr. VP Development): $350,545 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Inspiring conservation leadership by connecting people and communities with wildlife and nature.

What it reported doing in 2025

Animal Health, Welfare, Care and Programs More than 2500 ambassadors of the animal kingdom provide our visitors with a rare opportunity to see species from around the globe and experience up close, personal encounters. CZS staff provide expert care of these ambassadors, where innovations in husbandry techniques and pioneering breeding programs are part of the cuttting edge culture of excellence and integrating disciplines such as population biology, behavioral science, nutrition and veterinary science help determine the best ways to provide and continuously care for the animals. CZS also incorporates models and practices from an array of animal care professionals around the world, to develop the best possible zoo-based animal care and management practices. Through Keeper Chats and Ambassador Animal Encounters, staff share their knowledge of the animals in their care with zoo guests, helping them gain an appreciation for all citizens of the natural world. Through field programs, CZS support efforts to protect and restore populations of threatened species in other parts of the world.

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 100% 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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 74
  • Transparency & Controls: 77
  • Accountability: 96
  • Sustainability: 59
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 79%; rating input score 79
  • Program expense ratio: 80.9%; rating input score 81
  • Fundraising efficiency: $11.84 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 89.5%; rating input score 89; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • 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: Pass
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Pass
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 87.2%; rating input score 87; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 24th 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: 5.6%; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.86; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.29; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.6%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 0.1% per year; rating input score 100; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.1% per year; rating input score 100; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.3% per year; rating input score 100; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site
  • Where the money goes: 79% of revenue deployed · 80.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 39 of 42 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $69.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $904K · 56 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $4.8M reported
  • Consistency: 45 of 48 current checks pass · 3 findings to review
  • Schedules: 12 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 17 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 4 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.

  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 5 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 31/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 57/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 24/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 58/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • 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.