Commonwealth Zoological Corporation D/b/a Zoo New England
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 043129124
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Boston, MA, USA
- Phone
- 6179892000
- Rating
- 74
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Zoo, Zoological Society
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $34,370,304
- Expenses
- $30,621,603
- Assets
- $64,227,571
- Liabilities
- $4,748,651
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
34 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- JOHN LINEHAN (PRESIDENT & CEO)
- CYNTHIA MEAD (VICE PRESIDENT)
- DAVID CARON (VICE PRESIDENT)
- ROBERT CHABOT (VICE PRESIDENT)
- ERIC BAITCHMAN (VICE PRESIDENT)
- BROOK WARDROP (VICE PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- JOHN LINEHAN (PRESIDENT & CEO): $180,016 total reported compensation
- ROBERT CHABOT (VICE PRESIDENT): $174,504 total reported compensation
- CYNTHIA MEAD (VICE PRESIDENT): $157,244 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To provide all administrative and other services and support required or contemplated by chapter 92b of the Massachusetts general laws to the franklin park zoo and the walter d. Stone memorial zoo, to any other agency or entity referenced therein, and act independently in connection with zoological matters. Furthermore, zoo new england's mission is to inspire people to protect and sustain the natural world for future generations by creating fun and engaging experiences that integrate wildlife and conservation programs, research, and education.
What it reported doing in 2024
Animal care & exhibits as of june 30, 2025, franklin park zoo features 78 public animal habitats and stone zoo features 55. Zoo new england is home to 1,069 animals representing 193 species.during fy 25, significant acquisitions at franklin park zoo included bird species such as blacknaped fruit dove, scaly-sided merganser, red-crested turaco, hadada ibis, boat-billed heron, sunbittern, kea, red siskin, and violet turaco, mammals including cotton-top tamarin, african wild dog, and nyala, and invertebrates such as the Florida ivory millipede, emperor scorpion, blue baboon tarantula and sun beetle. At stone zoo, significant acquisitions included cotton-top tamarin, red-rumped agouti, north american river otter, spiny-tailed iguana and chuckwalla.notable births and hatches at franklin park zoo included scaly-sided merganser, yellow-billed stork, laughing kookaburra, wattled crane, hartmann's mountain zebra, and masai giraffe. At stone zoo, significant births included linne's two-toed sloth, eastern black-and-white colobus, and prehensile-tailed porcupine.
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 available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 69
- Transparency & Controls: 60
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 66
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 68.7%; rating input score 69
- Program expense ratio: 76.3%; rating input score 76
- Fundraising efficiency: $15.52 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
- Compensation committee: Missing
- 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: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
- Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
- Requires narrative reports: Limited
- Conducts field audits: Limited
- May suspend future funding: Limited
- Requires financial reports: Limited
- Conducts site visits: Limited
- Requires grant agreements: Limited
- May require repayment: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 80%; rating input score 80; 16th 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; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 8 of 8 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: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 10.9%; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.1; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 5.6%; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 7.7% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 7.7% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 11% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 68.7% of revenue deployed · 76.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 22 of 22 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $23.4M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $180K · 34 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $7.1M reported
- Consistency: 35 of 37 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
- Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 15 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 3 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.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 50/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 46/100.
- 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.