Connecticut Zoological Societyinc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 237068821
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2016–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2023
- Location
- Bridgeport, CT, USA
- Phone
- 2033326565
- Rating
- 83
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Zoo, Zoological Society
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $5,274,501
- Expenses
- $4,818,355
- Assets
- $23,454,476
- Liabilities
- $586,554
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
19 people listed
Highest reported compensation
- JAMES M WHARTON (PART YEAR CE): $74,710 total reported compensation
- GREGG DANCHO (PART YEAR EX): $36,685 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 society is dedicated to acquainting a diverse public to the delicate balance that exists between living things and their environment. Animal exhibits, plantings, graphics, and zoo programs are represented in such a manner as to give the visitor a sense of awareness and concern for the intricate beauty and fragility of our planet.
What it reported doing in 2024
The society operates the beardsley zoological gardens to drive learning, care, and action in our diverse community of visitors and stakeholders for the conservation of our world's threatened flora, fauna and living systems that support them. Approximately 40,500 youth participated in educational programs and 219,574 visitors toured the zoo in 2024.
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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 69
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 71
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 74.1%; rating input score 74
- Program expense ratio: 77.7%; rating input score 78
- Fundraising efficiency: $4.25 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- 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: 8.6%; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.87; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 2.3%; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 6.4% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 7.6% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 15.5% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 74.1% of revenue deployed · 77.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 17 of 17 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $3.7M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $75K · 19 people listed
- Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 8 filing years from 2016 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
- 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.
Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 14/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Whistleblower policy not reported.
- High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.