Fresno Chaffee Zoo

Legal name: Fresnos Chaffee Zoo Corporation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
421661145
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Fresno, California, US
Phone
(559) 498-5910
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Zoo, Zoological Society

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$29,607,528
Expenses
$37,817,011
Assets
$146,768,820
Liabilities
$8,739,745

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

Leadership & pay

23 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Jon Dohlin (CEO & Zoo Dir)

Highest reported compensation

  • Jon Dohlin (CEO & Zoo Dir): $359,343 total reported compensation
  • Terry Skoda (CAO): $226,479 total reported compensation
  • Nora Crow (CFO): $222,251 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Fresno Chaffee Zoo inspires people to care for animals, create connections, build community and save wildlife.

What it reported doing in 2024

Fresno chaffee zoo takes great pride in the breadth of the educational programs offered, which reach children and adults of all ages. Community programs, such as docents, volunteers, day camp and overnight campouts, help the zoo achieve the goal of educating the public on the importance of learning how to take care of the earth's precious resources, whether it be plant or animal, across the globe or in one's own backyard.

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 most voting board members are independent. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 88
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 40
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 86%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $8.62 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 0 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Fail
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 81%; rating input score 81; 17th 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: 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: -27.7%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.88; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.5%; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11.5% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.2% per year; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 10.1% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 86% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $32.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $359K · 23 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $642K reported
  • Consistency: 36 of 37 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 16 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.
  • 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 8 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 34/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 3/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 47/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.