Georgia Zoological Society Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
465436388
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2023, Form 990-N 2022
Location
Madison, GA, USA
Phone
4045380146
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Zoo, Zoological Society

Reported finances

Revenue
$73,089
Expenses
$82,150
Assets
$498,870
Liabilities
$747

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Brandie Anderson (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Brandie Anderson (Executive Director): $32,500 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Inspire and educate our community toward conservation action and leadership through meaningful wildlife engagement. we are committed to advancing wildlife conservation through education and meaningful experiences with animals and natural habitats. Our aim is to make these meaningful encounters accessible to everyone especially those in underserved communities who may not otherwise have the opportunity.

What it reported doing in 2025

College Scholarship: The Conservation Scholarship Fund provides a 1,000 scholarship to graduating high school seniors in Morgan County Georgia and surrounding counties who plan to pursue a career in a conservation related field. Eligible fields of study include environmental science wildlife management animal care veterinary medicine and science education with a conservation focus. This scholarship is designed to support students who demonstrate a commitment to conservation leadership and stewardship through their academic and career goals.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 96% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 39
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 90.3%; rating input score 90
  • Program expense ratio: 80%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: $8.12 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 47; 47th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • 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: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -12.4%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 6.07; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 39.6%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 29.5% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -11.7% per year; rating input score 0; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.1% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 90.3% of revenue deployed · 80% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $66K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $32K · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 43 of 43 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2019 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 47/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 40/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 56/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 5/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 28/100.