Indianapolis Zoo

Legal name: Indianapolis Zoological Society Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
351074747
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Indianapolis, IN, USA
Phone
3176302040
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Zoo, Zoological Society

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$57,679,714
Expenses
$44,416,857
Assets
$245,351,054
Liabilities
$11,298,298

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

Leadership & pay

48 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ROBERT SHUMAKER (PRESIDENT AND CEO)
  • SARA INMAN (SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER)
  • KAREN BURNS (EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT)
  • SARAH EDWARDS (SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT)
  • DANA CANFIELD (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • JEFF PROUDFOOT (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • ROBERT SHUMAKER (PRESIDENT AND CEO): $436,619 total reported compensation
  • KAREN BURNS (EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT): $297,170 total reported compensation
  • MARY JANE BENNETT (VICE PRESIDENT): $210,484 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

We protect nature and inspire people to care for our world. Animal conservation is at the heart of everything we do at the Indianapolis Zoo, and every employee and volunteer makes a contribution to our mission of globally and locally advancing animal conservation. It takes a village to run a zoo! Accountants, plumbers, marketing managers, special event planners, educators, ticket takers, and human resources are just a few of the professions that comprise our operation in addition to the animal keeper and horticulturalists who provide expert care to our animal and plant collections. snake being held by an interpreter Job Opportunities.

What it reported doing in 2024

The indianapolis zoo is a world-class zoological institution that serves diverse populations from central Indiana and beyond through in-person visits and other methods of program delivery. As one of the region's foremost cultural and educational assets, the zoo functions as a regional, national, and international resource for zoological research and wildlife conservation.

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

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: 73
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 80
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 69.9%; rating input score 70
  • Program expense ratio: 88.1%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: $11.95 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 95%; rating input score 95; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Pass
    • 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: 75%; rating input score 75; 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; 77th 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: 23%; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.52; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.7%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.7% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.8% per year; rating input score 100; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.8% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: Mission, programs, and operating context captured from the official website.
  • Where the money goes: 69.9% of revenue deployed · 88.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 39 of 39 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $39.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $437K · 48 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $8.2M reported
  • Consistency: 51 of 52 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 14 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 5 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 6 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 46/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 19/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.