The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens

Legal name: Living Desert The

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
953385354
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Palm Desert, CA, US
Phone
760-346-5694
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Land Resources Conservation

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$47,987,318
Expenses
$28,847,289
Assets
$170,586,785
Liabilities
$7,275,635

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

Leadership & pay

28 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ALLEN MONROE (PRESIDENT/CEO & ASST. SEC)
  • JAMES DANOFF-BURG (VICE PRESIDENT OF CONSERVATION)
  • ALLISON KRUPP (VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS)
  • ANNA YOUNG (VICE PRESIDENT OF LEARNING & IMPACT)

Highest reported compensation

  • ALLEN MONROE (PRESIDENT/CEO & ASST. SEC): $696,748 total reported compensation
  • ALLISON KRUPP (VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS): $216,624 total reported compensation
  • JEFF PETROVIC (CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER): $206,839 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Desert conservation

What it reported doing in 2024

Collections: the plants and animals at the living desert have important roles, as they are ambassadors for their wild counterparts. The living desert maintains one of the most notable and extensive collections of desert flora and fauna in the united states. As one of only two zoological and botanical gardens in the country with desert conservation as its mission, we proudly provide a home to almost 600 individual desert animals of over 152 species and over 10,000 desert plants of over 1000 species in over 50 themed gardens and habitats. The zoo and gardens is set within the natural sonoran desert environment in the foothills of the santa rosa mountains. The caretakers of the animals and plants provide exceptional care and well-being for all of these species. These caretakers provide connections with these animals and plants with our guests so they can be inspired to make a positive difference for the deserts of the world.

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 98% 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. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 77
  • Transparency & Controls: 64
  • Accountability: 97
  • Sustainability: 84
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 82.2%; rating input score 82
  • Program expense ratio: 88%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.97 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • 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: 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: 96%; rating input score 96; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 95.5%; rating input score 95; 29th 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: 39.9%; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.91; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.4%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 10.3% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 10.3% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.9% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 82.2% of revenue deployed · 88% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 21 of 22 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $25.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $697K · 28 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $17.2M reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 39 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 17 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 9 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 8 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 20/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 40/100.
  • 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.