The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore

Legal name: Maryland Zoological Society Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
520996352
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Baltimore, MD, US
Phone
410-396-7102
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Zoo, Zoological Society

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$24,960,748
Expenses
$21,645,543
Assets
$81,627,429
Liabilities
$4,911,591

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

Leadership & pay

51 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DANA KIRN (VICE PRESIDENT OF GUEST EXPERIENCE)

Highest reported compensation

  • KIRBY FOWLER Jr (PRESIDENTCEO): $331,967 total reported compensation
  • MICHELE RUTKOWSKI (EXEC VP OF FINANCECFO): $208,444 total reported compensation
  • KARL KRANZ (EXECUTIVE VP OF ANIMAL PROGRAMS): $181,627 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 Maryland Zoo in Baltimore is dedicated to connecting people with wildlife and inspiring conservation action.

What it reported doing in 2024

Visitor services: provide assistance to over 383,000 guests, annually. Services include ticket and membership sales, shuttle service, carousel and train rides and animal experiences, including giraffe feeding and penguin encounters. The zoo also provides security and first aid. Zoo publications include an annual report and monthly e-mail updates. The zoo maintains public relations and marketing programs (including website and social media) to inform visitors of zoo news and support positive guest experiences.

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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. The filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 77
  • Transparency & Controls: 63
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 73
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 75.4%; rating input score 75
  • Program expense ratio: 86.7%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $22.96 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 60; 60th 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: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Limited
    • Conducts field audits: Limited
    • May suspend future funding: Limited
    • Requires financial reports: Limited
    • Conducts site visits: Limited
    • Requires grant agreements: Limited
    • May require repayment: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 55.9%; rating input score 56; 12th 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: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 13.3%; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.77; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.1%; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.9% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.6% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.6% per year; rating input score 100; 26th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 6 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 75.4% of revenue deployed · 86.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 44 of 44 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $18.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $332K · 51 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.6M reported
  • Consistency: 39 of 41 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 11 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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.

  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 56/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 42/100.
  • 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.