Memphis Zoological Society

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237236155
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Memphis, TN, USA
Phone
9013336500
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Zoo, Zoological Society

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$30,584,120
Expenses
$27,500,682
Assets
$13,628,276
Liabilities
$8,250,423

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

Leadership & pay

32 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Matthew Thompson (President & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • Matthew Thompson (President & CEO): $347,623 total reported compensation
  • Mary Beil (CFO): $174,716 total reported compensation
  • Michele Correia (CDO): $168,981 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 memphis zoological society is building one of the world's great zoos in memphis. Our staff and volunteers are dedicated to providing a naturalistic and enriching sanctuary for our animals and a clean, friendly, entertaining, and educational experience for our guests.

What it reported doing in 2024

Program service expenses were incurred in the accomplishment of the following objectives: to act as a manager of the memphis zoo. To work toward making the memphis zoo the major metropolitan zoo that the city of memphis needs and deserves. To engage in fundraising campaigns and programs to provide capital funds from the public and private sectors for the enlargements and improvement of the memphis zoo.

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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - 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: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 44
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 77.6%; rating input score 78
  • Program expense ratio: 84.9%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: $10.09 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • 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: 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd 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: 10.1%; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.5; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.61; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6%; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.6% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.3% per year; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -2.5% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 77.6% of revenue deployed · 84.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 21 of 21 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $23.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $348K · 32 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $1.7M reported
  • Consistency: 40 of 40 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 10 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 7 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 38/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 15/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 22/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 43/100.