Missouri Botanical Garden

Legal name: Missouri Botanical Garden Board of Trustees

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
430666759
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
St. Louis, MO, US
Phone
(314) 577-5100
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Botanical Gardens, Arboreta and Botanical Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$60,959,371
Expenses
$62,762,363
Assets
$414,106,390
Liabilities
$7,139,379

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

Leadership & pay

47 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DR PETER WYSE JACKSON (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • DR PETER WYSE JACKSON (PRESIDENT): $548,181 total reported compensation
  • KEITH ARCHER (COO): $310,152 total reported compensation
  • PATTY REARDON ARNOLD (VP INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEME): $269,391 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To discover and share knowledge about plants and their environment in order to preserve and enrich life.

What it reported doing in 2024

Education: the garden takes seriously its mission to share knowledge about plants and the environment with people of all ages. In 2025 345,231 people participated in educational experiences led by the Missouri botanical garden, from community-based projects to on-site and virtual classes and events to year-long programs and community-based projects. Of this number, 37,801 were prek-grade 12 students and teachers who connected with the garden in ways that deepened their understanding and appreciation for plants, nature, and the importance of living sustainably. In the community, the garden is a leader in educating and activating the public to steward local lands and waters, from creating more biodiverse home landscapes to helping steward local parks, trails, creeks, streams, and other green space in their own community.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 64% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 72
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 46
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 85.8%; rating input score 86
  • Program expense ratio: 78.4%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: $19.09 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Pass
    • Conducts field audits: Limited
    • May suspend future funding: Limited
    • Requires financial reports: Pass
    • Conducts site visits: Limited
    • Requires grant agreements: Limited
    • May require repayment: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th 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: 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: -3%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 6.6; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.4% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.6% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 85.8% of revenue deployed · 78.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 34 of 34 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 6 filed program accomplishments · $49.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $548K · 47 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.1M reported
  • Consistency: 40 of 41 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 13 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 16/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 57/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 17/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.