Rhode Island Zoological Society
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 056016675
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Providence, RI, USA
- Phone
- 4019413910
- Rating
- 77
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Standard
- Sector
- Zoo, Zoological Society
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $13,650,518
- Expenses
- $14,543,315
- Assets
- $14,064,942
- Liabilities
- $2,480,639
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
28 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- PATRICK T LEBEAU (PRESIDENT/CHAIR)
- NANCY ALLEN (VICE PRESIDENT/CHAIR)
- SANDRA L COLETTA (VICE PRESIDENT/CHAIR)
- STACEY JOHNSON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- STACEY JOHNSON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $266,350 total reported compensation
- RONALD PATALANO (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $197,887 total reported compensation
- DAVID PERTUSO (CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER): $193,385 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 serve the community as a valued resource for education, conservation and recreation.
What it reported doing in 2024
Development of support and education for endangered species and general conservation issues.
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. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 76
- Transparency & Controls: 71
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 29
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 84%; rating input score 84
- Program expense ratio: 78.4%; rating input score 78
- Fundraising efficiency: $7.66 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
- Compensation committee: Missing
- 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: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 23rd 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: -6.5%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.97; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.18; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 6.8%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 6.7% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 6.1% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 15.7% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 84% of revenue deployed · 78.4% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 20 of 22 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $11.4M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $266K · 28 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $2.8M reported
- Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 5 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: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 31/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 14/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 35/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 37/100.