Atlanta Botanical Garden

Legal name: The Atlanta Botanical Garden Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
581313284
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Atlanta, GA, USA
Phone
404-876-5859
Rating
68
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Botanical Gardens, Arboreta and Botanical Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$76,001,816
Expenses
$40,142,238
Assets
$258,624,852
Liabilities
$9,450,380

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

Leadership & pay

41 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MARY PAT MATHESON (PRESIDENT & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • MARY PAT MATHESON (PRESIDENT & CEO): $758,260 total reported compensation
  • ART FIX (COO): $407,476 total reported compensation
  • LESLIE MYERS (VP INSTITUTIONAL ADV): $277,156 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 Atlanta Botanical Garden is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to develop and maintain plant collections for display, education, research, conservation, and enjoyment.

What it reported doing in 2024

During 2024, the garden hosted 806,937 visitors to its premises and at year end, had 44,303 members of various membership classes. Visitors can experience natural environments from around the globe through stunning, ever-changing garden displays and exhibitions. Permanent displays focus on plant diversity, ecological principles, conservation, and adaptations to specific environments. The atlanta botanical garden has one of the most complete orchid repositories in the world, as well as a state-of-the-art tissue culture lab contributing to the emerging field of high-tech plant propagation. Its collections include rare and endangered species not seen anywhere else in the world.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 61% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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 - Most voting board members are independent and program spending has grown recently. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 56
  • Transparency & Controls: 54
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 83
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 41.6%; rating input score 42
  • Program expense ratio: 77.8%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: $19.11 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: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
  • 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: 47.2%; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 6.44; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.6% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 12% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.9% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 6 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 41.6% of revenue deployed · 77.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 31 of 31 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $31.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $758K · 41 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $3.5M reported
  • Consistency: 38 of 38 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 15 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 42/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 57/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 7/100.