Toledo Zoo

Legal name: The Toledo Zoological Society

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
344440256
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024, Form 990-N 2011
Location
Toledo, OH, US
Phone
419-385-5721
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Zoo, Zoological Society

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$50,015,283
Expenses
$46,512,284
Assets
$159,563,080
Liabilities
$5,766,500

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

Leadership & pay

27 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JEFFREY SAILER (PRESIDENT & CEO)
  • SHAYLA BELL-MORIARTY (SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF OF STAFF)
  • CAROL ESPEN (SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT HUMAN RESOURCES)
  • KENT A BEKKER (SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF MISSION OFFICER)
  • LAUREN BRANYAN (VICE PRESIDENT, FINANCE)
  • TREVOR REITER (VICE PRESIDENT, IT)

Highest reported compensation

  • JEFFREY SAILER (PRESIDENT & CEO): $475,981 total reported compensation
  • SHAYLA BELL-MORIARTY (SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF OF STAFF): $341,214 total reported compensation
  • KENT A BEKKER (SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF MISSION OFFICER): $171,319 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Enjoy. Inspire. Educate. Act.

What it reported doing in 2024

The toledo zoological society is one of the world's most complete zoos with over 14,000 animals representing over 700 species. The grounds include one of the largest concentrations of wpa era buildings, formal gardens, conservatory, and amphitheatre. The zoo is at the forefront of many conservations efforts working to preserve endangered and threatened species. The zoo is also involved with breeding animals through the species survival program that is helping to ensure a future for some truly amazing species. In addition to these efforts, the zoo runs many education programs for both children and adults that inspire them to join the zoo in following their mission of caring for animals and conserving the natural world. All program expenses are used to support the animals, maintain the grounds, and provide educational experiences for the public.

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 99% 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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration and some filed totals do not add up.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 67
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 92.2%; rating input score 92
  • Program expense ratio: 85.1%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: $40.98 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 87.5%; rating input score 88; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • 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: 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: Limited
    • Conducts site visits: Limited
    • Requires grant agreements: Pass
    • May require repayment: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 90.7%; rating input score 91; 23rd 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: 7%; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.43; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.8% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.7% per year; rating input score 100; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.5% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 9 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 92.2% of revenue deployed · 85.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 18 of 18 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $39.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $476K · 27 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $7.2M reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 35 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 11 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 5 filed related-organization links
  • 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 — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 26/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.