Zoological Society of Pittsburgh

What it reported doing in 2024

Conservation & Research The Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium has a history of championing wildlife and conservation in Western Pennsylvania and across the globe. The mission of the organization orients our conservation work towards long term impact by working with our communities. Similarly, the vision for the organization is to provide effective conservation leadership by bringing collaborators together. In both its mission and vision, the Zoo commits itself to transformative and exemplary conservation programs. There's more going on at the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium than meets the eye, especially when it comes to animal conservation. The International Conservation Center is operated under the auspices of the Zoo. It sits on 1,000 acres of rolling hills in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. The Conservation Center is dedicated to African elephant conservation, education, training, breeding, and research. In 2024, we expanded our collection to include reindeer, bison, and Bactrian camel and welcomed visitors and educational groups to through programs and tours to learn more about all our species. Through the Sea Turtle Second Chance Program (STSCP), the Zoo accepts injured sea turtles and hatchlings who didn't make it into Gulf Stream waters and cares for them until they are healthy enough to be released back into the wild. The Zoo is an important participant in this program because it is an inland institution. Most of the aquariums participating in the STSCP are located along the coast, which allows them to take in turtles who can make a speedy recovery. Some hatchlings and injured turtles need long-term rehabilitation. These animals are transported to the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium for their extended recovery time, freeing up space for faster recovering turtles at the institutions along the coast and allowing many more turtles to be rehabilitated in the program. Through educational displays and meet-the-keeper sessions, visitors have the opportunity to learn about sea turtles, and how they can impact their care and survival in the wild. The release has been broadcast on the Zoo's social media to promote and raise awareness of this important conservation program. Beyond species-specific programs, several Zoo residents offer valuable opportunities for research that can be applied to their wild counterparts. The Zoo & Aquarium raises, often rehabilitates, and cares for animals in our park environment allowing the opportunity to research their behavior. This allows for valuable information to be collected that may not be available through research in the wild alone. The Zoo's operations also support conservation at a local level. Since 1995, volunteers from the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium have adopted two miles of Butler Street from the RD Fleming Bridge to slightly beyond the Highland Park Bridge. As a result of every scheduled cleaning, Zoo employees fill approximately 50 trash bags with garbage such as cigarette butts, soda bottles, and food wrappers. Cleaning this roadway just twice each year, we remove approximately 1.5 tons of trash. The Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium's Green Team committee takes conservation and environmentally friendly practices to a new level. The Green Team's mission is to research and recommend how to use resources and manage waste efficiently and sustainably while operating the Zoo. The team strives to create a culture of conservation for Zoo staff and for the visiting public. Improvements made by the Green Team include upgrading to all green cleaning practices in Zoo facilities, advocating for energy-efficient infrastructure and green building design, implementing additional composting and recycling options, and establishing green partnerships with other cultural and entertainment institutions including Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, the National Aviary, PPG Paints Arena, and the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh. At the Zoo, most of the organic waste is recycled into compost and used in landscaping throughou

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 81.2%; rating input score 81
• Program expense ratio: 83%; rating input score 83
• Fundraising efficiency: $10.34 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
  • Compensation committee: Pass
  • Independent consultant: Missing
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
  • Written employment contract: Pass
  • Compensation survey or study: Pass
  • Board or committee approval: Pass
• Foreign activity oversight: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
  • 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: Limited
  • May require repayment: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: 70%; rating input score 70; 14th 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: 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: 2.5%; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.66; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 5.3%; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 4.2% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 3.5% per year; rating input score 100; 30th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 3.4% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings