Chicago Zoological Society

Also known as Brookfield Zoo Chicago

Brookfield, IL · EIN 36-2167016 · 501(c)(3) · Publicly supported organization (170(b)(1)(A)(vi))
Latest filing: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2026 (tax year 2025) · View the filing · Correct or respond

Chicago Zoological Society reported $90.5 million in revenue and $85.5 million in expenses for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2026. Of every $100 it spent, $80.91 went to program services, $14.62 to management and general costs and $4.47 to fundraising. Its largest source of revenue was contributions and grants: 50.0% of the total. Government grants made up 31.4%. The highest compensation it reported for one person was $904,023 (President and CEO). 57 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation. Revenue rose 28% between 2019 and FY2026. Source: Form 990, FY2026.

Where $100 of spending went

The fiscal year ending March 31, 2026 · Form 990, Part IX, line 25 · total expenses $86M

Program services$80.91 $69M
Management & general$14.62 $12M
Fundraising$4.47 $3.8M

For context, the median across 245 covered animal-related charities: $83.96 programs, $9.42 management, $6.62 fundraising (medians computed separately, so they may not sum to $100).

Where $100 of revenue came from

The fiscal year ending March 31, 2026 · Form 990, Part VIII · total revenue $91M

Contributions & grants (non-government)$18.57 $17M
Government grants$31.17 $28M
Program service revenue$44.04 $40M
Investment income$6.22 $5.7M

Other revenue was negative: −$530K. The bar shows the positive sources only.

The 990 scorecard · same measures for every charity, no grades

FY2026 filing. Median across 245 covered charities in this category, from their latest filings.
Measure	FY2026	Median
Program services Part IX 25(B) ÷ 25(A)	80.9%	82.1%
Management & general Part IX 25(C) ÷ 25(A)	14.6%	9.2%
Fundraising Part IX 25(D) ÷ 25(A)	4.5%	6.5%
Fundraising cost per $1 of contributions Part IX 25(D) ÷ Part VIII 1h	$0.08	$0.10
Contributions & grants share of revenue Part VIII 1h ÷ 12	50.0%	67.3%
Government grants share of revenue Part VIII 1e ÷ 12	31.4%	0.0%
Program service revenue share Part VIII 2g ÷ 12	44.3%	19.3%
Highest reported compensation Part VII-A, columns D–F	$904,023	$314,886
Highest compensation as share of expenses Part VII-A ÷ Part IX 25(A)	1.06%	1.63%
People paid over $100,000 Part VII, line 2	57	10
Net assets, in months of expenses Part X 33(B) ÷ monthly expenses	32.7	26.8
Independent voting board members Part VI 1a–1b	39 of 42	100.0%

A median is context, not a target: hospitals, universities, food banks and grantmakers spend in very different ways. What these measures can and can't tell you.

What the money paid for, in its own words

FY2026 · Form 990, Part III · the three largest programs by expense

$31M expenses · 44.8% of program spending · revenue $28M

Park Operations The CZS maintains 76 buildings on 235 acres of land to exhibit over 2,500 animals. In a typical year, two million visitors annually enjoy the experience of seeing and learning about the animals of the world. Each individual that enters through Brookfield Zoos gates represents an opportunity to introduce representatives of the wild world, to convey our intertwined connections to the animal kingdom, and to encourage positive change in the world. The Zoo is open almost every day of the year. Admission is free to the general public 52 days/year and at all times to Illinois school…

$34M expenses · 49.3% of program spending · grants $198K · revenue $3.2M

Animal Health, Welfare, Care and Programs More than 2500 ambassadors of the animal kingdom provide our visitors with a rare opportunity to see species from around the globe and experience up close, personal encounters. CZS staff provide expert care of these ambassadors, where innovations in husbandry techniques and pioneering breeding programs are part of the cuttting edge culture of excellence and integrating disciplines such as population biology, behavioral science, nutrition and veterinary science help determine the best ways to provide and continuously care for the animals. CZS also…

$4.1M expenses · 5.9% of program spending · grants $54,000 · revenue $299K

Education and Community Engagement Through its education programs, CZS communicates with others to engender in them a sense of ownership about living harmoniously with nature and helping save endangered species. Education specialists, volunteers, curators, graphic and exhibit designers, photographers and many others contribute to sharing this information both in person and virtually. As well as reaching the daily visitors to the Zoo, CZSs education and outreach programming reaches out to would be conservationists outside of the Zoo including classrooms of school children and teachers, local…

Highest reported compensation

FY2026 · Form 990, Part VII, Section A · roles as filed; names are in the filing, not here

Role	From this org	From related orgs	Other	Total
President and CEO Director/trustee, officer, 040.00 hrs/week	$799,468	$0	$104,555	$904,023
Chief Financial and Admin. Officer Key employee, 040.00 hrs/week	$398,912	$0	$33,544	$432,456
Sr. VP Development Key employee, 040.00 hrs/week	$331,482	$0	$19,063	$350,545
Sr. VP Guest Experience Operations Key employee, 040.00 hrs/week	$314,886	$0	$20,375	$335,261
VP Finance Highest compensated employee, 040.00 hrs/week	$266,816	$0	$6,505	$273,321
Sr. VP Animal Health Welfare Key employee, 040.00 hrs/week	$223,099	$0	$44,728	$267,827
Sr. VP Govt Affairs Key employee, 040.00 hrs/week	$226,836	$0	$31,006	$257,842
Sr. VP Programs Impact Key employee, 040.00 hrs/week	$246,641	$0	$10,226	$256,867

57 people received more than $100,000 in reportable compensation from Chicago Zoological Society (Part VII, line 2). Compensation of current officers, directors and key employees totaled $3.3M (Part IX, line 5).

7 years of filings

Form 990, Parts I, VII, IX and X · each row is that year's own filing, linked

RevenueExpenses

Filing	Revenue	Expenses	Programs	Net assets	Top pay
FY2026 ⓘ	$91M	$86M	80.9%	$233M	$904,023
FY2025 ⓘ	$108M	$78M	79.8%	$223M	$797,411
FY2024 ⓘ	$94M	$75M	80.2%	$195M	$839,439
FY2023 ⓘ	$65M	$66M	80.4%	$174M	$488,552
FY2022 ⓘ	$82M	$61M	79.6%	$179M	$815,661
2020 ⓘ	$60M	$57M	80.5%	$165M	$863,061
2019 ⓘ	$71M	$74M	82.6%	$158M	$612,469

Governance answers, as filed

FY2026 · the organization's own yes/no answers; explanations, if any, are in Schedule O of the filing · what each means

Voting board members, and how many are independent Part VI, lines 1a–1b42 · 39 independent
Audited financial statements Part XII 2bYes
Conflict-of-interest policy Part VI 12aYes
Whistleblower policy Part VI 13Yes
Document retention policy Part VI 14Yes
Independent process for top executive pay Part VI 15aYes
Board given the 990 before filing Part VI 11aYes
Family or business ties among insiders Part VI 2Yes
Aware of a significant diversion of assets Part VI 5No
Excess benefit transaction with an insider Part IV 25aNo
Loans to or from insiders outstanding Part IV 26Yes
Lobbying, or a 501(h) election in effect Part IV 4Yes
Over $15,000 of professional fundraising services Part IV 18Yes
Over $10,000 of activity outside the U.S. Part IV 14bYes
Employees Part I, line 5821
Volunteers Part I, line 6340

Largest outside contractors

FY2026 · Form 990, Part VII, Section B · businesses only

Two by Four Advertising/Consulting	$1,668,092
The Northern Trust Company Banking, Investment and Loan Fees	$925,431
Virtual Marketing LLCFusion 92 Membership and Giving Campaign Svcs	$869,197

Individuals listed as contractors are left out. 47 contractors were paid more than $100,000 in all.

Private foundation grants it received

47 private foundations reported grants to Chicago Zoological Society totaling $2.7M on their tax year 2023 Form 990-PF returns. See which foundations, on WHOFUNDS.

Source: WHOFUNDS open grant graph, matched from Form 990-PF Part XV.

Correct a figure or respond

Every number above is copied from Chicago Zoological Society's own Form 990. If one doesn't match the filing, that's our error and we'll fix it. If you work for Chicago Zoological Society, you can publish a response that is linked from this page.

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Similar-sized charities in this cause

Columbus Zoological Park Association
Powell, OH · revenue $89M · programs 82.6% · 2024
Panthera Corporation
New York, NY · revenue $92M · programs 84.2% · 2025
Wildlife Conservation Network
San Francisco, CA · revenue $86M · programs 92.1% · 2025
Denver Dumb Friends League
Denver, CO · revenue $93M · programs 81.1% · FY2025
Ocean Habitat and Wildlife Rescue
West Palm Beach, FL · revenue $86M · programs 69.8% · 2025

Questions people ask

How much of Chicago Zoological Society's spending goes to programs?

In the fiscal year ending March 31, 2026, Chicago Zoological Society reported that 80.9% of its $85.5 million in expenses went to program services, 14.6% to management and general and 4.5% to fundraising (Form 990, Part IX).

How much does Chicago Zoological Society pay its top executive?

The largest total compensation Chicago Zoological Society reported for one person in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2026 was $904,023, for the role of President and CEO (Form 990, Part VII, including compensation from related organizations and other compensation).

Where does Chicago Zoological Society get its money?

Of $90.5 million in revenue in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2026, 50.0% came from contributions and grants (including 31.4% from government grants) and 44.3% from program service revenue (Form 990, Part VIII).

Is Chicago Zoological Society a registered charity?

The IRS lists EIN 36-2167016 as a 501(c)(3) organization (publicly supported organization (170(b)(1)(a)(vi))), and its records show contributions as tax-deductible. Form 990 filings on record here cover tax years 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025. A filing shows what the organization reported; it doesn't by itself show whether a program works.

Sources

FY2026: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2026, object 202602439349301030 · read the filing
FY2025: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2025, object 202532539349300108 · read the filing
FY2024: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024, object 202412119349300511 · read the filing
FY2023: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2023, object 202312099349300206 · read the filing
FY2022: Form 990 for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2022, object 202212089349300001 · read the filing
2020: Form 990 for calendar year 2020, object 202142099349300304 · read the filing
2019: Form 990 for calendar year 2019, object 202002459349300325 · read the filing

All filings for EIN 36-2167016: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer · IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. Figures are as the organization reported them; we have not audited them.