Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Aug 2002.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
80 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
Something off? Claim to add context
Who runs it and what they're paid
29 people listed on the 990; $338K paid to officers and key staff (Part VII, Section A).
Jill M Barry’s $229K as President & CEO is at the 89th percentile of top reported officer pay among 1851 $1–10M environment nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.
Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 8 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jill M Barry | $228,889 | $72,993 | — | — | — |
| Claudia Gee Vasser | — | $145,576 | $223,037 | — | — |
| Claudia Gee Vassar | — | — | — | $220,500 | $210,485 |
| Connie Boyd | — | — | $128,844 | — | — |
| Chaundra Frank | — | $122,849 | $109,110 | — | — |
| Laura a Easton | — | — | — | — | $118,931 |
| Katherine Sadler | $108,736 | — | — | — | — |
| Emily Baker | — | — | — | $41,920 | $92,420 |
Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.
See Houston Botanic Garden executive salaries →Questions the 990 asks
The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.
- Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Programs and updates
Inspiring discovery, education, and conservation to enrich life through nature.
Questions for Houston Botanic Garden
Your first name shows with your question. Houston Botanic Garden answers here, for everyone.
The Houston Botanic Garden enriches lives through discovery, education, and the conservation of plants and the natural environment. The Garden's grand opening in September 2020 provided a major addition to Houston's cultural, educational, and scientific institutions and growing list of urban green spaces.
Form 990 Part III, line 4, FY2024. The organization’s own words, as filed with the IRS. Find it at the IRS (EIN 04-3695294) · Dispute this lineFunders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2024 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | FY24 |
|---|---|
| End of yearLn 1g | $150K |
| AddedLn 1b | $150K |
| Line | Start FY24 | End FY24 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $1.4M | $2.5M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $31.3M | $29.0M |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $33.2M | $31.9M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $1.5M | $1.0M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $31.7M | $30.9M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay of officers and key staff (Part IX, line 5)Ln 5 | $356K | $160K | $124K | $71K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $1.5M | $1.3M | $4K | $167K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $21K | $17K | $1K | $3K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $198K | $166K | $8K | $25K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $132K | $107K | $9K | $17K |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $9K | $9K | ||
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $166K | $166K | ||
| Professional fundraising feesLn 11e | $34K | $34K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $432K | $400K | $5K | $27K |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $421K | $383K | $30K | $8K |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $311K | $69K | $134K | $109K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $136K | $59K | $38K | $39K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $99K | $82K | $7K | $10K |
| TravelLn 17 | $28K | $24K | $4K | |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $7K | $4K | $2K | $250 |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $2.5M | $2.0M | $158K | $331K |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $83K | $70K | $8K | $5K |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $2.0M | $1.9M | $46K | $8K |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $140K | $13K | $126K | $2K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $8.5M | $6.8M | $879K | $857K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 Latest ViewingFiled with the IRS Oct 21, 2025 | $7.6M | $8.5M | −$866K | $30.9M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023Filed with the IRS Feb 3, 2025 | $6.1M | $8.8M | −$2.7M | $31.7M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022Filed with the IRS Nov 7, 2023 | $5.1M | $8.3M | −$3.2M | $34.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021Filed with the IRS Nov 15, 2022 | $5.7M | $7.5M | −$1.9M | $37.7M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020Filed with the IRS Nov 12, 2021 | $4.0M | $2.1M | $1.9M | $36.5M | 990 PDF |
Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2024 990
Part I · Summary $7,644,996 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 26 of 26 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $7,644,996 across 11 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $8,511,110 across 19 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $31,892,272 assets, 15 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $30,858,061 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2024 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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