Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Dec 1952.
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.
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Who runs it and what they're paid
27 people listed on the 990; $3.4M paid to officers and key staff.
Bert Vescolani’s $781K as President En is at the 98th percentile of top reported officer pay among 225 $10–100M animals 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 | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bert Vescolani | $780,600 | $582,535 | $541,345 | $521,212 | $477,144 | $472,777 |
| Cristal Torres | $335,148 | $132,521 | — | — | — | — |
| Greg Vochis | $320,413 | $144,980 | — | — | — | — |
| Charlie Wright | — | $102,596 | $298,572 | $258,029 | $286,954 | $258,929 |
| Jacque Taylor | $271,060 | $246,064 | $223,711 | $185,427 | $237,213 | $189,998 |
| Amber Christopher | — | $132,227 | $254,371 | $216,592 | $266,094 | $207,426 |
| Brian Aucone | $251,993 | $238,095 | $230,077 | $191,594 | $233,999 | $195,115 |
| Noelle Delage | $246,882 | $244,543 | $215,935 | $173,877 | $221,865 | $180,166 |
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.
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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
Inspires communities to save wildlife through extraordinary animal care and visitor experiences.
Questions for Denver Zoological Foundation INC
Your first name shows with your question. Denver Zoological Foundation INC answers here, for everyone.
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Life Sciences
The denver zoo's mission is inspiring communities to save wildlife for future generations. The denver zoo cares for approximately 2,600 animals, representing over 450 species, many of which are endangered or threatened. Our largest program area is caring for our animal residents who connect our guests to wildlife around the world.
Guest Experiences
The denver zoo exists to help our community connect with wildlife here and around the world so that we can all be part of the solution to helping species thrive. Our passion and reason for being is to inspire communities to save wildlife for future generations. We achieve this by providing an outstanding guest experience every day.
Learning Experiences
Denver zoos conservation learning, conservation engagement, community engagement and community research & evaluation teams aim to help students, families, and communities connect with the environment, become scientific thinkers, and ultimately champions for animals and habitats.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2025 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY25 | End FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $20.6M | $14.1M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $1.6M | $1.7M |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $32.6M | $26.3M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $11.6M | $10.2M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $21.0M | $16.1M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1 | $59K | $59K | ||
| Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3 | $289K | $289K | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $2.7M | $1.1M | $901K | $720K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $26.0M | $21.9M | $2.6M | $1.5M |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $1.2M | $958K | $136K | $73K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $3.3M | $2.7M | $318K | $215K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $2.1M | $1.7M | $300K | $140K |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $211K | $211K | ||
| Lobbying feesLn 11d | $30K | $30K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $3.8M | $2.3M | $1.2M | $281K |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $1.4M | $116K | $1.1M | $113K |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $2.7M | $2.3M | $320K | $126K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $2.0M | $2.0M | ||
| TravelLn 17 | $216K | $137K | $72K | $7K |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $654K | $586K | $56K | $12K |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $549K | $375K | $147K | $27K |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $21.4M | $19.1M | $1.9M | $453K |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $2.4M | $1.1M | $1.1M | $113K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $71.0M | $56.8M | $10.4M | $3.7M |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest Viewing | $66.0M | $71.0M | −$5.0M | $16.1M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $60.1M | $68.9M | −$8.8M | $21.0M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $61.8M | $72.5M | −$10.7M | $29.2M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $57.7M | $53.5M | $4.2M | $39.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $59.7M | $40.3M | $19.3M | $35.1M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $46.3M | $47.8M | −$1.5M | $15.8M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2025 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $66,039,623 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 13 of 13 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $66,039,623 across 12 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $71,010,212 across 18 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $26,278,118 assets, 13 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $16,057,390 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2025 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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