Denver Zoological Foundation
Inspiring communities to save wildlife for future generations.
Denver Zoological Foundation at a glance
In short: Denver Zoological Foundation gave $59K across 4 grants in 2025 (avg $15K), mostly in Colorado. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $59,200
- -41.6% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 4
- -20.0% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $14,800
- -27.0% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $6,850
- Total assets
- $26,278,118
- -19.4% vs 2024
- Primary geography
- Colorado (68% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990, 2025; updated September 2026.
Who Denver Zoological Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 4 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Colorado State University ($40K). Together the top 4 received $59K.
Grant Size Distribution
17 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 17 grants of 17 (100%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 4 itemized grants.
Cities
How Denver Zoological Foundation gives
- Giving grew 270% from 2022 to 2025. Method
From the foundation's IRS Form 990 filings. Methodology.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2019 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $16K (2022) to $101K (2024). In 2025 it made 4 grants totaling $59K.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Colorado State University Ft Collins, CO | Indigenous Scholarsh | $40,000 |
| AZA Baltimore, MD | Zookeeper Scholarshi | $8,000 |
| Detroit Zoological Society Royal Oak, MI | Polar Bear Populatio | $5,700 |
| Rewild Austin, TX | Women in Conservatio | $5,500 |
Ready to take the next step with Denver Zoological Foundation?
Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Net Investment Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $26,278,118 | $66,039,623 | $71,010,212 | $59,200 | 4 | $452,403 |
| 2024 | $32,583,107 | $60,103,137 | $68,912,773 | $101,400 | 5 | $537,243 |
| 2023 | $45,509,396 | $61,780,844 | $72,480,753 | $81,700 | 4 | $799,481 |
| 2022 | $50,327,766 | $57,669,047 | $53,497,871 | $16,000 | 2 | $188,928 |
| 2021 | $46,289,969 | $59,658,498 | $40,336,824 | $19,947 | 2 | $-45 |
| 2020 | $28,196,722 | $46,304,543 | $47,797,640 | $47,642 | 4 | $167,271 |
| 2019 | $29,537,832 | $52,738,933 | $56,005,660 | $45,260 | 3 | $316,386 |
About Denver Zoological Foundation
Based on IRS filings
Denver Zoological Foundation is a public charity focused on Environment & Animals, based in Denver, CO. IRS filing data is available from 2019 through 2025. As of 2025, the organization holds $26.3M in total assets. In 2025, it awarded 4 grants totaling $59K. Net investment income was $452K.
Focus Areas
Leadership & Key People
Officers and directors from IRS filings
Denver Zoological Foundation is led by Cristal Torres, Acting CEO since 2025 (on filings since 2024); 14 of 27 officers listed in 2025 are compensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Cristal Torres
Acting CEO
COO → Acting CEO, 2025
On filings since 2024
45 hrs/week
$133K (2024) → $335K (2025)
Bert Vescolani
President En
CEO → President, 2022
President → President En, 2025
On filings since 2019
45 hrs/week
$393K (2019) → $781K (2025)
Charles Scoggin
Chair
Secretary → Vice Chair, 2024
Vice Chair → Chair, 2025
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Emily Insalaco
Senior Director of Wi
General Curator → General Cura, 2022
General Cura → Senior Director of Wi, 2024
On filings since 2020
45 hrs/week
$119K (2020) → $180K (2025)
Stacy Vega
Senior Director of Fi
Senior Director Finance → Senior Director of Fi, 2024
On filings since 2023
45 hrs/week
$155K (2023) → $173K (2025)
Patrick Phelan
Senior Director of Gu
On filings since 2024
45 hrs/week
$157K (2024) → $162K (2025)
Jimmy Johnson
Senior Director of Wi
New on the 2025 filing
45 hrs/week
$173K (2025)
Martin Egan
Director of Plann
New on the 2025 filing
45 hrs/week
$184K (2025)
Brian Aucone
Chief Conser
Senior Vice President of Animal Science → Life Science, 2022
Life Science → Chief Conser, 2024
On filings since 2019
45 hrs/week
$185K (2019) → $252K (2025)
Jacque Taylor
Chro
Senior Vice President of → Chief of Hum, 2024
Chief of Hum → Chro, 2025
On filings since 2019
45 hrs/week
$181K (2019) → $271K (2025)
Noelle Delage
Chief Committee
CDO → Chief Committee, 2024
On filings since 2019
45 hrs/week
$141K (2019) → $247K (2025)
Pat Moredock
Assistant Secretary En
Assistant Secretary → Assistant Se, 2022
Assistant Se → Assistant Secretary En, 2025
On filings since 2019
40 hrs/week
$70K (2019) → $84K (2025)
Elkin Alfred
Chief Belong
On filings since 2024
45 hrs/week
$160K (2024) → $172K (2025)
Greg Vochis
Treasurer & CFO
Treasurer & CFO B → Treasurer & CFO, 2025
On filings since 2024
45 hrs/week
$145K (2024) → $320K (2025)
Kati Monday
Assistant Secretary Be
New on the 2025 filing
40 hrs/week
$48K (2025)
Marcela De La Mar
Immediate Pa
Vice Chair → Chair, 2023
Chair → Immediate Pa, 2025
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Meredith Coors
Secretary
Trustee → Board Member, 2020
Board Member → Secretary, 2024
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Rebecca Wilson Macsovits
Past Chair
Chair → Immediate Pa, 2023
Immediate Pa → Past Chair, 2025
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Rob Kaufmann
Board Member
Immediate Pa → Past Chair, 2023
Past Chair → Board Member, 2025
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Jason Romero
Board Member
Secretary → Vice Chair F, 2023
Vice Chair F → Board Member, 2025
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Olga Donahue
Board Member
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Chris Ross
Board Member
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Desta Asfaw
Board Member
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Bret Bolin
Vice Chair
Board Member → Vice Chair, 2025
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Jenn Ridder
Board Member
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Jolon Clark
Board Member
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Ben Valore-Caplan
Board Member
New on the 2025 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (20)
- Former: Amber Christopher (2019–2024) — COO
- Former: Charlie Wright (2019–2024) — Treasurer & CFO T
- Former: Youngdon Yun (2023–2024) — Board Member
- Former: Dean Paulson (2024) — Senior Director of It
- Former: Jim Levesque (2024) — Senior Director of Pl
- Former: Happy Haynes (2019–2023) — Board Member
- Former: Marie Revenew (2019–2023) — Senior Vice President Executive
- Former: Sean Campbell (2019–2023) — Board Member
- Former: Erica Elvove (2022–2023) — Senior Vice President of
- Former: James L. Levesque (2023) — Senior Director Pd
- Former: Jared Hardy (2019–2022) — Guest Op Senior
- Former: Lyne Andrich (2019–2022) — Board Member
- Former: Sherri Koelbel (2019–2022) — Past Chair
- Former: John Ikard (2020–2022) — Board Member
- Former: Sunny Brownstein (2020–2022) — Board Member
- Former: George Pond (2019–2021) — External Planning & Projects
- Former: Scott Larsen (2019–2021) — Vice President of Animal Health
- Former: Robert Kaufmann (2020–2021) — Immediate Past Chair
- Former: Doug Tisdale (2019) — Trustee
- Former: Kelly Eisinger (2019) — Trustee
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2019–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Compensation Overview
From 2025 IRS filing
The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $781K, to Bert Vescolani (President En). 14 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.
Frequently asked questions about Denver Zoological Foundation
How much does Denver Zoological Foundation give each year?
Denver Zoological Foundation gave $59K across 4 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. In 2024 it gave $101K across 5 grants.
What is Denver Zoological Foundation's typical grant size?
Denver Zoological Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $6,850, and its average grant was $14,800, across 4 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990.
Where does Denver Zoological Foundation give grants?
Denver Zoological Foundation gives mostly in Colorado: 68% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990 went to recipients there. The next largest states were Maryland (14%) and Michigan (10%).
Does Denver Zoological Foundation give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 4 grants with a stated purpose on Denver Zoological Foundation's 2025 IRS Form 990 were described as general or operating support.
How large is Denver Zoological Foundation?
Denver Zoological Foundation reported $26.3M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $66.0M.
What is Denver Zoological Foundation?
Denver Zoological Foundation is a public charity focused on Environment & Animals, based in Denver, CO. It holds $26.3M in total assets as of 2025.
What is Denver Zoological Foundation's EIN?
Denver Zoological Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 84-0502539. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings.
Data update history
(3)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS August 25, 2020)
- Added Form 990 for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS July 6, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
Explore Open Grants
Browse active grant opportunities in Denver Zoological Foundation's focus areas in our free grants database
Similar Funders
Funders with grantees in common
Panthera Corporation
New York, NY
Panthera's mission is the conservation of the world's 40 wild cat species, many of which are endangered or threatened. Panthera develops, implements and oversees wild cat conservation strategies on a global scale.
Assets
$79.7M
Grants
4
Total Given
$253K
IBM International Foundation
Armonk, NY
The IBM International Foundation funds education and workforce programs that build 21st-century and technology job skills, including initiatives for underserved students and job seekers. Its 2024 grants ranged from $10,000 to $8.48 million, with a median of $100,000, and went to organizations across several U.S. states, especially Delaware and Massachusetts. It funds only preselected organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests.
Assets
$357.7M
Grants
16
Total Given
$11.7M
Columbus Zoological Park Association
Powell, OH
The Columbus Zoological Park Association funds animal conservation, education, and local and global wildlife initiatives, with conservation work extending to more than 40 countries. In 2024, its 21 grants ranged from $5,100 to $218,100, with a median of $10,010. The profile does not state whether it accepts unsolicited grant requests; its separate ticket-donation program does accept eligible requests from nonprofits and government agencies in 11 Ohio counties.
Assets
$314.1M
Grants
21
Total Given
$863K
Enterprise Holdings Foundation
Saint Louis, MO
The Enterprise Holdings Foundation supports charitable and educational nonprofits in communities where Enterprise Mobility operates, focusing on health, education, arts, and disaster relief; applicants must be actively supported by an Enterprise Mobility team member, spouse, or domestic partner. Giving varies widely: it reported 9,499 grants in 2024, but its 2025 filing showed one grant of $101.4 million, so that amount is not a typical award. Applications are accepted at any time through eligible Enterprise-affiliated applicants; the Foundation does not limit giving to preselected organizations.
Assets
$594.3M
Grants
1
Total Given
$101.4M
Wildlife Protection Solutions
Golden, CO
To protect endangered species.
Assets
$19.4M
Grants
5
Total Given
$337K
Wildlife Conservation Network Inc
San Francisco, CA
Wildlife Conservation Network funds field-based wildlife conservation, including threatened-species protection, habitat work, community programs, and support for conservation organizations. In 2025, its 17 grants ranged from $7,885 to $896,621, with a median of $238,402; its work spans 69 countries, and it also supports U.S. organizations. The profile does not state whether it accepts unsolicited requests.
Assets
$98.1M
Grants
17
Total Given
$5.7M
More similar funders
More Funders in Colorado
The filing figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0. About GrantGraph Open
Figures come from Denver Zoological Foundation's IRS filings (methodology). AI-written summaries, news items and logos are not covered by the open licence. Spot an error? Email hello@grantable.co.
Denver Zoological Foundation down — hundreds of funders to go?