The Calgary Zoological Society
Charitable organization · Calgary, Alberta · BN 118824192RR0001 · Public Amenities · website
Source: T3010 return, FPE 2024-12-31. Split of total expenditures ($68,545,452) as filed with the CRA.
The Calgary Zoological Society is a charitable organization based in Calgary, Alberta, classified by the CRA under public amenities. In its fiscal year ending December 31, 2024, it reported $77.3M in revenue and $68.5M in expenditures.
Its funding that year was roughly 17% from government, 6% from other charities. In 2024, 24 other registered charities reported granting it a combined $7.4M.
Compared with 46 public-amenity charities of similar size, its share of spending on mission — charitable programs plus grants to other charities — ranked above 69% of peers. Its fundraising cost per donated dollar was higher than 88% of that peer group. Its highest-paid position fell in the $350,000 and over range. The charity reported 248 permanent full-time positions.
It reported gifts to 1 qualified donee totalling $8M in 2024, the largest being $8M to Wilder Institute. Revenue has grown substantially over its filings on record here, from $34.9M in 2020 to $77.3M in 2024. Its filed list of directors and trustees shows 18 names.
In its own words
Develops operates promotes integrated zoological botanical & prehistoric parks for the combined purpose of conservation research recreation & scientific study.
Ongoing-program description from its T3010 filing, verbatim.
The ledger, 2020–2024
| Year | Revenue | Spending | Programs | Fundraising | Gifts out | Net assets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $77.3M | $68.5M | $52.3M | $2.3M | $8M | $204.7M |
| 2023 | $81.1M | $61.6M | $47.4M | $2.9M | $6.7M | $196M |
| 2022 | $64.4M | $49.8M | $39.1M | $2.3M | $4.5M | $176.5M |
| 2021 | $55.8M | $40.7M | $32.5M | $1.3M | $3.4M | $161.9M |
| 2020 | $34.9M | $37.2M | $31.3M | $771K | $2.2M | $146.9M |
Revenue printed in red where the year ran a deficit. Fiscal years by period end.
Money between charities, 2024
Granted $8M to 1 qualified donee:
Received $7.4M from 24 charities:
- The Taylor Family Foundation$3.8M
- The Brawn Family Foundation.$1.5M
- Canada Gives$1M
- Canadahelps Canadon$326K
- Canadahelps Canadon$326K
- The Calgary Foundation$176K
- Aqueduct Foundation$58K
- Olympia Charitable Foundation$52K
- Canadian Online Giving Foundation$29K
- Charitable Gift Funds Canada Foundation$26K
- RBC Foundation$25K
- The Donald And Eleanor Seaman Family Foundation$20K
- TD Friends of the Environment Foundation$15K
- The Cardinal Foundation$15K
- United Way of Calgary and Area$5,488
- The Byler Foundation$5,000
- BenefAction Foundation$4,500
- Raymond James Canada Foundation$3,000
- Allard Foundation LTD.$2,400
- The United Church of Canada Foundation$1,000
- Abundance Canada$500
- GiftPact Foundation Inc.$500
- PayPal Giving Fund Canada$258
- United Way of the Alberta Capital Region$13
As reported on the donors’ own T3010 qualified-donee schedules.
What it pays
Its ten highest-paid positions, by band:
- $350,000 and over1 position
- $200,000–249,9994 positions
- $120,000–159,9995 positions
- Permanent full-time positions248
- Total compensation, all staff$27M
Schedule 3 of its 2024 return. The CRA discloses bands, not names or exact salaries.
Directors & trustees (2024)
Jennifer Koury (board chair); Thomas Lui (treasurer); Jason Clifton (board vice-chair); Bill Fisher (secretary); Cindy Ady (director); Barb Carra (director); Harvey Doerr (director); Laura Gill (director); Denise Hamilton (director); Jeff Hart (director); Rachel Moore (director); Sheila O'Brien (director); Nuvyn Peters (director); Karen Prentice (director); Sonya Savage (director); Perry Spitznagel (director); Renate Weller (director); Hunter Wight (director).
As listed on its 2024 return.
Check the source
Every figure on this page is from The Calgary Zoological Society’s own T3010 filings, published by the Canada Revenue Agency. Verify against the CRA’s charities listing (search BN 118824192RR0001), or read how we compute the receipt.