Grants for Zoos and Aquariums 2026: Who Funds Them

If you're the director, development lead or board member at a nonprofit zoo, aquarium or zoological society, this guide is for you. It covers which funders pay for habitats, animal care, conservation programs and school visits, and how to find the foundations in your state that already give to zoos.

Zoo and aquarium source review, Grantsights, October 29, 2026: Grantsights checked the IMLS museum definition, the FY 2027 Museums for America and Inspire! records, and the USDA exhibitor licensing requirement at 9 CFR 2.1, then reviewed zoo and aquarium grants named in 990-PF filings across the states. Where official sources stop: IMLS confirms a zoo can apply; it says nothing about which local families paid for the last new habitat.

Why Zoos Depend on Local Foundation Gifts

Grantsights counted 9,736 animal grants to California recipients and 6,411 to New York recipients in 990-PF filings, and zoos and aquariums compete in that pool with animal shelters, rescues and wildlife groups. Admission, memberships and concessions go first to feeding animals and paying keepers. The big, irregular costs of a zoo are harder: rebuilding a habitat, adding a veterinary hospital or replacing a train.

Those are the costs the largest zoo grants in the filings pay for, and many of them carry campaign names. Here's how the main sources compare:

Which Foundations Fund Zoos and Aquariums: What 990-PF Filings Show

According to IRS rules, private foundations must list each grant on IRS Form 990-PF (opens in a new tab), with the recipient and a purpose line. That makes zoo and aquarium giving searchable.

Grantsights tags those grants by cause. Zoos and aquariums fall under animals, alongside shelters, rescues and wildlife rehabilitation, so the counts below describe the whole animal pool. They come from Grantsights analysis of 990-PF records pulled October 29, 2026:

The low medians reflect how many small gifts go to animal shelters. Zoos sit at the top end of the pool. A zoo shouldn't read a $3,000 median as its ceiling, but it should expect most first-time funders to start near there.

Zoo and aquarium grants named in the filings

These are tax year 2025 grants unless noted:

• The Eric P. and Evelyn E. Newman Charitable Foundation gave the Saint Louis Zoo $1,000,000 as an annual contribution.
• The Seed for Success Foundation gave Sioux Falls Zoo and Aquarium in South Dakota $2,000,400 for its "We Can't Wait" campaign.
• The Armstrong McDonald Foundation (opens in a new tab) gave Reid Park Zoo in Tucson $610,000 for educational programming and equipment.
• The Longwood Foundation gave the Delaware Zoological Society $550,000 for a mixed species habitat at Brandywine Zoo in tax year 2024.
• The C.L. Werner Foundation gave the Omaha Zoo Foundation $500,000 for its Orangutan Forest renovation.
• The Dane G. Hansen Foundation gave Rolling Hills Zoo in Salina, Kansas $250,000 to build a new tiger exhibit.
• The Susie and Gideon Yu Foundation gave the Monterey Bay Aquarium Foundation $1,500,000 to renovate its African penguin habitat.
• The Mississippi Power Foundation gave Mississippi Aquarium in Gulfport $125,000 tied to customer appreciation visits.
• The Minnesota Power Foundation gave Lake Superior Zoo in Duluth $20,000 for a capybara barn.
• The Atwood Foundation gave the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage $14,350 for internet connectivity for summer education programs in tax year 2024.

One nonprofit in Kansas makes the point: Rolling Hills received a quarter-million dollars for one named exhibit in Salina, far from the big metro zoos. The honest lesson is that a regional zoo can land a large habitat gift when the project is specific.

Get the animal funder list for your state

The Grantsights animal funder list names foundations that reported animal grants on their own 990-PF filings, sorted by state, with funders whose filings say they accept requests shown first. You'll see each funder's recent recipients and purposes, which lets you separate funders who back zoos from those who only give to shelters. Browsing the state preview is free. The full animal list is $29 one time for every state, the $99 plan opens all cause lists for a year, and Grantsights refunds either in full within 30 days.

IMLS Grants for Living Collections

Zoos and aquariums are museums under federal grant rules. According to the IMLS eligibility criteria (opens in a new tab), museums include aquariums and zoological parks, and an eligible museum must own or use tangible objects, "either animate or inanimate," care for them, and exhibit them to the public on a regular basis. It also needs at least one professional staff member, paid or unpaid, primarily engaged in acquiring, caring for or exhibiting objects.

According to Grants.gov, the Museums for America listing (MFA-FY27) (opens in a new tab) estimates about 122 awards from roughly $21.7 million across all museum types, so zoos compete with art and history museums. The Inspire! listing (IGSM-FY27) (opens in a new tab) estimates about 75 awards from $3 million for small museums.

Strong zoo projects for IMLS include animal records and population management systems, keeper training tied to welfare standards, interpretive signage and education programs for school groups, and collections plans. Construction of a new habitat generally isn't a fit. Fund habitats through foundations and campaigns, and use IMLS for the people and systems around the animals.

The USDA License Funders Will Ask About

Before a foundation funds a zoo, especially a small one, it'll want to know the animals are legally and properly kept. Under 9 CFR 2.1 (opens in a new tab), no person may operate as an exhibitor of regulated animals without a valid USDA license unless an exemption applies, and the application must disclose details such as the animals held and any locations where they're exhibited.

USDA inspection reports and license status are things a careful program officer checks. A clean inspection history is a quiet asset in every zoo grant request. If you've had citations, explain what changed. Saying nothing is a red flag to a funder who already looked.

What IMLS Doesn't Tell You About Funding a Zoo

Federal program pages skip the practical lessons that show up in the filings:

1. Campaigns attract the biggest gifts. The large grants above carry campaign names: "We Can't Wait," "Wild Horizons," "Our Growing Herd." A named, phased campaign with a target gives funders something to join.
2. Education unlocks non-animal funders. Corporate and education foundations that never fund animal care will pay for school visits for low-income students, as the Connecticut Zoological Society's $10,000 grant for underserved field trips shows.
3. Zoological society structure matters. Many public zoos are owned by a city or county and supported by a nonprofit zoological society. Foundations generally give to the society, not the city. If you don't have one, that's the first fix.
4. Accreditation is a trust signal, not a grant requirement. The IMLS eligibility criteria don't require accreditation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, but a program officer may still ask what animal care standards you follow. Be ready to explain yours.

Common Mistakes in Zoo and Aquarium Grant Requests

• Asking shelter funders for exhibit money. A common mistake is sending a habitat request to a foundation whose filings show only spay and neuter grants. Check the purpose lines first.
• No attendance or school data. Funders want annual visitors, school groups, free or reduced admission visits, and members. Without them, a request reads as a wish list.
• One giant unphased ask. A $12 million master plan sent to a funder with a $3,000 median signals the zoo didn't read the filing. Break it into habitats, systems and programs.
• Underestimating the IMLS match. Museums for America needs non-federal money equal to the request. Applications that hope to find the match later struggle.
• Skipping federal registration. IMLS requires active SAM registration. Start early with the SAM registration guide.

A Year of Zoo Fundraising

Use Grantsights' how to write a grant letter of inquiry for short program asks and how to read a 990-PF to screen funders. Federal programs beyond IMLS are listed in the Grantsights grant database.

Related Guides for Animal and Museum Organizations

Zoos share funders with museums, nature centers and animal welfare groups. See grants for museums for more on IMLS, grants for wildlife rehabilitation if your zoo also takes in injured native wildlife, and grants for animal rescues for the shelter side of animal philanthropy. The best grants for animal welfare nonprofits roundup covers national animal funders.

Other Grantsights guides for specific kinds of organizations include grants for nature centers and grants for therapeutic riding programs.

FAQ: Common Questions

Can a zoo or aquarium get IMLS museum grants? Yes. IMLS lists aquariums and zoological parks as museums, and the FY 2027 Museums for America awards run from $5,000 up to $350,000.

What do foundations fund at zoos? New habitats, campaigns and education, such as the C.L. Werner Foundation's $500,000 for Omaha's Orangutan Forest renovation.

Do small roadside or private zoos qualify for grants? Rarely. Foundations give to 501(c)(3) charities, and every exhibitor needs a USDA license under 9 CFR 2.1.

How large is a typical foundation grant to an animal organization? Grantsights analysis of 990-PF animal grants found medians of $2,500 in New York, $4,000 in California and $5,000 in Florida.

Is an aquarium funded by the same foundations as a zoo? Largely, yes. Family foundations in the same city often give to both.

Sources

• 9 CFR 2.1, USDA exhibitor licensing rule (opens in a new tab)
• IMLS: Museums for America (opens in a new tab)
• IMLS: Inspire! Grants for Small Museums (opens in a new tab)
• Grants.gov: Museums for America (MFA-FY27) (opens in a new tab)
• Grants.gov: Inspire! Grants for Small Museums (IGSM-FY27) (opens in a new tab)
• IMLS: Eligibility criteria (opens in a new tab)
• IRS: About Form 990-PF (opens in a new tab)