Endowment – The Future of Denver Zoo

Denver Zoo has embarked on an exciting and vital journey to redesign, refresh and renew Denver Zoo. The zoo also continues to expand its award-winning education and conservation programs. To provide a bright future for dynamic exhibits and programs, in 1997, Denver Zoological Foundation established a separate 501(c)(3) supporting organization called the Colorado Zoological Trust to manage the zoo’s endowment. The Colorado Zoological Trust is a private, not-for-profit, formed solely to acquire, invest, manage and distribute the endowment funds raised in support of Denver Zoo.

Creating a substantial endowment is critical to the success of Denver Zoo. The principal of the endowment is never invaded. Only income and investment growth generated from the endowment assets can be used to support zoo programs, as predictable income upon which the zoo can depend each year.

Endowment gifts represent lasting gestures to support Denver Zoo’s financial future. Children and families for generations to come will benefit from such foresight and generosity, as tomorrow’s zoo will be shaped by today’s endowment gifts.

Gifts of any size to the zoo’s endowment are matched dollar for dollar by a Zoo Improvement Bond fund, with matching dollars designated to construction of new animal habitats envisioned in the zoo’s Millennium Master Plan. Endowment gifts thereby have double the impact!

You may establish a named endowment at Denver Zoo for a gift of $50,000 or more. The fund can be restricted for a specific purpose or can be designated for use where there is the greatest need.

In addition to the primary endowment fund, three specific funds have been established to provide future funding for Denver Zoo.

These funds are The Melvin and Elaine Wolf Education Endowment Fund for education programs, the Conrad and Nancy Riley Conservation for conservation programs and the Johnson Fund Endowment for capital improvements and animal acquisitions. Contributions designated to these funds further these specific zoo programs.

The Melvin & Elaine Wolf Education Endowment Fund

In keeping with decades of family commitment to further educational opportunities for children and families, the Wolf family, through The Melvin and Elaine Wolf Foundation, has made an important investment in Denver Zoo. Through a generous seed grant of $100,000 in 2000 they established The Melvin & Elaine Wolf Education Endowment Fund to help ensure the continuity of the zoo's growing education initiatives. Once the Education Endowment Fund reached $500,000, up to five percent of the value, based on a three-year average, is available to fund education programs. The Wolf Foundation made an additional $100,000 grant in January 2007.

We are grateful for this special endowment grant and encourage additional contributions to help The Melvin and Elaine Wolf Education Endowment Fund respond to its mission of strengthening and enhancing the zoo's education programs.

Conrad and Nancy Riley Conservation Endowment Fund

The Conservation Endowment Fund will ensure ongoing support for Denver Zoo's mission of wildlife conservation and research. Initial funding occurred in 1994 when Dr. Conrad Riley, a longtime Denver Zoological Foundation trustee and past president of the Board of Trustees, contributed his home to help grow the endowment of Denver Zoo.

Denver Zoo's Conservation Biology Department, established in 1996, has made significant contributions to higher education, science and global conservation. When the Conservation Endowment Fund reaches $5 million, the Conservation Biology Department may begin drawing no more than five percent of the fund's value, based on a three-year average, to support conservation and research projects. This will provide a permanent, expanding source of funding that will help strengthen Denver Zoo's commitment to protect threatened and endangered species across the globe.

We are grateful for this special endowment grant and encourage additional contributions to help the Conrad and Nancy Riley Conservation Endowment Fund respond to its mission of strengthening and enhancing the zoo's conservation programs.

Johnson Fund Endowment

The Johnson Fund was established in 1965 by the Arthur E. Johnson Foundation (now the Helen K. & Arthur E. Johnson Foundation) to provide perpetual funding of capital improvements and animal acquisitions at Denver Zoo. Some recent animal acquisitions made possible by the Johnson Fund are Grevy’s zebra, ostrich and okapi. A second okapi exhibit also was created to support our breeding program for this extremely rare species thanks to funding from the Johnson Endowment.

Income distributions from this endowment started immediately after initial funding and have been made every two to five years. The current Fund value is $1,204,589. Additions to this fund are welcomed by both the Johnson Foundation and Denver Zoo.

Email us, complete the confidential illustration form, or call us at 303-376-4863 so we can assist you.

Denver Zoological Foundation
Gift Planning Department
2300 Steele Street
Denver, CO 80205
(303) 376-4863
Email us

The material on this web site is intended to provide general information, not legal or tax advice about specific situations or problems. Donors are encouraged to consult a lawyer or accountant for legal or tax matters.