SILVER2024

Wildlife Conservation Society

aka WCS   |   Bronx, NY   |  http://www.wcs.org

Mission

WCS saves wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation action, education, and inspiring people to value nature.

Ruling year info

1939

Principal Officer

Robert G. Menzi

Main address

2300 Southern Boulevard

Bronx, NY 10460 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

13-1740011

NTEE code info

Wildlife Preservation/Protection (D30)

Protection of Endangered Species (D31)

Zoo, Zoological Society (D50)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

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Communication

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Wildlife and wild places are vanishing as the human footprint of more than 7 billion people grows. Wildlife Conservation Society research shows that humans have transformed 77 percent of the world’s land area and 87 percent the Earth’s vast ocean—and the rate of change is accelerating, with 10 percent of wilderness lost on land in just the last two decades. Human activity is threatening an unprecedented mass extinction of animals. Simply put, we are at a tipping point and risk losing it all forever. WCS’s mission is to save wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation action, education, and inspiring people to value nature. We envision a world where wildlife thrives in healthy lands and seas, valued by societies that embrace and benefit from the diversity and integrity of life on earth.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

WCS Zoos and Aquarium

Zoos and Aquarium - over 4 million people per year encounter wild animals at WCS's five wildlife parks. WCS is the national leader in creating exhibits inspired by their natural habitats, and manages captive breeding programs for endangered species.

Population(s) Served
Adults

Where we work

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

Our goal is to conserve more than half of all animal and plant species in the world’s largest wild places. Our conservation work across 16 priority regions help safeguard 40 percent of all mammals, 55 percent of all birds, 90 percent of all coral diversity, and more than 50 percent of all sharks, rays, and marine mammals. Across our landscapes and seascapes, we address critical threats to animals and ecosystems such as habitat loss, climate change, infectious disease, natural resource extraction, and wildlife crime.

WCS aims to reverse the decline of six priority groups of species: elephants, apes, big cats, sharks & rays, whales & dolphins, and tortoises & freshwater turtles. Saving these flagship species requires the conservation of vast swaths of habitat which in turn protects a multitude of plants and other animals.

Our strategy is to focus on the planet’s most important, ecologically intact places—such as forests, coral reefs, and grasslands—strongholds for biodiversity with the greatest resilience to climate change. We maintain a long-term presence in 60 countries, helping protect the entire known range of more than 100 threatened species and 3.6 million square miles across 4 continents and the world’s ocean.

We focus our conservation efforts on priority species groups that are: threatened, iconic, critical to the ecological functioning of our landscapes and seascapes, and powerful flagships for important conservation issues globally.

We run the largest network of urban wildlife parks in the world, led by our flagship Bronx Zoo—connecting over 4 million visitors a year to impactful experiences with science, nature, and conservation. Our curators, animal care staff, and field biologists are unrivaled in their expertise on saving, propagating, and sustaining threatened and endangered species.

As the world’s premier wildlife conservation organization, WCS has a long track record of achieving innovative, impactful results at scale. We build on a unique foundation: Our reach is global; we discover through best-in-class science; we protect through work on the ground with local and indigenous people; we inspire through our world-class zoos, aquarium, and education programs; and we leverage our resources through partnerships and powerful policy influence.

With a diverse global staff of over 3,700, WCS has more boots on the ground than any other conservation organization—and runs programs spanning the entire ocean and more than 3 million biologically critical square miles in nearly 60 countries. We run the world’s largest field programs for great ape, elephant, tiger, and whale conservation, among others. Our network of four zoos and an aquarium in New York City serves as a unique window into the natural world for city dwellers and a springboard for global conservation.

WCS’s uniquely effective approach yields lasting results. We bring species back from the brink and have helped recover bison, tigers, gorillas, whales, coral reefs, and more. We protect the wild places that sustain wildlife and humans. WCS has helped create more than 300 national parks and other protected areas; we are currently involved in managing over 480 conserved areas. We strive to recover and sustain at-risk species, save Earth’s diversity strongholds, and create inspiring gateways to nature that reveal the importance of conservation. To accomplish these objectives, WCS will reduce threats to wildlife by strengthening and expanding protected areas, training rangers, conducting research to inform policy, and investigating disease risks. We will safeguard the most ecologically vital landscapes and seascapes around the world. WCS’s five zoological parks, led by our flagship Bronx Zoo, will make transformative connections between people and animals while saving endangered species.

Financials

Wildlife Conservation Society
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

Wildlife Conservation Society

Board of directors
as of 10/29/2024
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Christopher J. Elliman

Wildlife Conservation Society

Andrew H. Tisch

WCS

Ward W. Woods

WCS

Elizabeth Ainslie

WCS

Frederick W. Beinecke

WCS

Rosina M. Bierbaum

WCS

C. Diane Christensen

WCS

Wellington J. Denahan

WCS

Katherine L. Dolan

WCS

Gordon E. Dyal

WCS

Thomas J. Edelman

WCS

Christopher J. Elliman

WCS

Bradley L. Goldberg

WCS

Paul A. Gould

WCS

Jonathan D. Green

WCS

Antonia M. Grumbach

WCS

Judith H. Hamilton

WCS

John N. Irwin III

WCS

Hamilton E. James

WCS

Julia Marton-Lefevre

WCS

Ambrose K. Monell

WCS

Adebayo O. Ogunlesi

WCS

Alejandro Santo Domingo

WCS

David B. Schiff

WCS

Walter C. Sedgwick

WCS

Katherine Sherrill

WCS

Caroline N. Sidnam

WCS

Roselinde Torres

WCS

Robert G. Goelet

WCS

Julian H. Robertson, Jr.

WCS

Howard Phipps, Jr.

WCS

David T Schiff

WCS

Allison M. Stern

WCS

Joan L. Tweedy

WCS

Barbara Hrbek Zucker

WCS

Eleanor Briggs

WCS

Jonathan L. Cohen

WCS

Brian J. Heidtke

WCS