HERMANN PARK CONSERVANCY

As filed

Subsection

03

NTEE code

C500

Classification

2000

Street

1700 HERMANN DR

These codes are the IRS's own and are shown exactly as filed. What each one means is in the Business Master File documentation (opens in a new tab).

Mission and programs · 2024

• Hermann Park Conservancy (HPC) exists to ensure that Hermann Park remains one of the most vibrant, welcoming, and well-used urban parks in the country. As a public-private partner to the City of Houston, HPC focuses on long-term planning, capital improvements, stewardship, and visitor services across the Park's 445 acres. Current activities include the operation of major Park assets such as the McGovern Centennial Gardens, Lott Hall, McWilliams Dog Park, and the Commons - a new destination for play and gathering. HPC oversees volunteer and conservation programs, forestry management, and earned income strategies that support long-term care. Continued on Schedule O. At the same time, HPC is executing a 10-year implementation plan to bring to life the Park's final components of the updated master plan - an ambitious, community-informed vision that meets the needs of today while building for future generations.Park Programs and Maintenance: Stewardship and Park Operations: Hermann Park Conservancy stewards the Park's natural landscapes, tree canopy, and high-use public spaces with a focus on long-term environmental health and exceptional daily care. With the openings of the Commons and McWilliams Dog Park, Conservancy-managed acreage has more than doubled. These destinations now join the McGovern Centennial Gardens as areas under full Conservancy management, contributing to a 30 percent increase in annual operational needs. Through the urban land management, forestry, and maintenance programs, the Conservancy oversees more than 13,000 trees, leads habitat restoration efforts across the Park, and cares for these spaces with the support of expert horticulture staff, a natural areas team, and a Park-wide maintenance program that supplements the City's work, including regular care in the Japanese Garden. HPC's robust volunteer program, established in 2003, further strengthens this stewardship and mission, contributing more than 30,000 hours of Park care each year. Community Engagement and Programming: Hermann Park Conservancy enriches the visitor experience through free or low-cost programming that welcomes Houstonians of all ages into the Park. Our community offerings span beloved annual traditions and new creative initiatives, including the internationally recognized "The Great Elephant Migration" installation, which brought 100 extraordinary, life-sized elephant sculptures into the landscape. Signature events such as the Park to Port Bike Ride and Run in the Park remain core touchpoints for thousands of residents each year, building connection and encouraging active enjoyment of the Park's greenspaces. With Art in the Park, the public art program established in 2014, the Conservancy continues to present rotating public art and cultural installations that invite curiosity, exploration, and repeat visitation. Other ongoing programming further animates the Park, including student performances, the Garden & Nature Series, and a growing array of workshops, family activities, and topic-based events. This type of community engagement is an evolving priority for the Conservancy, and we intend to deepen, expand, and diversify programming in the years ahead so that Hermann Park remains a place of learning, creativity, and joy for all who visit.

  Expenses $4,180,522

• Visitor Services and Facility Rentals: The Conservancy's visitor services and facility rentals are earned income areas and provide popular amenities and offerings for Park visitors. The visitor services department operates the Hermann Park Railroad, pedal boats, Park cafes, Lott Family Carousel, and oversees the gift shop in Lake Plaza. We also receive revenue from the facility rentals program for spaces available in the McGovern Centennial Gardens and Lott Hall. When the Commons opened in 2024, income opportunities were part of the operational plans. These include rental of the site's three pavilions, an improved Hermann Park Railroad stop, and the addition of a carousel as a new park amenity.

  Expenses $2,396,987 · Revenue $3,991,258

• Planning, Design, and Construction: Hermann Park Conservancy, in partnership with the City of Houston and Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, developed a new master plan in 2017 that reimagines the Park through the lenses of play, nature, access, and mobility - priorities identified through extensive community input. With transformational projects like the Commons and the McWilliams Dog Park now complete, HPC is launching a coordinated 10-year final projects plan. Continued on Schedule O. This plan includes restoration or renovation of the following areas: - North Lake restoration and habitat enhancement- Restoration of the Japanese Garden- Historic Golf Course improvements- Expansion of the Greenway Connection and the Loop Trail- Renovation of the Judson Robinson Jr. Community Center and surrounding recreation areas- Improvement and expansion of maintenance and operations facilities- Comprehensive connectivity enhancements and improvements in and around the Park- Fannin Parking Garage and Skybridge - Bayou Parkland restoration- A reimagined Park CenterTogether, these projects will dramatically improve the visitor experience, increase access and mobility, restore natural systems, and create new opportunities for programming and recreation. The Conservancy has quietly begun fundraising efforts for this vision plan and will continue to move toward a public launch of this campaign, which totals over $312 million at current estimate.

  Expenses $2,136,711 · Revenue $619,858

As filed on the 2024 return. The filer continues this part on Schedule O, which is not shown here.

Officers and directors · 2024

As listed in Part VII of the 2024 return, in the order the filer printed them. Each return names its own; this is not a roster the organization keeps with us.

The first 25 listed. Compensation is as filed in Part VII: reportable pay from this organization and from related organizations, other compensation, and hours per week. The total, marked calculated, is our sum of the three dollar columns, with a blank column counted as $0; the form itself has no total. On a Form 990-EZ the columns are Part IV's instead, and on a Form 990-PF Part VIII's — compensation, contributions to benefit plans, and expense account — and the total sums those. Earlier years are each on their own filing page.

Filings

• 2024

  Revenue

  $15,541,142

  Expenses

  $10,117,667

  Contributions

  $9,888,331

  Grants paid

  $0

• 2023

  Revenue

  $11,806,573

  Expenses

  $22,777,839

  Contributions

  $6,091,243

  Grants paid

  $0

• 2022

  Revenue

  $20,484,997

  Expenses

  $21,327,155

  Contributions

  $15,138,990

  Grants paid

  $0

The four totals the IRS asks for on Part I of the Form 990, as filed. A dash means the figure was not present on the return — not that it was zero.

Other returns filed

• 2021 · 990

  Revenue

  $19,415,067

  Expenses

  $8,029,508

  Assets (EOY)

  $63,779,988

• 2020 · 990

  Revenue

  $15,703,753

  Expenses

  $4,959,148

  Assets (EOY)

  $57,622,418

• 2019 · 990

  Revenue

  $15,025,044

  Expenses

  $5,378,476

  Assets (EOY)

  $43,716,181

• 2018 · 990

  Revenue

  $8,551,429

  Expenses

  $4,748,644

  Assets (EOY)

  $33,304,985

• 2017 · 990

  Revenue

  $5,599,152

  Expenses

  $4,339,313

  Assets (EOY)

  $29,670,041

• 2017 · 990

  Revenue

  $5,599,152

  Expenses

  $4,339,313

  Assets (EOY)

  $29,670,041

• 2016 · 990

  Revenue

  $8,544,541

  Expenses

  $4,590,301

  Assets (EOY)

  $28,476,814

• 2015 · 990

  Revenue

  $5,082,108

  Expenses

  $4,386,687

  Assets (EOY)

  $25,714,248

• 2014 · 990

  Revenue

  $6,601,388

  Expenses

  $13,772,477

  Assets (EOY)

  $26,355,247

• 2013 · 990

  Revenue

  $7,412,836

  Expenses

  $13,348,364

  Assets (EOY)

  $33,380,470

Nonprofiteer parses Forms 990, 990-EZ and 990-PF, in a window of recent tax years. These returns are recorded from the IRS e-file index, so their figures were extracted by that index rather than read from the return here — treat them as a different source from the filings above, not as more of the same record. A dash means the index carries no figure; Form 990-T listings carry none at all. Showing the 10 most recent; the API carries the rest.

Grants made

No itemized grants to organizations. Schedule I is filed only by organizations that granted more than $5,000 to a recipient, so most filers have none.

Grants received

• GREATER HOUSTON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION

  $986,334

  2022 · ENVIRONMENTAL

• FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND

  $277,915

  2022 · For grant recipient's exempt purposes

• GREATER HOUSTON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION

  $232,927

  2023 · ENVIRONMENTAL

• GREATER HOUSTON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION

  $123,783

  2024 · ENVIRONMENTAL

• NATIONAL PHILANTHROPIC TR

  $111,750

  2024 · ENVIRONMENT, ANIMALS

• AMERICAN ONLINE GIVING FOUNDATION INC

  $111,275

  2023 · GENERAL SUPPORT

• THE METHODIST HOSPITAL

  $105,000

  2023 · PROGRAM SUPPORT

• DONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING

  $104,068

  2024 · ENVIRONMENTAL AND ANIMALS

• AMERICAN ENDOWMENT FOUNDATION

  $101,250

  2023 · ENVIRONMENTAL

• GARDEN CLUB OF HOUSTON

  $100,000

  2024 · Funds for habitat restoration

The 10 largest by cash amount. The API serves every itemized grant.

Taxable family

From Schedule R Parts I, III and IV: entities that legally are the filer, and taxable partnerships, corporations and trusts it is related to. These record ownership and control, not shared board members or money.

Other IRS files