GREATER DES MOINES BOTANICAL GARDEN

As filed

Subsection

03

NTEE code

C114

Classification

1200

Street

909 ROBERT D RAY 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

• MORE THAN SIXTY YEARS AGO, COMMUNITY LEADERS SAW THE NEED FOR AN URBAN GARDEN IN THE HEART OF DES MOINES. AFTER YEARS OF PERSISTENCE, THEIR VISION CAME TO LIFE WITH THE OPENING OF THE BOTANICAL CENTER (AS IT WAS THEN KNOWN) IN 1979. THE ORIGINAL BOTANICAL CENTER OPERATED AS PART OF THE CITY OF DES MOINES' PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT, FEATURING THE DOMED CONSERVATORY, A TROPICAL PLANT COLLECTION, AND A COUPLE OF CLASSROOMS. MUNICIPAL OVERSIGHT OF THE BOTANICAL CENTER CONTINUED THROUGH THE EARLY 2010S. AT THAT TIME, FOUR COMMUNITY LEADERS-FORMER DES MOINES MAYOR TOM URBAN, BUZ BRENTON, FRED WEITZ, AND JANIS RUAN-LED THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE BOTANICAL CENTER INTO THE GREATER DES MOINES BOTANICAL GARDEN. THIS TRANSFORMATION INCLUDED THE CLOSURE OF ROBERT D. RAY DRIVE TO ALLOW FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF OUTDOOR GARDENS ALONG THE DES MOINES RIVER. THE GREATER DES MOINES BOTANICAL GARDEN OPENED AS A PRIVATE, NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION IN 2013 AND CONTINUES TO THRIVE THROUGH A STRONG PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY OF DES MOINES TODAY.MORE THAN 40 YEARS AFTER ITS ORIGINAL OPENING, TODAY'S GREATER DES MOINES BOTANICAL GARDEN IS A VIBRANT 12-ACRE PUBLIC GARDEN-INCLUDING NEARLY FOUR ACRES OF FREE PUBLIC GARDEN SPACE-SITUATED IN THE HEART OF DOWNTOWN DES MOINES. THE MISSION OF THE BOTANICAL GARDEN IS TO EXPLORE, EXPLAIN, AND CELEBRATE THE WORLD OF PLANTS. AS AN INFLUENTIAL ARTS AND CULTURE DESTINATION, THE BOTANICAL GARDEN BRINGS TOGETHER COMMUNITY MEMBERS, TOURISTS, CHILDREN, FAMILIES, HORTICULTURISTS, AND MORE IN A UNIQUE ENVIRONMENT THAT PROMOTES EDUCATION AND ECOLOGICAL STEWARDSHIP. THROUGH THE FUSION OF ART, HORTICULTURE, AND LEARNING, WE ARE UNIQUELY POSITIONED TO STRENGTHEN CONNECTIONS BETWEEN PLANTS, PEOPLE, AND THE NATURAL WORLD FOR OUR COMMUNITY AND FOR VISITORS FROM ACROSS THE STATE AND AROUND THE GLOBE.IN 2023, THE BOTANICAL GARDEN CELEBRATED A MAJOR MILESTONE: ONE DECADE SINCE TRANSITIONING TO AN INDEPENDENT NONPROFIT. OVER THAT DECADE, WE EXPANDED OUR PHYSICAL GARDENS TO 12 BEAUTIFULLY DEVELOPED ACRES, GREW OUR PLANT COLLECTIONS TO NEARLY 3,400 SPECIES, INCREASED OUR WORKFORCE TO MORE THAN 30 EMPLOYEES AND 400 VOLUNTEERS, AND BUILT A STRONG COMMUNITY OF MEMBERS AND COMMUNITY PARTNERS. ANNUAL ATTENDANCE INCLUDES VISITORS FROM ALL 50 STATES AND MORE THAN 25 INTERNATIONAL LOCATIONS.IN FY2025, THE BOTANICAL GARDEN CONTINUED THIS POSITIVE TRAJECTORY, WELCOMING MORE THAN 144,000 VISITORS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. NEARLY 13,000 INDIVIDUALS RECEIVED FREE ADMISSION AS PART OF OUR PINEAPPLE PROGRAM. WE ENGAGED THOUSANDS OF LEARNERS THROUGH YEAR-ROUND EDUCATION PROGRAMS, CONTINUED TO SELL OUT SUMMER CAMPS, AND SUSTAINED RECORD-BREAKING ATTENDANCE FOR THE NEW HOLIDAY LIGHT EVENT, DOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS. MEMBERSHIP REMAINED STRONG, AND THE VOLUNTEER WORKFORCE GREW TO NEARLY 650, PLAYING A VITAL ROLE IN OPERATIONS AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. ADDITIONALLY, THE BOTANICAL GARDEN OPERATING THE WELCOME, GATHER, GROW CAPITAL CAMPAIGN, RAISING GENEROUS SUPPORT FROM THE COMMUNITY TO MAKE MUCH-NEEDED IMPROVEMENTS TO THE FACILITY AND GROUNDS. CONSTRUCTION BEGAN AT THE END OF FY25 WITH THE FIRST OF THOSE PROJECTS SLATED TO REOPEN IN FY26.THE GREATER DES MOINES BOTANICAL GARDEN IS MORE THAN A DOME. IT IS A CONNECTION POINT BETWEEN PLANTS, PEOPLE, AND THE NATURAL WORLD-A PLACE WHERE ANYONE CAN EXPLORE, CREATE, CONNECT, AND EMBRACE THEIR TRUE NATURE.

  Expenses $4,113,265 · Revenue $1,565,684

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.

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. A Schedule J breakdown is as filed: base pay, bonus, other, deferred compensation and nontaxable benefits from this organization, with any from related organizations beside each, and the filer's own total. It is shown with the Part VII listing of the same name on the same return. The form gives no key between the two, so that pairing is ours, and is marked matched by us. Earlier years are each on their own filing page.

Filings

• 2024

  Revenue

  $11,844,203

  Expenses

  $5,009,061

  Contributions

  $9,328,618

  Grants paid

  $0

• 2023

  Revenue

  $4,663,058

  Expenses

  $4,276,369

  Contributions

  $2,452,255

  Grants paid

  $0

• 2022

  Revenue

  $4,812,402

  Expenses

  $4,743,297

  Contributions

  $2,749,220

  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

• 2024 · 990-T

  Revenue

  — not reported

  Expenses

  — not reported

  Assets (EOY)

  — not reported

• 2023 · 990-T

  Revenue

  — not reported

  Expenses

  — not reported

  Assets (EOY)

  — not reported

• 2021 · 990

  Revenue

  $5,788,911

  Expenses

  $3,826,822

  Assets (EOY)

  $21,044,099

• 2020 · 990

  Revenue

  $3,005,258

  Expenses

  $3,115,528

  Assets (EOY)

  $19,678,149

• 2019 · 990

  Revenue

  $3,895,679

  Expenses

  $3,185,270

  Assets (EOY)

  $19,080,680

• 2018 · 990

  Revenue

  $2,647,467

  Expenses

  $3,296,085

  Assets (EOY)

  $18,064,316

• 2017 · 990

  Revenue

  $2,772,609

  Expenses

  $3,254,731

  Assets (EOY)

  $18,676,062

• 2016 · 990

  Revenue

  $3,232,495

  Expenses

  $3,188,522

  Assets (EOY)

  $19,028,575

• 2015 · 990

  Revenue

  $2,643,320

  Expenses

  $2,751,130

  Assets (EOY)

  $19,335,607

• 2014 · 990

  Revenue

  $5,911,847

  Expenses

  $2,590,057

  Assets (EOY)

  $22,379,082

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

• BRAVO GREATER DES MOINES INC

  $280,000

  2023 · OPERATING GRANT, CAPITAL PROJECT GRANT

• BRAVO GREATER DES MOINES INC

  $245,000

  2024 · OPERATING GRANT

• BRAVO GREATER DES MOINES INC

  $195,000

  2022 · GENERAL FUNDING

• COMMUNITY FDN OF GREATER DES MOINES

  $167,486

  2022 · GRANT DISTRIBUTION

• PRAIRIE MEADOWS RACE TRACK & CASINO INC

  $150,000

  2023 · HVAC UPDATES AND IMPROVEMENTS

• GOLF CHARITABLE FOUNDATION OF GREATER DES MOINES

  $137,500

  2024 · GENERAL OPERATIONS

• GOLF CHARITABLE FOUNDATION OF GREATER DES MOINES

  $100,000

  2022 · GENERAL OPERATIONS

• COMMUNITY FDN OF GREATER DES MOINES

  $100,000

  2022 · GRANT DISTRIBUTION

• COMMUNITY FDN OF GREATER DES MOINES

  $61,250

  2022 · GRANT DISTRIBUTION

• COMMUNITY FDN OF GREATER DES MOINES

  $61,250

  2022 · GRANT DISTRIBUTION

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

Other IRS files