Zoological Society Of Cincinnati

Zoological Society Of Cincinnati, doing business as Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Gardens, is a tax-exempt nonprofit organization based in Cincinnati, Ohio that receives federal grant funding as a prime recipient for wildlife and plant conservation research, with a smaller footprint as a sub-recipient under AmeriCorps programs. The vendor does not hold federal contracts and does not sit on government-wide acquisition vehicles; its entire federal footprint consists of grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science, the Department of the Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Geological Survey, and the Corporation for National and Community Service.

Cincinnati Zoo's grant portfolio centers on applied conservation research. The Institute of Museum and Library Services has funded six prime grants under the National Leadership Grants program (CFDA 45.312) totaling approximately $4 million across research initiatives: a $1.46 million award (October 2025 through September 2028) to evaluate and expand the Coexistence Impact Fellowship Program, which trains conservation leaders in interdisciplinary competencies including leadership communications, project design, data analysis, and community engagement; a $1.48 million award (September 2024 through August 2027) for a three-year project using jaguars and leopards as models to improve breeding success in zoo-housed cats through assisted reproductive technologies and capacity-building; a project (September 2023 through August 2027) addressing reproductive challenges in threatened and endangered bear species through innovative monitoring techniques and assisted reproductive technologies services; and two successive oak-species cryopreservation initiatives (September 2022 through August 2026, and September 2026 through August 2031) that develop research protocols for preserving exceptional plant collections that cannot be banked using conventional seed banking methods. The Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service awarded a cooperative agreement (September 2024 through September 2026) for Cincinnati Zoo to use comprehensive veterinary records and serum cytokine data to develop improved health-monitoring approaches for polar bears.

Grant activity has accelerated modestly in recent years — one or two awards annually in 2022–2023, rising to three awards in 2024 and two in 2025. Cincinnati Zoo also serves as a sub-recipient under the Ohio Commission on Service and Volunteerism's AmeriCorps programs (awards dated September 2024, August 2025, and July 2026), delivering STEM education to PreK–12 students and providing conservation messaging to zoo visitors. The vendor's combined obligated dollars ($22.4 million) significantly exceed combined potential value ($4.4 million), reflecting actual invoiced revenue from mature, multi-year grants. The Institute of Museum and Library Services and National Commission on Libraries and Information Science each account for ten awards and dominate the customer base; these two agencies represent 68% of recent awards by count. Two indefinite delivery contracts (IDCs V539R073 and V539R065) appear in the parent-vehicle block with minimal task-order activity, suggesting legacy or administrative relationships rather than active procurement vehicles. The vendor faces no material recompete exposure in the next twenty-four months.