As a charity, we at ZSL rely on donations to help us to care for our animals and continue our vital conservation work, at Whipsnade Zoo and around the world.
How your donations help
Your generous donations help us to…
- Inspire future generations through amazing experiences with wild animals, giving them a lifelong connection to wildlife and showing the part that they can play in wildlife conservation.
- Inform the world about the challenges facing wildlife and the ways we all can address these, based on our scientific research, experience and expertise.
- Empower communities, leaders and influencers by giving them the methods, evidence, tools and skills to enable people and wildlife to thrive together.
How we spend your money
Every pound makes a difference - we are very careful about how we spend money to ensure the best possible outcome for wildlife. A full breakdown of how we spent our income in 2020/21 is shown below.
This means that for every pound donated, ZSL spent:
- 54p on our Zoo animals and Zoo-based conservation
- 28p on field conservation, science and research
- 11p on the costs of trading
- 6p on raising funds
Why you should add a donation when you book a ticket for Whipsnade Zoo
When you buy a ticket to visit our Zoos, you have the chance to add an optional donation to your ticket when you check out. These donations make a huge difference to our conservation efforts, to prevent the extinction of wildlife and care for the 30,000 animals in our Zoos, many of them endangered in the wild.
When you add a donation to your ticket, Gift Aid can be claimed on top of every pound that you spend with us. Gift Aid allows charities like us to reclaim tax from the government on donations. This means that ZSL can claim an additional 25p for every £1 you spend, at no extra cost to you.
Further information
You can find detailed information on what we do and how we spend our money in our annual report and accounts.