Discussion

The data collected indicate that facilities with compensated and uncompensated intern programs spent money similarly and received similar types of revenue. These results suggest that zoos and aquariums with different operating budgets, total revenue, and net income are financially able to provide compensation to their interns. Zoos and aquariums with compensated intern programs were expected to have a greater total revenue or net income, allowing more funding to be used on their intern programs. This was not the case.
Answers from interviews and questionnaires suggest that funding for internships should be included in the annual budget just as regular employees’ salaries are. The one category with a statistically significant difference in expenses was ‘Occupancy.’ Facilities with uncompensated intern programs had a greater percentage of expenses in this category. Occupancy includes things like rent, property taxes, and mortgages. This suggests that facilities with uncompensated intern programs are in areas with a higher cost of living or have a physically larger facility. This is an area that should be researched further in future studies.
The majority of respondents from the interviews and questionnaires stated that the number one way to fund an intern program was to make it a priority. Historically, AZA accreditation standards have focused on the welfare of the animals. While this is important, there have been very few standards concentrating on the welfare of zoo and aquarium employees. These are the folks responsible for animal welfare. Paying interns and staff a living wage should be prioritized in the budget just as much as animal care is prioritized in the budget.
If we look at the average net income of each facility type, we can calculate how this net income could be redistributed into the budget. Facilities could use their net income to fund intern programs. Both types of facilities in this study had an average net income of over 3 million dollars. If facilities hired 20 interns at $15 an hour for 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year, they would spend $624,000 annually. This would still leave enough net income for cushion funds.
Another significant result was the revenue received from admission fees. The lack of significant difference in total revenue suggests that uncompensated intern programs receive revenue from sources outside of admission fees. For example, these facilities could receive a large portion of their revenue from grants or donations. Grants and donations often specify how they need to be spent. Perhaps facilities with compensated intern programs have greater flexibility in their expenses as they can use admission fees to fund their intern programs.
One of the most surprising findings was the significant difference in average employee salaries and the highest reported salaries. At $24,428, the average employee salary at facilities with uncompensated intern programs comes to about $11.74 an hour for a 40-hour work week, 52 weeks a year. The average employee salary at facilities with compensated intern programs, $35,031, comes to about $16.84 an hour. These are both greater than the federal minimum wage of $7.25. In 2019, the median annual earnings for individuals with a high school diploma was $38,792, according to the \citet{statistics2020}. For individuals with a bachelor’s degree, this salary increased to $64,896. If Bachelor’s degrees are needed to enter the zoo and aquarium field, the salaries should reflect that.
These facilities may argue that they do not have the necessary funds to increase salaries. Still, statistics from the average net income and average highest reported salary show there may be more funds available. On average, the salaries for CEOs and Presidents were ten times higher than the average employee salary. At one facility, the Executive Director’s salary was $616,062, almost 35 times greater than their average employee salary of $17,406. In a future study, it would be interesting to see the relationship between CEO salaries and employee salaries.
The methods of this study were helpful to summarize the overall financial data of AZA-accredited 501(c)(3) facilities. Form 990 can often be very lengthy, sometimes over 20 pages. Therefore, not every aspect of financial data was analyzed. Form 990 also includes information on the specific grants given out by the facility reporting and information on types of fundraising events. It would be interesting to review this information in the future to see if there are particular grants facilities could apply for or fundraising events that have proven to be successful.
The next step for this study would be to compare the average employee salary to the estimated living wage for the town or city in which the facility is located. It is important to recognize that even if students are able to participate in an unpaid internship, there are still several barriers that prevent specific individuals from entering the field. Even if all internships become paid, any student that has a large number of expenses like student loans, car payments, or credit card debt may not be able to afford the current average salaries offered at these facilities. The study highlights just a few of the barriers that are apparent in this field.