Unlike healthcare institutions or schools, zoos do not provide for an area of need for cities, states, and nations. However, the education resources, entertainment, and environmental preservation efforts that they provide can yield great value for a community. This means that not only do government’s care about them from the context that they are often nonprofit organizations, but they can also be under the umbrellas of government entities such as the Cleveland Metroparks system. With this considered, zoos can be closely linked to the governments of their locations. Of course, funding also plays a role in influencing their operating choices. In Cleveland, significant funding is channeled through the Cleveland Foundation. Zoos can have a lot …show more content…
Relative to the performing arts, zoos have access to more government funding and support. (Salamon 196-197) For context of the potential for government support of zoos, the state of Ohio gave over $200,000 to the Cleveland Zoological Society during 2016. It could be argued that the Cleveland Zoo provides a benefit defined by entertainment, education, and a tiny conservation footprint worldwide. Does this output warrant not only tax exemption, but also direct government support from the state of Ohio? The question can be reanalyzed from the perspective of “ultimate beneficiaries” of the zoo’s work. John Stennis and Marian Wright discuss the “human measurements of who is served, who is affected by nonprofit groups and activities” (Hammack 444). Using this arithmetic framework, it is possible to justify the value of zoos to society in broad terms that support the government’s investment. This can be interpreted to say that success in science or medicine based on an interest taken in zoos at a young age can be attributed as a benefit of zoos. This is hard to calculate, but also credits great works to the nonprofit sector which may slip through a more typical costs and benefits calculation without consideration. For zoo’s, this means that educational efforts can be valued very highly in their pursuit of government and private