The people paying for this
A zoo before it opens has no gate money. What it has is a small number of people who decided the idea was worth backing before there was anything to show them.
They are on this page because being here is the thing they were promised, and because a nonprofit that names who funds it is easier to trust than one that does not.
Sponsors · Friend of the Zoo
Backing it before it opened
Everybody here came in at the founding level, when the zoo was a plan and a collection rather than a building.
Sheila Ledesma
Tree Frog Sponsor
Linda Pelaez
Tree Frog Sponsor
Anthony Florian
Tree Frog Sponsor
Stephanie Hancock
Tree Frog Sponsor
Joseph & Patricia Patinio
Tree Frog SponsorsAlso the founder and the secretary. Their roles on the board.
Four of the seven also sit on the board, which is worth saying out loud rather than leaving somebody to notice. The people asking Las Vegas to fund this zoo were the first ones to fund it themselves.
Next Gen Sponsors
Some of the sponsors here are children
Pocket money, birthday money, and in a couple of cases money that was meant for something else. They are the reason the phrase "next generation of conservationists" is not just something written on a poster here.
Peaches Golden
Next Gen Sponsor
Bailey Mickle
Next Gen Sponsor
Dennis Golden Jr
Next Gen Sponsor
Shai Golden
Next Gen Sponsor
Aidyn Taylor
Next Gen SponsorTo any parent reading this
Your child is here because they sponsored this zoo and the zoo thanked them for it. If you would rather they were not listed on a public website, say so and they come down the same day. You do not have to give a reason and nobody will ask for one.
Six sponsorship levels, and what each one gets you
Your sponsorship helps the zoo educate, inspire and conserve. Every level includes everything in the level below it, levels in between are available, and the zoo will build one around what you actually want to fund.
-
Tree Frog Friend of the Zoo $100
Small gift, big impact. Every jump starts a ripple of change.
- Name on the website donor wall
- Social media thank you
- Newsletter recognition
-
Leopard Gecko Supporter $250
Helping the zoo grow strong and make a difference every day.
- Everything in Tree Frog, plus:
- Name on digital signage at the zoo
- Recognition in one event programme
-
Chameleon Conservation Partner $500
Adaptable support for a changing world.
- Everything in Leopard Gecko, plus:
- Logo on the website
- Quarterly social media spotlight
- Two complimentary zoo passes
-
Ball Python Advocate $1,000
Helping the zoo educate, conserve and inspire its community.
- Everything in Chameleon, plus:
- Logo on printed materials
- Four complimentary zoo passes
- Invitation to the exclusive Sponsor Night
-
Tortoise Preserver $2,000
Steady support for long-term impact and enduring change.
- Everything in Ball Python, plus:
- Logo on the event banner
- Six complimentary zoo passes
- Recognition in press releases
-
Alligator Legacy Partner $3,000
Make a powerful impact and leave a legacy that inspires generations.
- Everything in Tortoise, plus:
- Premier logo placement at the zoo
- Ten complimentary zoo passes
- A private tour and meet-and-greet with the team
Four things every gift pays for
Educate
School programmes that go out across the valley, and an animal paired with the specific pressure its species is under rather than a fact on a card.
Conserve
Managed breeding of species running out of room in the wild, so captive-bred animals reduce the demand pulling wild ones out.
Inspire youth
The children who come through a programme and stop being frightened. It is the least measurable thing the zoo does and the reason most of it happens.
Protect endangered species
Permanent, species-appropriate homes for animals that cannot be released, were surrendered, or came out of the trade.
Sponsor one animal instead
Rather than a level, you can take a single animal. Sponsorship covers that animal's food, heating, veterinary care and enclosure for a year, and your name goes on its page rather than into a list.
It is the version people understand fastest, because there is no ambiguity about where the money went. You can see the animal, and the page that thanks you is the page about it.
Partner organisations, and why they matter more than money
A collection this size cannot run a breeding programme, a veterinary service, a rescue network and an education department out of one building. What it can do is work with the people who already do each of those things well.
Veterinary
Exotic veterinary care is the cost and the capability that most often catches a small collection out. A practice that treats reptiles and amphibians properly is the single most important outside relationship this organisation has.
Rescue and rehoming
We cannot take every animal offered to us, because space and quarantine decide that. A working relationship with rescues and other keepers is what turns our no into somebody else's yes instead of a dead end.
Other collections and breeders
Captive breeding only takes pressure off wild populations if the animals produced are healthy, correctly identified and genetically sensible. That requires other keepers, shared records and honest paperwork.
Schools and libraries
Education partners are how the collection reaches people who would never come looking for it. A standing relationship with a district or a library system is worth more than any number of one-off bookings.
No organisation is named here until it has agreed to be
Listing another organisation as a partner implies they endorse us, and that is theirs to grant rather than ours to assume. Every entry on this page will have been confirmed with the organisation first, and will carry their name, a link to them, and a plain description of what the work actually is.
If you run a practice, a rescue, a collection or a school programme and there is something worth doing together, tell us what you have in mind.
Companies backing the zoo
Goldchain DAO LLC
Sponsored the specialty drink at the 21 September fundraiser at KJ’s Social.
BT Marketing
Designed and built this site, and hosts and maintains it for the zoo.
Corporate partnership
Sponsor an enclosure, an animal or a school programme as a business. Your name sits on the page for the thing you paid for rather than in a list nobody scrolls to.
If a sponsor is missing from this page
Somebody who gave and is not listed here has been let down, and it is the kind of mistake that is easy to make and easy to fix. Tell us and it is corrected the same day, whether that means adding a name, changing a level, or taking a name down.