From Animal Kingdom to Community Catalyst

The nation’s oldest zoo takes a new approach to engaging its neighbors. 

The Philadelphia Zoo – the oldest such institution in the country and among the most popular – faced a unique challenge in redefining its role within the local community. Located along the Schuylkill River and surrounded by some of Philly’s most challenged neighborhoods, the zoo hoped to leverage its presence in ways that could materially benefit these communities without overshadowing them. 

U3 Advisors was engaged to help the zoo’s leaders redefine its role in the community. Their work was grounded in comprehensive community and contextual scans which revealed several specific areas of mutual “enlightened self-interest.” Further examination of these areas led the team to identify five discrete roles that the Philadelphia Zoo plays: catalyst, convener, connector, conservator, and educator. These five roles provided a framework which allowed the zoo to re-examine its mission through a fresh lens. By leaning into its strengths and leveraging its assets – its size, location, and reputation – the zoo was able to more clearly see new ways to reach into the community and improve its existing operations, particularly with regard to environmental conservation and sustainability. 

Specific projects and initiatives aligned with each of these roles were then developed, many of which work to activate the edges of the zoo campus and link its visitors to the broader Fairmount Park ecosystem. These place-based initiatives, such as a new urban farm and the installation of community solar projects, enhance the zoo’s mission while contributing to the vitality of the surrounding neighborhoods.

The enduring adoption of this framework by the zoo, including its integration into organizational language, is testament to the value of U3 Advisors’ work. Moreover, the implementation of U3’s strategy has profoundly shifted the Philadelphia Zoo’s engagement with its community and the broader region. Embracing its roles as a catalyst, convener, connector, conservator, and educator has allowed the zoo to become a model for how nonprofit institutions of all kinds can respectfully and meaningfully influence the constituencies outside of their gates.