Admissions help us operate, but donations make more possible — from animal care and veterinary medicine to enrichment, education, habitat improvements, and the future of Plumpton Park Zoo.
Plumpton Park Zoological Gardens, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Current project
We are planning to build a world-class facility for our tigers right here in Cecil County. Gifts made through this campaign are designated for the tiger habitat.
Admission and fees cover roughly 70% of what it costs to run the zoo. The rest comes from people who decide the zoo is worth keeping.
More than 180 animals live here, and about half of them came to us from owners who could no longer care for them. Once an animal is taken in, this is its forever home — feeding, housing and veterinary care for the rest of its life, whether or not anyone comes through the gate that day. Our keepers live on the property, so there is someone with the animals around the clock.
Donations bridge the gap. They let us improve animal care, expand what we can offer schools and families, maintain and upgrade habitats, and invest in what comes next.
Every gift goes to the animals and the work of caring for them. Here is where it lands.
High-quality diets, veterinary care, medications and medical supplies, routine health monitoring, enrichment, and the specialized equipment that caring for 180 animals requires. Our veterinary fund exists for exactly this.
School visits, group programs, interpretive signs at every habitat, conservation education, and learning opportunities for students and interns.
Habitat upgrades, fencing, shelters, drainage, pathways, visitor accessibility, animal facilities and room to grow — much of it built by our own staff.
An unrestricted gift gives us the flexibility to put your support wherever it will do the most good right now, from an unexpected vet bill to a winter heating repair.
A recurring gift is the steadiest support we have. It lets us plan, and even a modest monthly amount adds up over a year.
The animals who live here, and who every gift helps look after.
Animal care does not stop when the zoo closes. Every day of the year, animals need food, veterinary care, clean habitats, enrichment, maintenance, heat, water, staffing and specialized equipment. Donations help make that work possible.
Keepers monitor appetite, movement and behavior every day so subtle changes are caught early. Enrichment gives the animals choices and problems to solve. Gifts marked for enrichment go directly to that work; see our animals page for how it is spent.
Donations also support our educational mission: school groups, families, interns, conservation education, the interpretive signs at every habitat, and hands-on moments like the giraffe feeding station that give children their first close look at a wild animal.
See what a visit looks like on our School & Camp Education page.
Gifts can support the physical zoo too: habitat upgrades, improved pathways, accessibility, drainage, visitor areas, educational spaces and future animal facilities. The wheelchair-accessible giraffe feeding platform is the kind of project this makes possible.
Your support also helps maintain the 1734 Jeremiah Brown Mill and the historic stone house that make this zoo unlike any other.
A general gift goes where it is needed most. If you would like your gift held for a specific project, give through that project’s campaign or note it with your gift.
Recurring gifts provide dependable support all year, through the quiet winter months as much as the busy summer. Even modest monthly gifts add up.
Choose “Monthly” on the donation form. You can change or cancel at any time.
Every gift helps Plumpton Park Zoo care for animals, educate visitors, improve the zoo, and prepare for what comes next.
Plumpton Park Zoological Gardens, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, EIN 52-1548155. Online gifts are processed securely through Givebutter. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Checks can be made payable to The Plumpton Park Zoo and mailed to:
Plumpton Park Zoological Gardens, Inc.Email info@plumptonparkzoo.org or call (410) 658-6850.
Adopt an animal — sponsor the care of a specific animal for a year.
Become a member — unlimited visits for a year, and steady support the zoo can plan around.
Our wish list — supplies the keepers need, from the practical to the surprising.
Volunteer — give time instead of money.
Visit — every admission helps too.
