Sponsor an Animal
Support Your Favorite Animal
Show your love for animals at the Milwaukee County Zoo by sponsoring an animal! Each animal sponsorship helps the Zoological Society fulfill their mission to conserve wildlife and endangered species, educate people about the importance of wildlife and the environment, and support the Milwaukee County Zoo.
Pick your favorite animal or choose a limited-time-offer animal sponsorship opportunity that comes with a plush toy! Each sponsorship comes with a certificate, a subscription to Wild Things newsletter and our Alive magazine, your name displayed in the Peck Welcome Center, and an invitation to a behind-the-scenes event. Higher sponsorships come with even more benefits like attraction tickets, a picture of your sponsored animal, or a private behind-the-scenes tour.
Limited-Time Offers
Our exciting limited-time offers are a great opportunity to help sponsor an animal. These offers generally coincide with significant holidays, making your contribution a perfect gift for a friend or loved one! For a set price, you can get all the benefits of sponsoring an animal plus an adorable plush.
Our current offers include:
Big Bear Hugs
The grizzly bear is the second-largest subspecies of brown bear – the Kodiak bear being the largest. Grizzlies get their name from their fur. Their brown to buff-colored fur is tipped with silver, giving them their grizzled appearance.
Meet Ronnie! She arrived at the Milwaukee County Zoo in July 2001 after being found getting into dumpsters at Yellowstone National Park. It turns out she was pregnant and gave birth to triplet cubs in January 2002. You can still visit all four bears at the Zoo. A sponsorship of Ronnie would make a great gift idea for mom on Mother’s Day or anyone you think deserves a big bear hug. This limited-time offer is available through July 31, 2024.
Valentines from Valentino!
Flamingos are known for their pink plumage that comes from carotenoids in their food such as shrimp and plankton. Caribbean flamingos are the brightest of the six species of flamingos. They live in colonies that can number in the thousands in Central and South America.
Meet Valentino! The first group of Caribbean flamingos arrived at the Milwaukee County Zoo in the Spring of 2008. Because their bright plumage seemed so fashionable and chic, this group was named after fashion designers which included Valentino.
Sponsorship of Valentino would make a fashionable gift for someone special this Valentine’s Day. Animal sponsorships are also a great gift for birthdays, anniversaries, or any special occasion. This limited-time offer is available through April 30, 2024.
Leapfrog
Celebrate the 2024 leap year with a little leapfrog! We are not talking about the popular child’s game but rather becoming a sponsor of the Zoo’s frogs. The poison frog, Amazon milk frog, Chacoan horned frog and the Sambava tomato frog are frog species that reside at the Milwaukee County Zoo. Frog species come in a variety of sizes and colors. They can be found in a variety of habitats on every continent except Antarctica.
Sponsoring the frogs is something to really “hop” on. Sponsorships make a great gift idea for any special occasion. This limited-time offer is available through March 31, 2024, or while supplies last.
Kids Conservation Club
Give kids a chance to make a difference – after all, they’re our future conservationists! The Zoological Society’s Kids Conservation Club gives children the scoop on endangered species and ways to help these animals survive. For $25 a year (per child), Kids Conservation Club members sponsor an endangered animal at the Milwaukee County Zoo. Benefits include an animal fact sheet on that year’s animal, collector cards with endangered animals, the child’s name in the Peck Welcome Center, invitations to educational workshops that include crafts and zookeeper talks, and much more.
Gift Sponsorships
Animal sponsorships make great gifts for people of all ages for birthdays, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, anniversaries and so much more. If you sponsor an animal as a gift, benefits apply to the gift recipient. However, the gift is tax-deductible for the person that purchased the sponsorship. We also invite the gift-giver to the Animal Safari, an exclusive, behind-the-scenes event for animal sponsors.
Gift Sponsorships
Animal sponsorships make great gifts for people of all ages for birthdays, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, anniversaries and so much more. If you sponsor an animal as a gift, benefits apply to the gift recipient. However, the gift is tax-deductible for the person that purchased the sponsorship. We also invite the gift-giver to the Animal Safari, an exclusive, behind-the-scenes event for animal sponsors.
Sole Animal Sponsorships
Is there an animal that you or your organization or business would like to make a significant contribution to at the Milwaukee County Zoo? While most animals available for sponsorship through the Zoological Society’s Sponsor an Animal program have several sponsors, there are some animals that are available for sponsorship by just one person, group, or family.
School & Youth Groups
Our school & youth group animal sponsorships are a great way to connect children with wildlife! Schools and youth groups can sponsor an animal and receive great benefits:
At the $25 donation level and up receive a fact sheet about the animal along with a picture. The group name will also be on display in the Peck Welcome Center for one year.
At $100 level or higher, we will arrange for a zookeeper to talk to your group during a field trip to the Milwaukee County Zoo. (A minimum donation of $150 is required for school/youth groups with more than 130 students to receive the zookeeper presentation benefit.) This is a great opportunity to talk with someone who works directly with the animals and to ask questions. Keeper presentations are held from October through April and must be scheduled four to five weeks prior to your visit.
If you are interested, please call (414) 258-2333, ext. 201, for more information.
Matching Gifts Program
Double your gift by taking advantage of your employer’s charitable match program! Find out if your company has a matching program and request the appropriate form to go along with your donation or proof of it, to the Zoological Society. Companies may match your entire donation or the tax-deductible portion of your donation. Please check with your company.