Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
Activating Voices for the Desert
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
The Mission of the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is to inspire people to live in harmony with the natural world by fostering love, appreciation, and understanding of the Sonoran Desert. The organization works to educate on the problems facing it, and highlight the unique characteristics of this diverse region.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Pollinator Conservation
For over two decades, biologists have been concerned about declines in pollinator populations worldwide. Current ASDM pollinator conservation efforts focus on monarch butterflies and native bees in the Sonoran Desert. The monarch butterfly migration is one of the natural wonders of the world, yet has been listed as a threatened phenomenon by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. ASDM works with regional partners to better understand and conserve monarchs that pass through the Sonoran Desert. The Museum also manages a citizen science project (Pollinator Hotspots) to help understand the health of native bee populations regionally.
Endangered Species
Springs, streams and rivers in the Sonoran Desert have all been declining in recent years due to a decade-long drought, and diversion of water for human needs. The Museum works with partners to hold, breed and supplement the populations of these species in the wild.
Control of Invasive Grasses
Rapid spread of buffelgrass (Pennisetum ciliare) and the conversion of fire-resistant desert to flammable grassland rivals climate change and drought as our region's most pressing environmental issue. Fires that kill native plants and damage wildlife habitat create even more space for buffelgrass, which not only survives the fire but thrives on fire. In the absence of fire, buffelgrass outcompetes native plants for space, sunlight, moisture, and nutrients, threatening the long-term persistence of individual plant and animal species, as well as entire natural communities within southern Arizona. Buffelgrass also poses a threat to our quality of life and regional economy. Ecotourism is a cornerstone of the economy of southern Arizona, and the saguaro is the symbol of our community. Without continued effort to control this grass, the saguaros we see today in the Tucson Mountains and the Catalina foothills will likely be the last saguaros to stand in these landscapes.
Heritage Fruit Trees
During the colonial period, Spanish settlers introduced new foods to Sonoran Desert gardens, including pomegranates, figs, pears, peaches and quinces. The Kino Heritage Fruit Trees project is working to restore these trees to historical orchards, and bring their diversity and quality to people in the region today.
Pollinators of the Sonoran Desert
There are over 800 species of bees in the Sonoran Desert. This research helps to identify and DNA barcode these important pollinators.
Where we work
External reviews
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Total number of paid admissions
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Annual admissions shows attendance.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
The Desert Museum is aiming to accomplish its mission of inspiring people to live in harmony with the natural world by fostering love, appreciation, and understanding of the Sonoran Desert
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum strategies for accomplishing these goals and addressing the problems is through education, interactive experiences, conservation, and research initiatives.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
The organization encompasses many sectors and departments that specialize in all aspects of Sonoran Desert education. It encompasses aspects of a zoo, botanical garden, earth sciences, natural history museum, and art institute that promotes conservation through art education. The capabilities to meet goals is supported by a strong team of specialized staff.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum has grown exponentially since 1952 in scale and reputation. Hundreds of thousands of people are educated on the Sonoran Desert each and every year. We expect to continue and grow this into the future.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection, It is difficult to identify actionable feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
Board of directorsas of 11/01/2023
Lisa Harris
Harris Environmental Group
Term: 2022 - 2025
Michael C. Baldwin
Trustee, Priscilla and Michael Baldwin Foundation
Lisa Harris
Harris Environmental Group
Mary Price
Retired
Stephen Brigham
Retired
Anna Heyer
FWUSD
Abby Hungwe
Owl & Panther
Dave Smallhouse
Investments
Cheryl Charles
Wildlife
Ben Minteer
ASU
Faith Liston
Freeport McMoRan
Jay Tejera
Retired
Joaquin Murrietta Saldivar
Borderlands Restoration
Jana Sutton
MCRAZ Attorney at Law
Kelsey Dayle John
UArizona
Robert Ojeda
Food Bank
Ruskin Hartley
Dark Sky Assn
Lee McLaughlin
Visit Tucson
David Baker
FWUSD
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? No -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? No -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
No data