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Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden

Papaikou, HI · United States EIN 990185842 (IRS) Environment
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67 / 100
Integrity score
Partial transparency

About

HTBG is a thriving nonprofit botanical garden, with paved trails that wind through 17 acres touching the ocean. We're dedicated to tropical plants, education, preservation of the rainforest, and the propagation of endangered species.

Mission

To maintain for public use, a botanical and zoological garden; to preserve and study native hawaiian and exotic flora and fauna in a natural garden setting.

Focus & reach

Verification & registration

Every mark links to the official registry entry and opens in a new tab.

Look up EIN 990185842 on the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search.
IRS
Exempt Organizations · EIN 990185842
Registered
501(c)(c3)
Federal tax-exempt subsection
Since 1991
IRS Publication 78: organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions. Re-checked weekly. Tax-deductible
IRS Publication 78 listing
Listed (Pub 78)

Integrity assessment

A score from 0 to 100 for how openly a charity shares public information across five areas: registration, financial disclosure, governance, contact details, and data recency. It does not measure programme impact. See exactly what we do and do not have →

Registration 16/20
Government registration ID on record +8
Sourced from official registry +4
Cross-referenced (2+ sources) +4
Profile not yet claimed by organization 0
Financial Transparency 24/30
No financial documents found on website 0
Financial filing on record +8
Revenue figure disclosed +6
Spending figure disclosed +6
Detailed financial breakdown disclosed +4
Governance 20/20
At least 1 officer disclosed +5
3+ officers disclosed +3
Officer titles disclosed +2
Executive compensation disclosed +4
Mission / description on file +3
Founding date on file +3
Contact Availability 7/10
Website +3
No email on file 0
Phone +2
Physical address +2
Data Recency 10/20
Updated within 2 years +10
Newer data needed for full score 0
Red flags -5
High executive pay -5

Financials

IRS Form 990
Annual revenue
$3.5 million
Reporting year
2024
To programmes
78%
See 5 years of financials
Revenue history, expense breakdowns, and balance sheet, free with an account.
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Leadership at a glance

Official filings
BA
Barbra B••••••••
Director
BR
Brooks B••••••••
Director
DA
Dan L••••••••
EXEC.DIR/CHA
DE
Debara J••••••••
Director
GiveRadarGiveRadar Intelligence

GiveRadar Analysis

Based on the records currently verified by GiveRadar, Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden has a complete profile, cross-referenced across 4 independent sources including the IRS.

  • Established in 1978, it predates 82% of the environment charities in the United States GiveRadar has a founding year for. View this cohort
  • GiveRadar has cross-referenced this organization across 4 independent sources, led by the IRS - more than 82% of comparable charities. See the sources
  • GiveRadar's profile for Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden draws on its financial disclosures and its governance, in line with the typical environment charities in the United States it tracks. View this cohort
GiveRadar has verified
  • government registration
  • financial records (5 filed years)
  • disclosed leadership
  • a website
  • a donation page
  • third-party accreditation

Analysis based on GiveRadar's benchmark dataset of 2026-09-07. It describes what GiveRadar has verified, not a judgment of the organization itself.

Annual revenue
$3.5 million
78% to programs. Figures from IRS Form 990.
See 5 years of financials

Filing history

5 years on file from IRS Form 990: revenue, expenses, program spending, assets, and liabilities by fiscal year.

Years on record: 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020.
Financial details are free with a GiveRadar account

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Tax deductibility

Whether a gift to Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden lowers your own taxes depends on where you pay them. Choose your country to see the rule that applies.

Sometimes deductible

Donations may be tax-deductible for residents of United States under local rules. Confirm with the charity directly.

This is general guidance, not tax advice. Confirm treatment with the charity or your tax advisor before donating.

Staff & volunteers

From filings and published profiles
Employees
29

Leadership & board

Official filings

Board members and senior officers on record, with disclosed pay where available.

DE
Debara J••••••••
Executive Director
See full names, roles, and stories

6 officers and trustees on file, free with a GiveRadar account.

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Officer names and roles come straight from official filings. We mirror the official record exactly and never edit it.

1 red flag detected

Each one states its exact reason.
High Executive Pay
Top executive compensation is 20.6% of total expenses ($593,740 of $2,877,285).

Timeline

From official filings

Key dates from this charity's official filings, newest first.

FY2024
Form filed
$3.5M revenue, IRS Form 990
FY2023
Form filed
$3.4M revenue, IRS Form 990
FY2022
Form filed
$3.0M revenue, IRS Form 990
FY2021
Form filed
$2.0M revenue, IRS Form 990
FY2020
Form filed
$0.9M revenue, IRS Form 990

In the news

From public news

No recent news coverage found

News coverage will appear here when articles mention this organization.

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Where it ranks

#9,959 of 30,143 environment charities in the United States on integrity score

67/100 puts it in the top 34% of the cohort, tied with 1,125 others. Positions are competition ranks: ties share a position. Cohorts are the tightest local peer set with at least 30 comparable organizations; a metric is left out where the cohort is too small or nearly uniform.

Integrity score67/100
#9,959 of 30,143 tie
Governance disclosure5/5
#1 of 30,143 tie
Contact completeness7/10
#5,951 of 30,143 tie
Data freshness10/20
#19,202 of 30,143 tie
Profile completeness100%
#1 of 30,143 tie
Independent sources7 sources
#2,543 of 30,143 tie
Filing history depth5 years
#1,296 of 13,585 tie
Agefounded 1978
#1,380 of 8,301 tie
Revenue size$1M to $10M
#429 of 13,369 tie

Bars show the share of the cohort this charity outranks. Ranks describe how much is publicly disclosed, not how good the charity is.

How it stacks up against peers

Compared with 8 similar environment charities in United States.

Program spending Ahead of peers
This charity
78% Peer average
78%
CEO comp as % of revenue Behind peer average
This charity
16.91% Peer average
4.12%
Integrity Assessment Behind peer average
This charity
67 Peer average
90

Cause areas in United States

Charities working in each area, this charity's highlighted.

Human Services
322,681
Education
195,585
Arts & Culture
133,131
Advocacy & Civil Rights
128,026
Religion
114,638
Health
98,864
Community Development
56,086
Youth Development
53,450
Environment
30,143
See all cause areas

Sources and verification

Registration and legal identity
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) - Tax Exempt Organization Search
Financial filings
IRS Form 990 filings · Fiscal year 2024 most recent on file.
Officers and trustees
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) - Tax Exempt Organization Search · 18 disclosed in the public registry.
News and media coverage
GDELT Project + Google News
Supplementary verification
Charity Navigator

What we know and don't know

Every data point we track for this charity, and whether we have found it. Disclosure only, never a judgment of the charity's work.

Financial data
Named leadership
Executive pay
Government registration
Mission statement
Official website
Headquarters address
Direct contact
Tax-deductibility
Founding date
Programs & activities

Data freshness

How current this profile is, and when we last checked it against the official source.

Last updated
August 30, 2026
Profile edits and newly added data
Registry checked
August 30, 2026
Reconciled with the official source
Latest financials
Financial year 2024
Most recent filing on record
Profile completeness
100%
Data points we track that are filled in

Methodology

GiveRadar builds each profile primarily from official government charity registries, supplemented where available by third-party nonprofit databases and news archives, and combines it into a single 0-100 integrity assessment. The exact sources for this charity are listed above. We don't take a cut of any donation, ever.

Read full methodology
Are you the owner or a board member?

If you represent this organization and want to correct or update its data, you can claim this listing to edit details yourself, or email info@giveradar.com with the correct information. We review every request and respond within 30 days.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions about Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden

Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden is a registered environment nonprofit based in Papaikou, HI, United States. It is registered with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). It was founded in 1978 and has been operating for 48 years. Its EIN is 990185842. According to GiveRadar's records, it holds active tax-deductible status on the IRS Publication 78 list, which means donations are tax-deductible and the organization is in good standing with the IRS. GiveRadar's Integrity Assessment for the organization is 67/100, which reflects how much public information is available, not whether the charity is legitimate. The organization reports $4M in annual revenue. 18 officers and directors are publicly disclosed. GiveRadar has identified 1 potential concern.

Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden's Executive Director, Debara J Lutkenhouse-Frost, received $593,740 in reported compensation in its most recent filing (2024). This figure comes straight from the organization's official filing and covers salary plus other reportable pay. Executive pay generally scales with the size and complexity of a nonprofit, so it is best read alongside the organization's revenue and what it does.

Based on official filings, Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden has $4M in annual revenue. It allocates 78% of expenses to programs and services. This is in line with the average of 78% for environment charities in United States. Create a free GiveRadar account to view the complete financial breakdown with year-over-year trends.

HTBG is a thriving nonprofit botanical garden, with paved trails that wind through 17 acres touching the ocean. We're dedicated to tropical plants, education, preservation of the rainforest, and the propagation of endangered species. Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden is classified as an environment organization registered in United States. The organization was founded in 1978.

GiveRadar has identified 1 potential concern for Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden. Red flags are automatically detected from official data and may include high executive compensation relative to budget, low program spending, or missing financial filings. Red flags do not necessarily mean wrongdoing but indicate areas that may warrant further review before donating.

Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden is classified as an Environment organization, registered in United States. It operates as a Supporting organization (509(a)(3)). By size, it is categorized as a medium organization. It has $4M in annual revenue. The organization has 18 disclosed officers and directors.

Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 990185842. This is the organization's IRS tax identification number; you can use it to verify tax-exempt status and to look up its Form 990 filings with the IRS.

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Quick facts about Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden

What is Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden?
Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden is a environment supporting organization (509(a)(3)) based in Papaikou, United States. HTBG is a thriving nonprofit botanical garden, with paved trails that wind through 17 acres touching the ocean. We're dedicated to tropical plants, education, preservation of the rainforest, and the propagation of endangered species.
When was Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden founded?
Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden was founded in 1978.
Who leads Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden?
Debara J Lutkenhouse-Frost serves as Executive Director.
Where is Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden located?
Headquartered in Papaikou, HI, United States.
What is Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden's annual budget?
Annual revenue for fiscal year 2024 is $3.5 million. 78% of expenses go to program services.
Is Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden trustworthy?
Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden has a GiveRadar Integrity Assessment of 67 out of 100 (Partial transparency). The score reflects public-data transparency: registration, financial disclosure, governance, contact details, and how recently data was refreshed. It does not measure program impact.
What is Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden's registration number?
IRS EIN: 990185842.
What is Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden's website?
http://www.htbg.com