Animals Are First Fund

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
201314400
IRS 990-EZ coverage
2014–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2021, Form 990-EZ 2025, Form 990-N 2007
Location
San Bernardino, CA, USA
Phone
9093612677
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Animal Protection and Welfare

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$56,614
Expenses
$44,681
Assets
$161,750
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MIGUEL LEMUS (PRESIDENT)
  • JENNIFER OSORIO (VICE PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • MIGUEL LEMUS (PRESIDENT)
  • PAUL CHAPMAN (TREASURER)
  • LEILAH KELSEY (SECRETARY)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The animals are first fund (arff) provides support services for animals cared for and housed at animal shelters operated by san bernardino county animal care and control (acc). Arff promotes responsible pet ownership, pet adoption, and spaying/neutering in san bernardino county. Arff also provides other charitable activities associated with these goals, as allowed by law. Arff has no paid staff and is 100% supported by volunteers who desire to help the homeless animals cared for at county animal shelter facilities.

What it reported doing in 2025

In the calendar year 2025, the animals are first fund (arff) participated in subaru loves pets campaign, clear the shelter, and California adopt a pet day where arff covered the adoption fee making it free adoptions for adopters. Arff generously helped setup misters in the zen garden play yard. Arff funded incentives for outreach efforts providing pet waste bags and dispenser to pet owners in the community. Arff supported the county shelters with funding emergency supplies during the funding emergency supplies during the cold winter and when the heaters were not functioning properly as well as with funding to purchase kuranda dog beds for the pets in their care. Arff funded educational workshops through the county's telling tails program, a veterinary gathering to help the county expand their veterinary partners, and the replacement of plexiglass on the county's adoption trailer.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Program spending has declined or grown slowly and revenue has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 66
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Sustainability: 72
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 60.5%; rating input score 60
  • Program expense ratio: 76.6%; rating input score 77

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 21.1%; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.62; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -4.7% per year; rating input score 0; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -2.1% per year; rating input score 0; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.6% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 60.5% of revenue deployed · 76.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: Filed governance answers
  • Accomplishments: 1 filed program accomplishment · $34K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 8 of 8 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.