First Nature Foundation Inc Kerul Kassel

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
823264932
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2017
Location
Harmony, FL, USA
Phone
4079571494
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Human Services N.E.C.

Reported finances

Revenue
$56,067
Expenses
$145,416
Assets
$122,056
Liabilities
$210,603

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KERUL KASSEL (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • LISANDRA GONZALEZ (TREASURER)
  • EVA HORNER (DIRECTOR)
  • KERUL KASSEL (PRESIDENT)

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

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

Overview

Mission

At first nature foundation, our mission is to help program participants grow their emotional resilience, self-confidence, and self-awareness, by partnering with nature and our wise herd of horses, who help facilitate these outcomes. At our beautiful and serene facility in saint cloud, we offer programs for a variety of audiences, including veterans, children, teens, and other audiences to evoke more of their innate potential for more success in school, career, relationships, and community. We also work with leaders and teams in organizations to enhance their capacities for engagement, collaboration, and generative outcomes.

What it reported doing in 2025

Horses healing hearts - developmental program just last year, in 2024, we began offering horses healing hearts, a program for families sheltered due to domestic violence. The program is designed to increase self-awareness and resilience, and to offer new thought and behavior patterns to replace those that are no longer useful. The participants engage in a variety of exercises and experiences designed to enhance confidence, hope, self-leadership and evoke a greater sense of peace and potential. In just 8 months we have served close to 50 kids and moms. Here are a few quotes from participants: "you need to be first in setting the boundaries. This is the line; you don't cross anymore." "the tone of your voice makes a difference. And they listen, and they are very well behaved." (in reference to setting boundaries with the horses) "if i want to take a step forward in being more assertive, i just have to give more tone andjust being more assertive and letting whoever knowthis is what it is." "it's exciting to see the impact this opportunity has on their wellbeingthe impact has been huge." (according to the executive director of help now, our program partner). Horseplay for leaders program for corporate audiences, including some sponsorship tiers, we offer horseplay for leaders, a program offered in 4 modules that is designed to enhance a variety of leadership skills, including advanced communication capacity, emotional intelligence in the workplace, using conflict productively to overcome barriers and impasses, and team building, all with our wise herd of horses and out in nature. Here is a participant's takeaway after the first module: "what i'm taking away is communication and leadership isn't about me, but it's about who i'm communicating with or leading."

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 64% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 21
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 81.5%; rating input score 81
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -159.4%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.84; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.73; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 23.2% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.2% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 21.2% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 81.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $119K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2018 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 13/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 25/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 2/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 58/100.