Tennessee First Responders Foundation

What it reported doing in 2025

The Tennessee First Responders Foundation continued to fulfill their mission in 2025 through ongoing efforts to build relationships and develop partnerships with first responders and their supporting communities. Beginning in January, we developed and hosted a 9 hour, 3 part training for therapists who aspire to gain more knowledge and insight to the professional and cultural needs when working with first responders. 20 Therapists were trained in the West Tennessee Area. Throughout the spring, the Tennessee First Responders Foundation provided 9 in-service trainings to local fire departments on mental wellness and education on peer support. This training was presented to over 150 firefighters and paramedics. In April, we continued our efforts in providing quality education to over 100 professional therapists in Tennessee by speaking at the Midsouth Trauma and Addiction Conference. This presentation was designed to equip clinicians with the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively access and treat the unique needs of first responders, including, trauma, high stress, and long working hours. It included evidence-based knowledge and tools to enhance mental wellness care to first responders in a clinical setting. This presentation was also presented at the South Cook County Trauma and Addiction Conference in Palos Heights, Illinois. In May, we participated in the Bartlett Charitable Police Foundation Police Week 5K, and worked through community outreach with providing resources to first responders in the community. In October, over 150 First Responders came together in Franklin, TN for the two day Answering the Call conference. The goal of this annually conference is reducing suicides, through prevention, intervention, and postvention efforts. The Tennessee First Responder Foundation, Executive Director, spoke at the conference with Dr. Joy Hutchinson, with their presentation: Stronger Together: A Resilience Guide for First Responder Families. The Tennessee First Responder Foundation has worked diligently with the TSPN First Responder Suicide Prevention Task Force through partnership. In December, the First Responder Suicide Prevention Task Force became a part of the Tennessee First Responders Foundation. This partnership marked a significant step forward in our mission to support and advocate for our first responders. Together, we aim to strengthen our commitment to providing resources, training, and assisted needed to ensure the safety and well-being of all our first responders in Tennessee. As the year came to a close, we continued to provided educational and recreational opportunities through social connection nights and trainings. We were invited to attend a live-burn training with the Collierville Fire Department. This training was an honor to witness and partake in as we learned about conditions that firefighters experience when fighting structure fires. In December, our foundation provided education to fire recruits on the importance of mental wellness resources and building a strong foundation to promote overall wellbeing in their career.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 18.5%; rating input score 18
• Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100

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: 81.5%; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 6.17; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
• Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 58.4% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 73.9% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 82.2% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings