First Nature Foundation Inc

“The president of the board presents the form 990 for review with the governing members. Upon satisfaction of the accuracy of the return, the return is then signed by the principal officer of the organization and then properly filed.”

“Potential conflicts are investigated and resolved”

“No officers or members of the board are permitted to receive compensation, benefits or reimbursements for their services.”

“The board of directors collect salary and benefit information from survey's, state reports and other comparability data to ensure the staff's compensation is comparable to others who have similar positions and duties. The above information is collected and compared at least once per year. Once the information is collected, they meet and vote on the amount of compensation to offer any future employees and compare the current staffs wages to make sure they are being paid comparable wages, based on their duties and responcibilities.”

“The organization makes its governing documents and financial statements available to the public upon request.”

“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.”

“Horse wisdom for heroes-a development program for veterans in 2022 we began offering our first in-person program, horse wisdom for heroes, a six-session program designed to help veterans reconnect with themselves, others, and the natural world as they transition to civilian life. Many veterans face significant challenges, with approximately 13-20% diagnosed with ptsd and 9.9% experiencing unemployment-higher than the national average. Our program directly addresses these issues through meaningful interactions with horses, allowing participants to build self- awareness, resilience, and emotional regulation while learning essential relational and leadership skills. Since 2022 our little organization has already served more than 175 participants, and veterans experience an average stress reduction of 40% and a 50% average reduction in ptsd symptoms through working with horses. As one past participant shared: "it really boosted my confidence. I don't feel like quitting anymore. I'm more committed to holding myself accountable to finish what i start."”

“Horse sense for teens - life skills program in 2023 we added our horse sense for teens program, a transformative program designed to equip teens with essential life skills to help them navigate the challenges of the future. Through engaging, hands-on experiences in a fun and learning environment, participants develop practical skills like self-awareness, social awareness, confidence, compassion, communication, and assertiveness all while partnering with horses and nature. This unique environment allows teens to connect with themselves, others, and nature in meaningful ways, helping them grow into the best versions of themselves. Teens gain a unique learning experience that they can draw upon when facing everyday life choices. Horses serve as powerful educational partners in this process. Through these experiences, horse sense for teens ensures not only the development of essential life skills but also personal growth that extends into the teens' home, school, and social environments, and life as adults. The program is designed to be adaptable, offering either single or multi-session formats based on the needs of the cohort of teens. To date, in just 1.5 years, we have brought more than 100 teens through this program. Here are a couple of quotes from our teen participants: "i was able to create a special bond with the horses - i felt connected to them and to nature. I've learned a lot about myself. I'm discovering myself at the ranch.- and "it's important to have patience. I'm a very inpatient person. I have learned a lot about patience through the horses."”

“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."”

“Parents and spouses of suicide support group our first program offered, which is still going strong, is pasos (parents and spouses of suicide), a twice-monthly zoom for those who have lost a husband/partner or child to suicide. In february 2025 we celebrated 100 sessions of this program, as we started in january 2021. In that time have served more than 50 people who have lost spouses/partners/children to suicide. Here is what one member had to say about our pasos grief support group: "losing my son at 24 years young has been devastating for me. Pasos group support has been a comforting gathering. Knowing that others have similar feelings and/or behaviors for these tragic losses. Everyone is very friendly and supportive. You only share what and when you are able. Thank you to kerul for initiating and maintaining the pasos group". Like most of our programs, this program is free for those who would like to attend and is supported by donations and sponsorships.”