Central Florida Animal Reserve Inc
When it comes to big cats, its about vision.
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Utilizing our volunteers to support and drive our mission to complete our goal will be the foundation of our impact. Ongoing challenges includes meeting the staffing needs for facilitating tours and receiving donations on a regular basis. Currently, our programs are designed to be offered on a limited basis due to our availability of our volunteer staff. Our recruitment efforts are designated to attract and retain new volunteers who can provide support to the organization its various facets.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Big Cat Encounters
A guided walking tour with up close and personal encounters with tigers, lions, leopards and cougars. Tours are given by long term volunteer staff who can speak to direct experiences with our cats and the stories of their past. Tours focus on providing an in depth look into the world of big cats highlighting the education of their species and the reason for their existence in the community and in the wild.
Animal Care Internships
Animal Care Interns commit to a 3 month timeframe whereby they are given the opportunity to hone the skills inherent to animal husbandry. This experience includes hands-on work in the feeding, cleaning, training, and evaluation of big cats. Interns are expected to attend on-site activities that include special veterinary procedures or facility needs to learn more about how to care for these animals.
Where we work
Affiliations & memberships
American Association of Zoo Keepers 2018
External reviews
Photos
Videos
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Our main initiative at Central Florida Animal Reserve relies on our organization's ability to address the ecological, educational and economical impacts in the city of St. Cloud within Osceola County and respective counties of Orange, Seminole, Brevard and Polk. Focusing on wildlife conservation and the environment, our goal would be to engage our immediate community, visitors and beyond. We would be creating a value to the citizens and visitors in Osceola County by increasing social awareness and community stewardship to the area. Allowing for a visitor center, we would be able to secure our mission more strategically. Additionally there will be a reciprocal impact when drawing citizens and visitors to the St. Cloud area to Central Florida Animal Reserve. That impact would extend stays in Osceola County and the surrounding region benefiting our Forever Florida neighbors ecotourism agency and service industries such as hotels, restaurants, retail stores, and service stations. With growth over time, CFAR will also be able to provide potential job opportunities of various levels that include entry level through professional. In the next 3-5 years, our goal would increase our capacity to rescue more cats, develop stronger educational programs, and the building of the visitor and veterinary center. In addition, we would strive to increase our member base of supporters and donors to help support our mission. The reality of big cats being poached and illegally sold on the black market is, unfortunately, a truth we are faced with today. Along with the loss of habitat, human conflict, and climate change, the odds are against these magnificent animals. Woven within our mission, our focus is to provide compassion by caring with heart, mind and spirit to create a meaningful coexistence for our residents; conservation by preserving that which is appreciated, such that appreciation may encourage conservation and commitment as we are fully dedicated to the needs of our resident animals through collaboration and teamwork.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Our organization is mainy comprised of an all-volunteer team where dedicated individuals are enlisted to provide the care and support to the resident animals. At the beginning of 2022, we hired three full-time staff to our organization - Animal Care Manager, Animal Care Coordinator and Business Development Operations Manager. Our organization utilizes the combined efforts of staff, volunteers, donors, and board of directors to achieve our long-term goals through fundraising, events and philanthropy.
Strategies: To engage more individuals with the intention of converting those to supporters, members or donors. To elevate our reach to the public consists of a greater community presence with efforts in marketing, the use of social media platforms and educational presentations. To partner with multi-level educational institutions that would help with our strategic goal by specifically targeting college-aged students with a focus on veterinary or husbandry majors. This will allow for students to be given a unique opportunity for learning while contributing to a much larger story of conservation and education of big cats.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Since moving into our new facility in 2017, we are still in the growth stage for completing our goals. Presently we have the capability of rescuing and re-homing more big cats once the need arises. Our population is budget controlled such that the existing population should be endowed through board and donor commitment for the duration of their lives. Our internal resources include a concentration of individuals that have spent in excess of 15 years in and around big cats with an extensive knowledge of industry, animal care, and business knowledge. We have been able to retain a large volunteer staff that provides both opportunity for younger individuals to grow within the organization or carry the experience into their individual careers.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
In the past, CFAR was not open to the general public and only paid members were permitted access on Member only days. These member only days were limited to three times a year, whereas now we have the capacity to be open and offer tours on a weekly basis. Since our move, a new tour program was developed and has been refined since we officially opened to the public in November of 2017. We launched a capital campaign titled the "3 V's" that address the building of a Visitor & Education Center, a Veterinary Center and supporting efforts for the Viability of the organization. Since the launch of the campaign, we raised the needed amount to complete the first phase or "V" our Visitor and Education Center in February 2020. With Covid 19's arrival happening the same time we were ready to open our doors, we had to shut down completely. Since then, we have shifted our focus to our Viability efforts until the environment is safe to move forward. This past February ended our 2021 fiscal year for Central Florida Animal Reserve and as with any industry impacted by the pandemic, the animal care sector has taken a massive hit financially, including us.
Utilizing our volunteers to support and drive our mission to complete our goal will be the foundation of our impact. Ongoing challenges includes increasing costs for food, supply chain issues, economic inflation and staffing continue to stretch the bandwidth of our organization's resources regularly. . Expanding our efforts to become more accessible and offering more options to the public will enhance our chances of increased engagement. Sufficient funding is required and essential to addressing our strategies and goals and rely heavily on the support of our volunteers to push the initiative. Increased resources are needed to build stronger programs to help reach a much wider audience. Of these challenges and areas for growth, addressing our needs will help CFAR develop a stronger voice in the conservation of big cats in the community and worldwide.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Central Florida Animal Reserve Inc
Board of directorsas of 01/18/2024
Dr. K. Simba Wiltz
Thomas Blue
Family Dentistry of West Melbourne
K. Simba Wiltz
Kroger Specialty Pharmacy
Effie Blue
Family Dentistry of West Melbourne
Sharon Brindley
Kennedy Space Center
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Not applicable -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Not applicable -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Not applicable -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Not applicable
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
No data
Transgender Identity
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 10/04/2021GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.