What First Things Foundation does

First Things Foundation (First Things Foundation Inc., EIN 45-5185734) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2014 and headquartered in Naples, Florida, with operational presence in Greenville, South Carolina. The foundation practices what it describes as true, generous, time-honored hospitality at home and abroad, sending field workers into local communities in Guatemala, Sierra Leone, the Republic of Georgia, and Mozambique to learn the local language, build relationships, and support community-led projects. In the United States, the foundation runs the American Supra program, the Art of Tamada training, and Keipi Restaurant in Greenville, SC, which operates as a wholly-owned social-enterprise subsidiary that hosts Supra feasts and Tamada-led gatherings. It also operates the Field School, a six-week experiential learning program in Georgia for students and gap-year participants, and publishes Heavy Things Lightly, a content and newsletter brand documenting field stories.

The organization is led by founder and director John Heers, supported by Field Director Adrian Perez and Director of Field School Brandon Miele, with 11-50 total employees. The revenue model is donation-based: contributions fund field worker placements, local project grants, and operational costs, with Keipi Restaurant providing a supplementary earned-revenue stream. The organization does not sell products or services in a traditional commercial sense, has no proprietary technology, no AI/ML components, no mobile applications, and no disclosed institutional partnerships, M&A activity, or funding rounds. Its go-to-market is mission-driven content marketing (Field Notes blog, Heavy Things Lightly newsletter, podcast, and organic social media) combined with physical community programming through Keipi and Supra events.

First Things Foundation serves three constituent groups: community-seekers and cultural immersion participants engaging with field work, Field School, and Supra events; local project leaders (impresarios) in field communities who receive resource and capacity support; and donors and supporters who finance the mission. The unifying thesis is that modern life produces isolation, and the foundation's intervention is structured hospitality — abroad through long-term field worker immersion and at home through adapted Georgian table traditions — rather than transactional aid.

Name

First Things Foundation

Legal name

First Things Foundation Inc.

Website

https://first-things.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

First Things Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that practices hospitality at home and abroad by placing field workers in communities in Georgia, Guatemala, Sierra Leone, and Mozambique, and by running Keipi Restaurant, the American Supra program, Art of Tamada training, and the Field School in the US.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Humanitarian Aid and Community Development Services

NAICS

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places (7000)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Development & Social Impact Programs (EDAIAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Work Exchange & Farmstay Programs (WWOOF/HelpX-Style) (EDAIAGAK)

Keywords

• Humanitarian aid programs
• Community development services
• Experiential learning programs
• Hospitality training services
• Cultural immersion programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Naples

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

First Things Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that practices true, generous, time-honored hospitality at home and abroad. Abroad, it places field workers in local communities in Georgia, Guatemala, Sierra Leone, and Mozambique where they learn the language, build relationships, and support locally led projects. At home, it operates Keipi Restaurant in Greenville, South Carolina, and runs the American Supra, Art of Tamada training, and the Field School program to cultivate friendship, fellowship, and community.

Product overview

First Things Foundation operates as a hospitality and community development organization offering multiple interconnected programs. The core programs include Field Work Abroad (sending field workers to communities in Georgia, Guatemala, Sierra Leone, and Mozambique), the Field School (6-week experiential learning program in Georgia), the American Supra (practicing Georgian hospitality traditions in America), the Art of Tamada training, Keipi Restaurant (a social enterprise in Greenville, SC), and Heavy Things Lightly (publications documenting their work). These programs are unified by the practice of true, generous, time-honored hospitality at home and abroad, creating pathways for people to become guests and hosts, place the neighbor before the self, and learn to be together again.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Keipi Restaurant: The Home of the American Supra - First Things Foundation's domestic base in Greenville, South Carolina, serving Georgian cuisine and hosting Supra events.
• Field School
• American Supra
• Heavy Things Lightly

Products and services

• Field Work Abroad Field workers enter local communities abroad as guests, learn the language, live close to the people, and listen for ideas rooted there, helping move resources toward local people and their projects. Targeted at individuals seeking long-term cultural immersion and community-based service.
• Field School A 6-week experiential learning program where students, gap year explorers, and questioning sojourners engage in the philosophy of aid on-site alongside FTF Field Workers in the Republic of Georgia. Targets prospective students and gap-year participants.
• American Supra First Things Foundation's domestic practice of the Georgian Supra tradition in America, expressed through food, wine, toasts, conversation, attention, and the guidance of a Tamada, to cultivate friendship and fellowship. Open to community members in the United States.
• Art of Tamada Training program teaching individuals how to lead a Supra, the Georgian feast of food, wine, toasts, conversation, and attention, guided by a Tamada (toastmaster). Targeted at aspiring hosts and community leaders in the United States.
• Keipi Restaurant First Things Foundation's home base in Greenville, South Carolina, where guests can experience the American Supra through Georgian hospitality traditions including food, wine, toasts, and Tamada-led gatherings. Operates as a social enterprise serving the local community.
• Heavy Things Lightly Publication and newsletter sharing stories and field notes from First Things Foundation's programs and communities abroad and at home. Distributed to supporters and the broader public interested in the organization's work.
• Folk House (Ude, Georgia) A guest house in the village of Ude, Georgia, run by local host family Irma and Gia, providing cultural immersion and hospitality for Field School students and visitors. Functions as an accommodation facility supporting the Field School program.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Global Citizen Year: An organization that runs gap-year fellowships placing young people in immersive service and cultural exchange experiences abroad. Comparable to FTF's Field School program because both target gap-year and student audiences seeking experiential learning with explicit social impact framing.
• Lwala Community Alliance: A nonprofit that partners with rural communities in East Africa to advance community-led development in health, education, and economic empowerment. Comparable to First Things Foundation because both pursue long-term, locally-rooted development models with sustained on-the-ground presence rather than short-cycle interventions.
• Restless Development: An international nonprofit that places young people as volunteers and peer educators in developing countries to co-create development programs. Comparable to FTF because both focus on immersive, relationship-driven community engagement and youth-led approaches in multiple international field sites.
• Manna Project International: A nonprofit that places long-term volunteers in underserved communities in Latin America to co-develop programs alongside local leaders. Comparable to FTF because both rely on immersive field workers who live in communities, learn local context, and support locally-initiated projects rather than imposing external programs.

Broad incumbents

• Mercy Corps: A large international humanitarian and development organization operating across dozens of countries. Comparable to FTF because both operate multi-country community development portfolios, but Mercy Corps is a broad incumbent operating at much greater scale with institutional funding.
• Partners in Health: A globally-recognized nonprofit delivering health and social services in resource-limited settings through long-term accompaniment of partner communities. Comparable to FTF because both reject transactional aid models in favor of deep, long-term community accompaniment.
• International Mission Board: A large faith-based sending organization that places long-term workers in communities around the world for service and engagement. Comparable to FTF because both place field workers in multi-year, language-learning immersion roles in international communities, but IMB operates at substantially greater scale and institutional capacity.

Emerging players

• Praxis: A faith-rooted experiential program that combines gap-year service with formation for young adults. Comparable to FTF's Field School because both serve a similar participant demographic and emphasize reflective, philosophy-driven engagement alongside community work abroad.
• IDEO.org: A nonprofit design organization that applies human-centered design to poverty and social challenges. Comparable to FTF because both operate at the intersection of innovation, community development, and narrative-driven engagement with underserved populations.
• Amala Education: A nonprofit that runs secondary education programs for refugee and displaced youth through immersive learning communities. Comparable to FTF because both combine experiential learning, community-based cohorts, and a hospitality-style approach to working with vulnerable populations.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/johnfromftf
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCDgFlxihYUGk1Qu3ekdp79A
• Facebookfacebook.com/firstthingsfoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/first-things-foundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/firstthingsfoundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about First Things Foundation