Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Jan 2005.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
77 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
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Who runs it and what they're paid
50 people listed on the 990; $677K paid to officers and key staff.
Cynthia Steele’s $275K as President and CEO is at the 54th percentile of top reported officer pay among 345 $10–100M international nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.
Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 8 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cynthia Steele | $275,000 | $275,000 | $262,500 | $270,000 | $208,777 | $192,863 |
| Larry Bloom | $153,800 | $150,218 | $159,529 | $160,821 | $144,650 | $127,835 |
| Wilson Ventura | $131,075 | $129,597 | $126,360 | $119,526 | $110,050 | $105,800 |
| Daniel Parnetti | $117,075 | $117,075 | $123,769 | $116,713 | — | — |
| Eileen Takakjian | — | — | — | — | — | $122,993 |
| Nicole Rajani | — | — | $117,350 | $107,500 | — | — |
| Juliana Nicoletti Through 1223 | — | $108,145 | — | — | — | — |
| Juliana Nicoletti | — | — | $108,145 | $101,500 | — | — |
Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.
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Questions the 990 asks
The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.
- Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Programs and updates
Partners with local groups to empower marginalized youth, transforming lives and communities through grants and support.
Questions for Empower-Emerging Markets Foundation
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Empower made grants to 150 local organization grantee partners in 15 countries in three key pillars of youth development - inclusive learning, economic wellbeing, healthy and safe lives.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2025 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | FY25 | FY24 | FY23 | FY22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| End of yearLn 1g | $1.1M | $1.0M | $77K | $26K |
| Given inLn 1b | $3K | $931K | $51K | $26K |
| Line | Start FY25 | End FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $4.8M | $4.7M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $48K | $44K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $7.0M | $7.7M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $2.9M | $2.0M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $4.1M | $5.7M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3 | $5.2M | $5.2M | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $432K | $255K | $85K | $92K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $2.5M | $1.4M | $404K | $683K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $129K | $71K | $22K | $36K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $173K | $97K | $29K | $47K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $173K | $97K | $29K | $47K |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $37K | $37K | ||
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $99K | $99K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $936K | $626K | $177K | $133K |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $30K | $10K | $11K | $9K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $63K | $41K | $6K | $15K |
| TravelLn 17 | $131K | $67K | $41K | $24K |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $17K | $10K | $3K | $4K |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $4K | $2K | $804 | $908 |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $424K | $99K | $159K | $166K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $10.3M | $7.9M | $1.1M | $1.3M |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest ViewingFiled with the IRS Jan 25, 2026 | $11.8M | $10.3M | $1.5M | $5.7M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024Filed with the IRS May 14, 2025 | $8.6M | $10.3M | −$1.7M | $4.1M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023Filed with the IRS May 9, 2024 | $10.9M | $11.0M | −$85K | $5.7M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022Filed with the IRS May 15, 2023 | $9.3M | $11.0M | −$1.7M | $5.9M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021Filed with the IRS May 16, 2022 | $8.9M | $7.7M | $1.2M | $7.8M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020Filed with the IRS May 17, 2021 | $6.8M | $7.1M | −$264K | $6.5M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2025 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $11,802,297 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 46 of 47 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $11,802,297 across 7 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $10,294,166 across 15 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $7,671,486 assets, 14 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $5,666,531 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2025 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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