Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Dec 2013.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
85 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
18 people listed on the 990; $151K paid to officers and key staff.
Gaston Warner’s $122K as CEO is at the 43rd percentile of top reported officer pay among 1168 $1–10M 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 · 4 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gaston Warner | $122,500 | $120,000 | $105,600 | $120,000 | $85,412 | $84,150 |
| Wendy Lee | $102,500 | $100,000 | $62,667 | — | — | — |
| Laura Nemecek | $79,928 | — | — | — | — | — |
| John Boswell | — | $8,279 | $8,054 | $68,157 | $68,157 | $67,150 |
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
Empowers orphans and vulnerable children to overcome obstacles and provide for themselves.
Questions for Zoe Empowers
Your first name shows with your question. Zoe Empowers answers here, for everyone.
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Rwanda Three Year Empowerment Program
Children from rwanda start the program in desperate proverty and graduate in three years to support themselves and their siblings. The program has an 85-90% graduation rate per a university of texas study.
Kenya Three Year Empowerment Program
Children from kenya start the program in desperate poverty and graduate in three years to support themselves and their siblings. The program has an 85-90% graduation rate per a university of texas study.
Zimbabwe Three Year Empowerment Program
Children from zimbabwe start the program in desperate poverty and graduate in three years to support themselves and their siblings. The program has an 85-90% graduation rate per a university of texas study.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2020 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY20 | End FY20 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $2.5M | $2.6M |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $286K | $315K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $6.5M | $6.6M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $40K | $35K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $6.5M | $6.6M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3 | $4.6M | $4.6M | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $151K | $24K | $76K | $52K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $422K | $104K | $123K | $195K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $32K | $8K | $9K | $15K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $57K | $14K | $16K | $26K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $55K | $14K | $16K | $25K |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $24K | $24K | ||
| Investment management feesLn 11f | $1K | $1K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $79K | $30K | $48K | |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $14K | $3K | $12K | |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $46K | $44K | $1K | |
| TravelLn 17 | $104K | $43K | $59K | $3K |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $290 | $290 | ||
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $36K | $17K | $19K | |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $5.6M | $4.8M | $418K | $396K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest | $8.5M | $9.5M | −$983K | $8.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $8.9M | $8.6M | $363K | $9.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $7.4M | $6.7M | $661K | $8.9M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $6.3M | $5.7M | $663K | $8.2M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $6.0M | $5.0M | $969K | $7.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 Viewing | $5.5M | $5.6M | −$49K | $6.6M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2020 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $5,523,123 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 16 of 16 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $5,523,123 across 6 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $5,572,491 across 14 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $6,637,017 assets, 12 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $6,601,883 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2020 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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