Empower Dc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
272623232
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2022349119
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Alliance/Advocacy

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,135,163
Expenses
$1,586,020
Assets
$3,288,719
Liabilities
$143,147

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DR SABIYHA PRINCE (PRESIDENT)
  • LESLIE FIELDS (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • PARISA NOROUZI (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • PARISA NOROUZI (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $142,126 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The mission of empower dc is to build the power of dc residents through resident-led community organizing to advance racial, economic, and environmental justice.

What it reported doing in 2025

In 2025, empower dc continued to advance community organizing, tenant rights, housing justice, and environmental justice across the district of columbia. We conducted outreach at more than 300 multi-family buildings where tenants were facing poor housing conditions, eviction threats, displacement pressures, and other urgent concerns. We also visited the homes of over 500 residents facing eviction and connected them with information about their rights, available resources, and opportunities to take collective action. Empower dc held 65 tenant meetings with public housing residents, voucher holders, and other tenants to share information, identify common concerns, develop organizing strategies, and prepare residents to advocate for themselves and their communities. We also held 8 environmental justice 101 training sessions across the city and led 15 environmental justice walking tours in impacted communities to build resident knowledge, leadership, and public awareness of environmental harms affecting dc neighborhoods. Our members remained active in local advocacy and public decision-making. Empower dc members presented 67 testimonies before the dc council, and 27 members participated in meetings with council offices to raise concerns and advocate for policy solutions. Through our outreach and digital advocacy efforts, we recruited 1,126 new contacts, and 635 participants generated 5,489 emails to the dc council urging action on important housing, tenant rights, and environmental justice issues.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 92% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 79
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 31
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 90%; rating input score 90
  • Program expense ratio: 65.6%; rating input score 66
  • Fundraising efficiency: $30.53 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -39.7%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.07; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 13.6% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.3% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 16.8% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 90% of revenue deployed · 65.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $142K · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 3/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 40/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 45/100.