Empower Her Network Inc Dba Empowered Network

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
822102421
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2017
Location
New London, CT, USA
Phone
4104569905
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fund Raising and Fund Distribution

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,098,815
Expenses
$1,997,908
Assets
$592,686
Liabilities
$4,569

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KRISTY NORBERT (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • KRISTY NORBERT (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $153,967 total reported compensation
  • ABAGAIL WITTNEBERT (DIR OF STRATEGIC P): $127,476 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Empower Her Network DBA Empowered Network (EHN) launched its survivor-centered, trauma-informed program in 2017 to address a national gap in services identified by immediate aftercare providers: most trafficking survivors exhaust resources with systemic barriers standing in the way of a realistic economic alternative, putting them at high risk of further exploitation, experiencing homelessness, and/or remaining in the service cycle their entire lives. Empower Her Network collaborates with trafficking survivors over 12 to 18 months to achieve their economic freedom by removing housing barriers, providing advocacy, financing education, and uncovering career paths. Every survivor who achieves fiscal independence is in a much better position to protect their children, ending generational cycles of poverty and exploitation.

What it reported doing in 2025

Empower Her Network, Inc. DBA Empowered Network, ended 2025 with 55 partners, 148 survivors on an ACTIVE empowerment plan, and 107 who completed the 12 month program. In 2025, the average annual wage increase went from $25,024 to $37,308. That's a $12,284 increase in salary in 12 months! Every survivor who builds lasting economic power creates a pathway for families to move beyond cycles of poverty and exploitation.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 70% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 68% for direct work, and 32% for grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 35
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 88.7%; rating input score 89
  • Program expense ratio: 93.2%; rating input score 93
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 75th 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; 63rd 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: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 4.8%; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.3; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 14.1%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 29.5% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 25.8% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 13.6% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 88.7% of revenue deployed · 93.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $154K · 12 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2018 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 42/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 9/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: CEO compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 24/100.