Empower Work Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
822696116
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2019, Form 990-N 2017
Location
San Francisco, CA, USA
Phone
5106741414
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Employment N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,180,489
Expenses
$1,279,351
Assets
$2,184,445
Liabilities
$51,693

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Jaime-Alexis Fowler (Executive Dir.): $153,515 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Empower Work is on a mission to create healthy, equitable workplaces where people are valued, supported, and empowered in ways that support their economic mobility, emotional well-being, and career success.

What it reported doing in 2024

Offer supportive services across our text line and digital content that improves well-being for workers with the least power and fewest resources through coaching and support that increases confidence, clarity, agency, empowerment, and economic security - all rooted in equity. In 2024, reached a milestone of supporting more than 432,000 workers since 2018.See more: https://www.empowerwork.org/impact2024

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 99% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% 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

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 57
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 94
  • Sustainability: 73
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 35.5%; rating input score 35
  • Program expense ratio: 87.1%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $36.84 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings

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: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 90%; rating input score 90; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 59.8%; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.71; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 21.9% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 31.6% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 36.4% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 35.5% of revenue deployed · 87.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 10 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $154K · 10 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2018 to 2024
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

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

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 35/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 56/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 25/100.