The Royal Ethiopian Trust Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
934041676
IRS 990 coverage
2024–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2023
Location
Centerbrook, CT, USA
Phone
2037389377
Rating
69
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Cultural, Ethnic Awareness

Reported finances

Revenue
$47,912
Expenses
$139,428
Assets
$86,794
Liabilities
$2,187

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SOLOMON KIBRIYE (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • ERMIAS SAHLE SELASSIE (CHAIRMAN OF): $24,000 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 royal ethiopian trust (ret) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the legacy of his imperial highness prince ermias sahle-selassie and fostering the well-being of the ethiopian people. Rets mission is to safeguard, raise awareness of, and fortify ethiopian culture and unity. This mission is carried out through four core programmatic pillars: 1. Empowering ethiopias future supporting the intellectual and moral growth of ethiopian youth through scholarships, mentorship, and access to educational programs. 2. Fostering ethiopian entrepreneurship encouraging economic development through microfinance, training, and local business support. 3. Preserving ethiopias imperial heritage promoting national pride and historical awareness by recovering, preserving, and exhibiting significant cultural and historical artifacts. 4. Supporting the ethiopian crown upholding the ethiopian monarchy as a unifying symbol of ethiopias identity and cultural integrity.

What it reported doing in 2025

Program highlights and accomplishments 2025 during 2025, ret continued to fulfill its charitable mission through grant making, educational initiatives, humanitarian assistance, and cultural preservation projects in ethiopia, jamaica, and the united states. The organization also continued its efforts to preserve and promote ethiopian history through educational outreach, cultural initiatives, and collaboration with non-profit and community partners. Education education remained the trust's largest charitable focus during 2025. Ret provided grant funding toward the continued construction and development of the ejersa goro elementary school in ethiopia. The fundng supported expansion of educational facilities and improved access to primary education for children within the local community. This project represents one of ret's flagship educational initiatives and reflects the organization's long term commitment to improving educational opportunities in underserved areas. Rural development and community support ret provided an unrestricted charitable grant to adheno, an ethiopian rural development organization. Grant funds supported programs addressing food security, environmental conservation, emergency response initiatives, and educational assistance for students from low income families. Humanitarian assistance ret provided grant funding to support humanitarian assistance programs serving vulnerable individuals and families through community based charitable initiatives in ethiopia. Funding supported the organization's ongoing charitable programs benefitting disadvantaged populations. Disater relief following the devastating hurricanes impacting jamaica during 2025, ret provided humanitarian assistance to support emergency relief and recovery efforts. Cultural preservation and public education consistent with its mission of preserving ethiopian culture, ret supported several educational and cultural initiatives during 2025. Ret provided funding to support the brille exhibition, a cultural exhibition designed to educate the public while promoting appreciation of ethiopian history, culture, and artistic heritage. Ret also provided grant funding to support the production of the documentary alemayehu, an educational film exploring the life and historical significance of price alemayehu of ethiopia. The project advances ret's mission by preserving ethiopian history and increasing public awareness of ethiopia's cultural heritage. Community development ret awarded grant funding to support charitable community development initiatives focused on improving quality of life and expanding opportunities for underserved populations. Ret also supported charitable development initiatives designed to strengthen communities through education, infrastructure improvements, and sustainable development programs. The royal ethiopian trust successfully advanced its charitable mission throughout 2025 through grant making, educational support, humanitarian assistance, community development, and cultural preservation initiatives. All charitable activities and expenditures were undertaken in furtherance of the organization's tax-exempt puropse under section 501(c)(3) of the internal revenue code. The trust remains committed to responsible stewardship of charitable resource, while continuing to support programs that preserve ethiopia's cultural heritage, improve educational opportunities, promote sustainable development, and provide humanitarian assistance to communities in need.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 89% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 84% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and the filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 59
  • Accountability: 76
  • Sustainability: 16
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 69.8%; rating input score 70
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1.89 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 83.3%; rating input score 83; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Limited
    • Conducts field audits: Limited
    • May suspend future funding: Limited
    • Requires financial reports: Pass
    • Conducts site visits: Limited
    • Requires grant agreements: Limited
    • May require repayment: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 34.3%; rating input score 34; 47th 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: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -191%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.62; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 17.2%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 43.8% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -1% per year; rating input score 0; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 17% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 69.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $97K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $24K · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 23 of 25 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and foreign activity
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2024 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 6 not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 34/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 21/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 12/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 22/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 10/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 19/100.