Empower Illinois is a voter registration group based in Chicago, IL that was founded in 2010. As of 2019 they had $50 million in revenue and $11 million in assets.
We believe every child in the state of Illinois should have an equal opportunity for a quality education. One chance Illinois expands quality education options for the low-income and working families of Illinois, with a particular emphasis on k-12 sch...
Previous legal names or variations of their name include: One Chance Illinois; Educational Choice Illinois Formerly Freedom To Learn Illinois; and Freedom To Learn Illinois.
EIN:
27-2479414
City:
State:
Website:
Founded:
2010
Type:
501(c)(3)
NTEE:
Revenue:
$50,898,902
Assets:
$11,241,158
Employees:
15
Fiscal year end:
December
Program areas at Empower Illinois
The organization advocates for tax credit scholarships, tax credits for teachers' out of pocket expenses on supplies and other policy to help students attend qualified non-public schools throughout Illinois. The organization continues to provide scholarships to middle and low-income class families and works to increase families' access to high quality school options through public policy advocacy. During 2018, the organization granted scholarships to low income children attending private elementary schools in the chicago area.
The organization advocated for the "untapped potential act" which is legislation that improves the identification of low-income gifted children and the "acceleration act" allowing kids to advance at their level of competency. This led to the creation of a national advocacy organization on behalf of families with unique ability children, including those in Illinois.
Form 990s for Empower Illinois
| Fiscal year ending | Date received by IRS | Form | PDF link |
|---|
| 2018-12 | Jan 27, 2020 | 990 | View PDF |
| 2017-12 | Mar 11, 2019 | 990 | View PDF |
| 2016-12 | Jan 18, 2018 | 990 | View PDF |
| 2015-12 | Sep 23, 2016 | 990 | View PDF |
| 2014-12 | Mar 17, 2016 | 990 | View PDF |
| ...and five more Form 990 PDFs |
Financials for Empower Illinois
| Field | 2018 |
|---|
| Federated campaigns | $0 |
| Membership dues | $0 |
| Fundraising event contributions | $0 |
| Related organizations | $0 |
| Government grants (contributions) | $0 |
| Normal grants, contributions, etc. | $50,391,760 |
| <em>Non-cash contributions included in above</em> | $0 |
| Total grants, contributions, etc. | $50,391,760 |
| Field | 2018 | 2017 | % Change |
|---|
| Total grants, contributions, etc. | $50,391,760 | $1,826,109 | 2659.5% |
| Program services | $0 | $0 | |
| Investment income and dividends | $357,943 | $0 | 999% |
| Tax-exempt bond proceeds | $0 | $0 | |
| Royalty revenue | $0 | $0 | |
| Net rental income | $0 | $0 | |
| Net gain from sale of non-inventory assets | $0 | $0 | |
| Net income from fundraising events | $0 | $0 | |
| Net income from gaming activities | $0 | $0 | |
| Net income from sales of inventory | $0 | $0 | |
| Miscellaneous revenues | $149,199 | $90,000 | 65.8% |
| Total revenues | $50,898,902 | $1,916,109 | 2556.4% |
| Field | 2018 | 2017 | % Change |
|---|
| Grants to govts. and orgs. in USA | $0 | $0 | |
| Grants to individuals in USA | $36,757,175 | $18,175 | |
| Grants to govts., orgs., and individuals outside USA | $0 | $0 | |
| Benefits paid to or for members | $0 | $0 | |
| Compensation of current officers, etc. | $516,255 | $241,635 | 113.7% |
| Compensation not included above, to disqualified persons | $0 | $0 | |
| Non-officer salaries and wages | $702,057 | $185,017 | 279.5% |
| Pension/retirement accruals and contributions | $0 | $0 | |
| Other employee benefits | $152,290 | $59,773 | 154.8% |
| Payroll taxes | $107,207 | $32,574 | 229.1% |
| Management fees | $0 | $0 | |
| Legal fees | $218,533 | $134,690 | 62.2% |
| Accounting fees | $16,942 | $20,414 | -17.0% |
| Lobbying fees | $135,800 | $64,625 | 110.1% |
| Pro. fundraising fees | $358,390 | $0 | 999% |
| Investment mgmt fees | $0 | $0 | |
| Other fee-for-service | $1,888,449 | $372,568 | 406.9% |
| Advertising and promotion | $0 | $0 | |
| Office expenses | $31,508 | $16,863 | 86.8% |
| Information tech. expenses | $26,682 | $3,751 | 611.3% |
| Royalty expenses | $0 | $0 | |
| Occupancy | $82,042 | $8,760 | 836.6% |
| Travel | $7,460 | $849 | 778.7% |
| Public official travel and entertainment | $0 | $0 | |
| Conferences, meetings, etc. | $182,773 | $89,343 | 104.6% |
| Interest | $0 | $0 | |
| Payments to affiliates | $0 | $0 | |
| Depreciation, amortization, etc. | $0 | $0 | |
| Insurance | $54,217 | $3,161 | 1615.2% |
| All other expenses | $81,397 | $115,473 | -29.5% |
| Total expenses | $41,319,177 | $1,367,671 | 2921.1% |
| Field | 2018 | 2017 | % Change |
|---|
| Cash (non-interest-bearing) | $2,892,875 | $891,762 | 224.4% |
| Savings, short-term investments, etc. | $7,297,637 | $0 | 999% |
| Pledges and grants receivable | $500,000 | $0 | 999% |
| Accounts receivable | $0 | $1,412 | -100% |
| Loans receivable from officers, directors, etc. | $0 | $0 | |
| Loans receivable from other disqualified persons | $0 | $0 | |
| Notes and loans receivable | $0 | $0 | |
| Inventories for use | $0 | $0 | |
| Prepaid expenses and deferred charges | $16,938 | $5,063 | 234.5% |
| Buildings, equipment, etc. post-depreciation | $351,813 | $55,072 | 538.8% |
| Investments, publicly traded securities | $0 | $0 | |
| Investments, other securities | $0 | $0 | |
| Investments, program-related | $0 | $0 | |
| Intangible assets | $0 | $0 | |
| Other assets | $181,895 | $56,446 | 222.2% |
| Total assets | $11,241,158 | $1,009,755 | 1013.3% |
| Field | 2018 | 2017 | % Change |
|---|
| Accounts payable and accrued expenses | $650,711 | $385,936 | 68.6% |
| Grants payable | $410,000 | $0 | 999% |
| Deferred revenue | $0 | $0 | |
| Tax-exempt bond liabilities | $0 | $0 | |
| Escrow or custodial account liability | $0 | $0 | |
| Loans payable to officers and disqualified persons | $0 | $0 | |
| Secured mortgages and notes payable to unrelated third parties | $0 | $0 | |
| Unsecured notes and loans payable to unrelated third parties | $0 | $0 | |
| Other liabilities | $0 | $23,097 | -100% |
| Total liabilities | $1,060,711 | $409,033 | 159.3% |
| Field | 2018 | 2017 | % Change |
|---|
| Unrestricted net assets | $3,046,882 | $600,722 | 407.2% |
| Temporarily restricted net assets | $0 | $0 | |
| Permanently restricted net assets | $7,133,565 | $0 | 999% |
Vendors for Empower Illinois
| Vendor | Services | Amount paid | Date |
|---|
| Grant Thornton LLP | Tax accounting | | 2020-01-27 |
| █████████ | Content management system software | | 2019-11-20 |
| █████████ | Fundraising software | | 2019-11-20 |
| █████████ ██████████ ███████ ██ ███ | Fundraising | $277,500 | 2018-12-01 |
| ██████ ██████ ███ | Legal | $270,901 | 2018-12-01 |
| ███ ███████ █████ | Marketing | $573,256 | 2018-12-01 |
| █████████ ██████████ ███ | Fundraising Consulting | $277,500 | 2018-12-01 |
| █████████ ███ ███ | Technology | $335,844 | 2018-12-01 |
| ...and four more vendors |
Personnel at Empower Illinois
| Name | Title | Compensation | Most recent data |
|---|
| Avrum Weinfeld | Chief Executive Officer, Bria Health Services | - | Sept. 5, 2020 |
| Daniel P. Daly | President and Chief Executive Officer , Senb Bank | - | Sept. 5, 2020 |
| ████ ██ ████ | Chairman and Chief Executive Officer | - | Sept. 5, 2020 |
| █████ ████████████████ | Chief Executive Officer, Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership | - | Sept. 5, 2020 |
| ███████ ██████ | President / Executive Director | - | Sept. 5, 2020 |
| ██ ██████ █ ██ ██████ | Executive Director | - | Sept. 5, 2020 |
| █████ ███████ | President / Executive Director | $185,000 | June 11, 2020 |
| █████ █████████ | Senior Director of Operations and Finance | - | Sept. 5, 2020 |
| ██████ ██████ | Operations Director X Meggan Muller | - | Sept. 5, 2020 |
| ███████ █████ | Director of Finance and Compliance X | - | Sept. 5, 2020 |
| ...and 15 more key personnel |
Peer voter registration and education organizations
| | Name | Type | Revenue | Location |
|---|
| 1 | Voter Registration Project | 501(c)(3) | $24 million | Washington, DC |
| 2 | The Voter Participation Center | 501(c)(3) | $26 million | Washington, DC |
| 3 | Center for Voter Information | 501(c)(4) | $19 million | Washington, DC |
| 4 | Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault (ICASA) | 501(c)(3) | $26 million | Springfield, IL |
| 5 | Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence (ICADV) | 501(c)(3) | $18 million | Springfield, IL |
| 6 | Searle Freedom Trust | 501(c)(3) | $16 million | Chicago, IL |
| 7 | Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund (EAEF) | 501(c)(3) | $41 million | New York, NY |
| 8 | Sierra Club Foundation | 501(c)(3) | $105 million | Oakland, CA |
| 9 | World Jewish Congress American Section | 501(c)(3) | $25 million | New York, NY |
| 10 | Nwa Trailblazers | 501(c)(3) | $28 million | Bentonville, AR |
| 11 | Airport Research and Development Foundation (ARDF) | 501(c)(3) | $79 million | Alexandria, VA |
| 12 | The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta | 501(c)(3) | $206 million | Atlanta, GA |
| 13 | Rose Community Foundation | 501(c)(3) | $228 million | Denver, CO |
| 14 | Educate Girls | 501(c)(3) | $30 million | Austin, TX |
| 15 | Delaware Sustainable Energy Utility (SEU) | 501(c)(3) | $18 million | Dover, DE |
| 16 | Workforce Solutions Southeast Texas | 501(c)(3) | $20 million | Beaumont, TX |
| 17 | California Fire Foundation | 501(c)(3) | $12 million | Sacramento, CA |
| 18 | Gulf of Mexico Alliance (GOMA) | 501(c)(3) | $27 million | Ocean Springs, MS |
| 19 | Michigan Community Action | 501(c)(3) | $21 million | Okemos, MI |
| 20 | Business Leadership Organized for Catholic Schools (BLOCS) | 501(c)(3) | $39 million | King of Prussia, PA |
| 21 | Onestar Foundation | 501(c)(3) | $36 million | Austin, TX |
| 22 | Immap Incorporated | 501(c)(3) | $15 million | Washington, DC |
| 23 | Matter | 501(c)(3) | $20 million | St Louis Park, MN |
| 24 | CMG | 501(c)(3) | $62 million | Washington, DC |
| 25 | Workforce Solutions Greater Dallas | 501(c)(3) | $98 million | Dallas, TX |