Empowers Africa Inc.

Empowers Africa is a U.S. public charity under IRC Section 501(c)(3) that supports programs in the areas of human empowerment, wildlife protection and land conservation in sub-Saharan Africa. We partner with some of the most effective organizations on the ground in Africa that are creating lasting and sustainable change. Since 2013, we have granted close to nine million dollars to over 60 organizations in 15 countries. OUR FOCUS IS ON: - Funding programs in communities that live in proximity to protected conservation and wildlife areas or World Heritage Sites - Funding programs in urban communities where tourism is a strong source of development and - Funding programs that support the protection of wildlife and land conservation At Empowers Africa, we support community-led, measurable and sustainable programs that bolster communities by improving access to education, healthcare and business opportunities. We also support programs that protect wildlife and land conservation because we believe safeguarding Africa’s natural wealth is critical to the empowerment of the surrounding communities.

Africa is one of the only regions in the world where youth population is increasing. This growth pre

Goal One: We are looking to expand our fiscal sponsor program. COVID forced NGOs to look at more efficient ways to operate. This program allows that. We want to meet the increased demand for this service.

Goal Two: We would like to produce additional films about anti-poaching and species protection efforts. Our films have been incredibly effective at raising both awareness and advocacy for vital causes.

Goal Three: We are looking to expand our COVID relief program in Africa by providing food and emergency medical relief. Vaccination rates continue to be very low in Africa and extended relief is needed.

Conservation and wildlife protection in Africa are ever changing environments. In order to be an effective leader in this space, it is vital to stay current and also to establish relationships with other leaders in the field as collaboration remains a key strategy for success. As such, we send our Executive Director to three leading wildlife, conservation and tourism conferences annually. The Business of Conference is an African Leadership University initiative convening leaders from conservation and the sectors it intersects with, to promote best practices, strengthen networks and unique partnerships, and collectively tackle these challenges. We are Africa is a tourism-based conference whereby leaders in the field gather to network, address issues and learn. Empowers Africa has a direct tie to ecotourism so this conference remains a key learning experience. Finally, Conservation Lab builds bridges leaders from the key sectors of conservation, travel, philanthropy and government.

We held our annual event and travel auction one day before events were banned in New York City due to COVID (March 5th, 2020). The fear over COVID negatively impacted our attendance and also forced us to remove our travel auction from the online platform Charitybuzz. We were unable to run our annual event and travel auction in 2021 and may also be limited to do so in 2022. All of this forced us to either find other revenue sources and/or employ cost cutting measures. We started immediately with two very effective cost saving changes. Firstly, we eliminated our office space as of April 1st, 2020 and we started working on a remote basis. This will be a permanent change as we have found we are just as productive. We also decided to reduce salaries by having our Chair of the Board of Trustees be reinstated as our Executive Director. She served as our ED for many years upon inception and has the background to run Empowers Africa. She also does not draw a salary. This will also be a permanent change. These cost cutting strategies enabled us to reduce operating expenses significantly. As you can imagine, with the tourism industry at a complete standstill in Africa, people who relied on salaries from the industry are suffering greatly. In addition, salaries for jobs such as anti-poaching efforts are often paid for by tourism funds. Finally, with schools closed, children were not getting their daily meals from attending classes - this is often their only daily meal. We worked with our donors to raise funds for COVID relief to help with these sorts of issues. We ran campaigns to raise awareness and funds to combat the extreme hardships. We also interviewed and filmed top conservationists in Africa to learn how COVID was impacting both community members and the wild animals living along side of them. These interviews were featured at our August 9th, 2020 film festival and on our social media channels and newsletter. COVID made us more efficient and more creative!