Skip to the page content
Your donations
Passes our checks

African Women Rising

EIN 26-0140533 · Santa Barbara, CA

Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthGood81 out of 100GovernanceStrong100 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

EMPOWERING WOMEN AND GIRLS AFFECTED BY WAR WITH TOOLS TO RISE OUT OF EXTREME POVERTY. VISION BUILD SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL EQUITY FOR WOMEN AND GIRLS IN AFRICA.

Income
$3.9 million
Spending
$3.3 million
Spent on programs
87%
Reserves
3.6 months of spending
Largest source of income
donations and private grants, 93%
Employees
1
Volunteers
7
Highest pay
$176,241, executive director

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Financial health

Good: 81 out of 100. Higher than 61% of charities in its peer group (human services, $1m to $10m).

  • Reserves

    20 of 35

    Spendable reserves would cover 3.6 months of spending.

  • Debt

    16 of 20

    It owes 18% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    15 of 15

    Income exceeded spending by 17% of income.

  • Income trend

    15 of 15

    Income rose 63% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    15 of 15

    87% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 2 cents.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Governance

Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 65% of charities in its peer group (human services, $1m to $10m).

  • Independent board

    25 of 25

    7 of 8 voting board members are independent.

  • Conflict of interest policy

    15 of 15

    Has a written conflict of interest policy.

  • Whistleblower policy

    8 of 8

    Has a written whistleblower policy.

  • Record keeping policy

    7 of 7

    Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.

  • Board minutes

    5 of 5

    Keeps minutes of board meetings.

  • Board sees the tax return

    10 of 10

    Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.

  • Pay set independently

    5 of 5

    Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.

  • Independent check of accounts

    15 of 15

    Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.

  • No reported misuse

    10 of 10

    Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Impact evidence

Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.

Programs described in its return (3)
  1. $1.6 million spent. AGRICULTURE: PROVIDING TRAININGS TO 2,840 NEW PARTICIPANTS IN PERMA GARDENS AND FIELD CROP PRODUCTION AND CONTINUING SUPPORT TO 3,620. THE PERMA GARDEN PROGRAM HELPS PARTICIPANTS DEVELOP A REGENERATIVE FOOD FOREST USING RESILIENCE DESIGN TO PROVIDE FOOD SECURITY THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. 95% OF PARTICIPANTS CREATED A GARDEN AND ARE FOOD SECURE, HAVE INCREASED DISPOSABLE INCOME AND ARE ABLE TO SHARE FOOD WITH NEIGHBORS. 1,320 OF THE NEW PARTICIPANTS ARE REFUGEES FROM SOUTH SUDAN, LIVING IN REFUGEE CAMPS IN UGANDA. THE FIELD CROP PROGRAM FOCUSES ON SOIL FERTILITY AND WATER CONSERVATION TO INCREASE YIELDS. BOTH PROGRAMS PROVIDE MONTHLY SUPPORT THROUGH COMMUNITY EXTENSION WORKERS. AGRICULTURAL PROGRAMS PROVIDE FOOD AND INCOME TO OVER 25,000 DEPENDENTS. PARTICIPANTS IN BOTH PROGRAMS PLANTED 130,000 FRUIT AND NATIVE TREES.TRAINING-OF-TRAINERS CERTIFICATION COURSE IN REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE:THIS TWO-WEEK REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURAL TRAINING, BASED ON THE PERMACULTURE DESIGN SYSTEM AND AGROECOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES, IS DESIGNED AS A TRAINING-OF-TRAINERS (TOT) CERTIFICATION PROGRAM. THE TARGET AUDIENCE FOR THIS COURSE IS PROGRAM MANAGEMENT AND STAFF WORKING IN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PROGRAMS WHO ARE PROMOTING AGRICULTURE, NUTRITION, FOOD SECURITY, DISASTER RISK REDUCTION (DRR), NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (NRM), WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE (WASH), MARKET SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT (MSD), OR DEVELOPING INFRASTRUCTURE IN BOTH HUMANITARIAN OR DEVELOPMENT SETTINGS. PRACTICAL AND FIELD-BASED, IT SUPPORTS THE PARTICIPANTS IN LEARNING THE THEORY, THE SCIENCE AND THEN PRACTICALLY APPLYING REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE APPROACHES INTO COMMUNITY AND REFUGEE CONTEXTS. PARTICIPANTS EXPERIENCE A MIX OF CLASSROOM TIME, PEER-TO-PEER SHARING, CURRICULUM REINFORCING ACTIVITIES, DESIGN EXERCISES, FIELD PRACTICUM, COMMUNITY FACILITATION AND REFLECTION. PARTICIPANTS LEARN TO USE THE RESILIENCE DESIGN TOOLKIT TO STRENGTHEN THEIR EXISTING PROGRAMMING BY INTEGRATING AGROECOLOGICAL METHODOLOGIES, THIS PROCESS CAN ASSIST MANAGEMENT AND TECHNICAL FIELD STAFF TO DESIGN AND IMPLEMENT MORE RESILIENT AND PRODUCTIVE GROWING SYSTEMS AS PART OF THEIR PROGRAMMING. A PARTICULAR EMPHASIS IS ON DESIGNING FOR REFUGEE AND INTERNALLY DISPLACED PEOPLE (IDP'S) CONTEXTS. AWR PROVIDED ONE TRAINING FOR 55 PARTICIPANTS FROM 14 DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS WORKING IN 10 COUNTRIES. 5 PARTICIPANTS WERE AWARDED FULL SCHOLARSHIP.
  2. $764,797 spent. MICRO FINANCE: PROVIDED TRAINING IN VILLAGE SAVINGS AND LOANS ASSOCIATIONS AND INCOME GENERATING ACTIVITIES TO 2,333 NEW PARTICIPANTS AND CONTINUED TO PROVIDE SUPPORT TO OVER 10,000 WOMEN. MORE THAN 2,000 NEW BUSINESSES WERE STARTED. MEMBERS RECEIVE BI-WEEKLY SUPPORT FROM COMMUNITY EXTENSION WORKERS AS THEY BUILD THEIR BUSINESSES. THE MICRO FINANCE PROGRAM HELPS SUPPORT CLOSE TO 100,000 CHILDREN.
  3. $464,164 spent. GIRLS EDUCATION PROGRAM: PROVIDE ACADEMIC SUPPORT AND SCHOLASTIC MATERIALS TO OVER 5,000 STUDENTS IN 17 SCHOOLS, INCREASING COMPLETION OF PRIMARY SCHOOL AND CONTINUATION TO A SECONDARY SCHOOL EDUCATION. AWR MENTORS CONDUCTED REGULAR HOME VISITS TO ALL FEMALE STUDENTS TO ENSURE CONTINUOUS PARTICIPATION. 2,600 GIRLS RECEIVED SANITARY KITS TO ENABLE THEM TO ATTEND SCHOOL DURING THEIR PERIOD AND REDUCE EARLY DROPOUTS. 11,650 CHILDREN RECEIVED SCHOLASTIC SUPPORT.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Legitimacy checks

  1. Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.

    Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  2. Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.

    Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.

    Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated November 6, 2026.

  3. Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.

    On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.

    Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  4. Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.

    Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2024.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  5. How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.

    Recognized by the IRS since September 2007.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  6. Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.

    Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.

    Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated November 4, 2026.

Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.