Communities Organizing for Haitian Engagement and Development
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
COFHED'S MISSION IS TO PARTNER WITH MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES IN THE MOUNTAINS OF SOUTHWESTERN HAITI TO ASSIST THEM IN DISCOVERING, CREATING, AND REALIZING THEIR OWN VISION OF SOCIOECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOR LASTING TRANSFORMATION.
- Income
- $669,616
- Spending
- $614,664
- Spent on programs
- 73%
- Reserves
- 2.3 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 99%
- Employees
- 4
- Volunteers
- 10
- Highest pay
- $51,367, executive director
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Good: 75 out of 100. Higher than 44% of charities in its peer group (health care, $250k to $1m).
Reserves
10 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 2.3 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 0% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 8% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 23% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1573% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 11 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Good: 76 out of 100. Higher than 48% of charities in its peer group (health care, $250k to $1m).
Independent board
25 of 256 of 7 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
0 of 8Reports no written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
0 of 7Reports no written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
6 of 15Its accounts were not audited or reviewed by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, 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 (1)
- $447,903 spent. KORE TIFI VIOLENCE PREVENTION PROGRAMIN RURAL HAITI, THE ACCEPTANCE OF AGGRESSION AND VIOLENCE TOWARD GIRLS RESULTS IN CONSIDERABLE UNSPOKEN DISTRESS. THE OBJECTIVE OF OUR KORE TIFI/POWER TO GIRLS VIOLENCE PREVENTION PROGRAM IS TO ESTABLISH A SAFE AND EMPOWERING COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENT FOR GIRLS, ENHANCE THEIR RESILIENCE, AND EQUIP THEM WITH THE NECESSARY TOOLS AND RESOURCES TO ADVOCATE FOR THEIR OWN SAFETY AND WELL-BEING. OUR VISION IS TO FOSTER SUPPORTIVE COMMUNITIES THAT ACTIVELY OPPOSE THE ABUSE OF GIRLS. WE ARE DEDICATED TO CREATING ENVIRONMENTS RICH IN KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND STRATEGIES AIMED AT TRANSFORMING SOCIAL NORMS THAT ARE DETRIMENTAL TO GIRLS. THIS APPROACH EMPOWERS GIRLS TO THRIVE IN SECURE SPACES, FREE FROM HARM.WE ARE WORKING COLLABORATIVELY WITH COMMUNITIES BY IMPLEMENTING THE KORE TIFI/POWER TO GIRLS! METHODOLOGY FROM DEPASE FRONTY, A LOCAL ORGANIZATION ASSOCIATED WITH BEYOND BORDERS IN JACMEL, HAITI (HTTP://REPANSEPOUVWA.ORG/). OVER A THREE-YEAR PARTNERSHIP, THEIR TEAM WILL PROVIDE MENTORSHIP, TRAINING, AND COACHING TO SUPPORT GIRLS WITHIN OUR RURAL PARTNER COMMUNITIES.PARTICIPATORY ACTION RESEARCHOUR CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH EFFORT IS CENTERED AROUND THREE MAIN THEMESCITIZENSHIP, STATE ENGAGEMENT, AND SECURITY. CO-RESEARCHERS FOR THIS PROJECT ARE MOSTLY HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS. OUR GOAL IS TO UNDERSTAND HOW HAITIANS DEFINE CITIZENSHIP AND THEIR PERCEPTIONS OF HOW THE STATE REGARDS THEM AS CITIZENS. THIS INVOLVES DELVING INTO BOTH PERSONAL AND COLLECTIVE INTERPRETATIONS OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BE HAITIAN, AS WELL AS HOW THAT IDENTITY CONNECTS WITH THEIR ROLE AS CITIZENS. WE SEEK TO COLLECT INSIGHTS ON HOW INDIVIDUALS FEEL ACKNOWLEDGEDOR OVERLOOKEDBY THE STATE, ALONG WITH THEIR VIEWS ON THE RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES ASSOCIATED WITH CITIZENSHIP. THE PURPOSE OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO: AMPLIFY VOICES: THE PROJECT GIVES A PLATFORM TO HISTORICALLY EXCLUDED RURAL CITIZENS, ENSURING THEY ARE REPRESENTED IN NATIONAL DISCUSSIONS. PRIORITIZE LOCAL SOLUTIONS: COMMUNITIES WILL DEVELOP AND PROPOSE THEIR OWN SOLUTIONS, FOSTERING OWNERSHIP OF THE POLITICAL PROCESS. FOSTER SUSTAINABLE LEADERSHIP: THE PROJECT BUILDS LOCAL CAPACITY BY TRAINING CO-RESEARCHERS, ENSURING ONGOING DIALOGUE AND EMPOWERMENT. CONTRIBUTE TO NATIONAL DIALOGUE: RESEARCH FINDINGS WILL BE SYNTHESIZED AND PRESENTED TO HAITIAN GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS AND CIVIL SOCIETY, CONTRIBUTING TO MORE INCLUSIVE AND EFFECTIVE GOVERNANCE SOLUTIONS.THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT MAPPING AND CITIZEN ENGAGEMENT PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH INVOLVES CONDUCTING A BASELINE ASSESSMENT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND CONSTITUENT ENGAGEMENT ACROSS THE COMMUNES OF CAMP-PERRIN AND MANICHE. THE PROJECT AIMS TO CREATE A DIRECTORY OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS, INCLUDING MAYORS, MEMBERS OF THE CONSEIL D'ADMINISTRATION DE LA SECTION COMMUNALE (CASEC), AND ASSEMBLE DES SECTIONS COMMUNALES (ASEC). IT WILL GATHER QUALITATIVE DATA THROUGH FOCUS GROUPS AND INTERVIEWS WITH BOTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVES AND CITIZENS TO UNDERSTAND THE CAPACITY OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS TO ENGAGE WITH CONSTITUENTS AND SUPPORT INCLUSIVE ELECTIONS. THIS WORK IS INTENDED TO INFORM FUTURE GOVERNANCE INTERVENTIONS AND CONTRIBUTE TO INCREASING CITIZEN PARTICIPATION IN THE POLITICAL PROCESS.COMMUNITY-LED SYSTEM CHANGE WE CONTINUE TO SUPPORT COMMUNITIES AS THEY TAKE A WIDER LENS AT THE ROOT CAUSES OF THE ISSUES THEY HAVE IDENTIFIED AND PRIORITIZED DURING THEIR PARTICIPATORY APPRAISAL LAST YEAR. IT IS A MESSY AND EMERGENT PROCESS THAT REQUIRES COURAGEOUS DIALOGUES, BUT THEY ARE WILLING TO GO THROUGH THE PROCESS. TWO COMMUNITIES HAVE INITIATED TANGIBLE STEPS TO IMPLEMENT SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS IN RESPONSE TO THE HIGH COST OF TUITION. FOR EXAMPLE, COMMUNITY MEMBERS PULLED THEIR FUNDS TOGETHER TO OPEN A BANK ACCOUNT AND THEN COLLABORATED TO CONVERT AN UNUSED PLOT OF LAND INTO A PRODUCTIVE VEGETABLE AND YELLOW YAMS GARDEN. AS THESE INITIATIVES PROGRESS, THEY PROVIDE INSPIRATIONAL MODELS FOR OTHER COMMUNITIES SEEKING TO MAKE THEIR OWN IMPACT.AGROFORESTRY PROGRAMFOR THE YEAR 2024, WE CONDUCTED NEW EXPERIMENTS AND BEGAN TO SEE THE RESULTS OF THE EXPERIMENTS WE CONDUCTED OVER THE PAST YEARS IN COFHED'S AGRICULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVITIES. ALL THE PLANTS WE PLANTED HAVE SUCCESSFULLY GROWN, WITH SOME ALREADY REACHING HEIGHTS OVER THREE METERS. THE MORINGA TREES HAVE FLOWERED, AND OUR COCOA TREES ARE ALSO FLOWERING AND BEGINNING TO BEAR FRUIT. WE HAVE ALREADY COMPLETED SEVERAL SUCCESSFUL HARVESTS FROM OUR CROPS. IN THE MIDDLE OF THE YEAR, WE PLANTED OTHER CROPS SUCH AS SWEET POTATOES AND CASSAVA, WHICH WE HARVESTED AT THE END OF THE YEAR.THE AGROFORESTRY SYSTEM WE HAVE IMPLEMENTED ENABLES US TO CONDUCT PERIODIC HARVESTS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. OUR CULTIVATED FIELDS YIELD VARIOUS CROPS, INCLUDING PAPAYA, BANANAS, CUCUMBERS, PEPPERS, SQUASH, BEANS SWEET POTATOES, CASSAVA, AND YAMS. WE HAVE OBSERVED AN INCREASE IN BEE ACTIVITY WITHIN OUR AGROFORESTRY AREA, ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE PRESENCE OF MELLIFEROUS PLANTS SUCH AS CASHEW AND MORINGA THAT BLOOM THERE. RECOGNIZING THE CRITICAL ROLE THAT TREES PLAY IN THE ENVIRONMENT, COFHED IS COMMITTED TO DISTRIBUTING SEEDLINGS WITHIN COMMUNITIES TO PROMOTE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND ENHANCEMENT WHENEVER FEASIBLE.IN SEPTEMBER 2024, WE SUCCESSFULLY DELIVERED 493 SEEDLINGS TO COMMUNITY MEMBERS OF GAETAN, DIVEZEN, AND MARC. THE PLANTS DISTRIBUTED INCLUDED: - 84 POMELOS - 31 SOUR ORANGES - 49 CHERRIES - 234 STARFRUITS - 95 CASHEWS FURTHERMORE, COFHED STRATEGICALLY PLANTED NUMEROUS GLIRICIDIA AND MORINGA TREES IN ITS FIELDS TO ENHANCE THE PRESENCE OF BEE-FRIENDLY PLANTS. ACTIVITIES CONTINUE AT THE COFHED FOUNDATION WITH THE GOAL OF PROMOTING A BETTER ENVIRONMENT AND PRODUCING PLANTS THAT CAN BENEFIT PEOPLE.COMMUNITY-LED EDUCATION IMPACTTHE YEAR 2024 PRESENTED A GREATER NUMBER OF CHALLENGES COMPARED TO PREVIOUS YEARS. SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS ENCOUNTERED SUBSTANTIAL DIFFICULTIES IN OBTAINING BOOKS FROM THE CAPITAL DUE TO INCREASING INSECURITY AND AN ECONOMIC CRISIS IN HAITI. NONETHELE
Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
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 September 7, 2026.
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 September 30, 2026.
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 September 10, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending June 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since August 2001.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated September 7, 2026.
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 October 7, 2026.
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