Women Forward International
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
WOMEN FORWARD INTERNATIONAL (WFI) PARTNERS THE NEXT GENERATION WITH NONPROFIT AND PRIVATE SECTOR ORGANIZATIONS AND ARTISTS TO IMPLEMENT SOLUTIONS CRITICAL TO HUMAN PROCESS, BRIDGING MIND AND HEART TO BRING ABOUT UNITY, COLLABORATION, AND SERVICE TO HUMANITY.
- Income
- $234,075
- Spending
- $273,604
- Spent on programs
- 75%
- Reserves
- 1.5 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 100%
- Employees
- 1
- Volunteers
- 182
- Highest pay
- $76,654, president & executive dire
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Weak: 45 out of 100. Higher than 15% of charities in its peer group (international, under $250k).
Reserves
10 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 1.5 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 4% of what it owns.
Living within its means
0 of 15Spending exceeded income by 17% of income.
Income trend
0 of 15Income fell 41% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1575% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 14 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 91% of charities in its peer group (international, under $250k).
Independent board
25 of 255 of 6 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a 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.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 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 (4)
- $114,212 spent. EMPOWERING INDIA'S ARTISAN WOMENIN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE US-INDIA FRIENDSHIP ALLIANCE, AND WITH SUPPORT FROM INDIVIDUALS, WFI IS HELPING TO BUILD A CRAFTS VILLAGE THAT WILL SERVE AS A TRAINING, PRODUCTION, AND COMMUNITY SPACE FOR WOMEN WEAVERS WHO ARE PRESERVING THE TREASURED CULTURAL HERITAGE OF HIMROO AND OTHER ANCIENT INDIAN WEAVING TECHNIQUES. LOCATED NEXT DOOR TO THE UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE, THE ELLORA CAVES NEAR MUMBAI, THE CRAFTS VILLAGE IS ALREADY CONDUCING TRAINING ACTIVITIES THROUGH ITS HIMROO FABRICS PRODUCTION UNIT. TO DATE, 30 WOMEN HAVE PARTICIPATED IN TECHNICAL SKILLS TRAINING, AND 15 WOMEN HAVE COMPLETED THE PROGRAM AND ARE CURRENTLY WORKING AS PROFESSIONAL WEAVERS. THE INITIATIVE ALSO PROVIDES OPPORTUNITIES FOR CONTINUED SKILLS DEVELOPMENT, PROFESSIONAL GROWTH, AND INCREASED PARTICIPATION IN THE TEXTILE ECONOMY.WFI HAS ALSO BROUGHT TEAMS FROM THE PARSONS SCHOOL OF DESIGN AND DESIGN STUDENTS IN INDIA TOGETHER TO HELP MARKET THE "ZARIZAR,COM" WEBSITE, THE PROCEEDS OF WHICH ALL GO TOWARDS MAKING THE CRAFTS VILLAGE AND TRAINING CENTER FOR WOMEN WEAVERS INDEPENDENT AND SELF-SUSTAINING. WFI'S NEXT COLLABORATION WITH PARSONS WILL BE A "DESIGN SPRINT" PLANNED FOR FALL 2026. STUDENTS WILL ADDRESS REAL-WORLD DESIGN CHALLENGES RELATED TO EXPANDING MARKET OPPORTUNITIES, INCLUDING IN THE UNITED STATES, AND CULTURAL PRESERVATION.
- $50,354 spent. SHARING THE ABUNDANCE: IMPLEMENTING A FOOD RESCUE MODEL IN MEXICODURING 2025, WFI COMPLETED ITS SUCCESSFUL PILOT PROGRAM, WINGS OF LOVE, IN VERACRUZ WITH THE UNIVERSIDAD VERACRUZANA AND EXPANDED IT TO OAXACA BY ESTABLISHING PARTNERSHIPS WITH THE UNIVERSIDAD BENITO JAURES, THE GUELAGUETZA ROTARY CLUB, THE OAXACA FOOD BANK, AND THINK UP UNIVERSITY COLLECTIVE TO STRENGTHEN LOCAL FOOD RECOVERY EFFORTS AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. THE PURPOSE OF WINGS OF LOVE IS TO SPREAD A NEW PARADIGM OF PHILANTHROPY BASED ON THE CONCEPT OF "SHARED ABUNDANCE AND THE IDEA THAT THIS IS NOT "CHARITY" BUT RATHER A NATURAL RESPONSE BY THE COMMUNITY TO ENSURE EVERYONE HAS ACCESS TO THE ABUNDANCE OF RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO THEM. INSPIRED BY THE COLLABORATIVE FOOD RESCUE APPROACH DEVELOPED BY THE FOUNDER OF THE WHITE PONY EXPRESS IN CALIFORNIA, WHICH WFI PREVIOUSLY SUPPORTED THROUGH GRADUATE STUDENT TEAMS AND GRANT FUNDING, WINGS OF LOVE ADAPTS THIS MODEL TO THE MEXICAN CONTEXT BY CONNECTING UNIVERSITIES, FOOD BANKS, ROTARY CLUBS, BUSINESSES, AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS TO RECOVER AND REDISTRIBUTE SURPLUS FOOD AND REDUCE FOOD WASTE, WHICH IS AMONG THE GREATEST CONTRIBUTORS TO GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS.AS WOMEN AND GIRLS ARE THE MOST VULNERABLE TO FOOD INSECURITY, WINGS OF LOVE IN MEXICO FOCUSES PRIMARILY ON THIS DEMOGRAPHIC, SERVING UP TO 150 WOMEN ON A MONTHLY BASIS THROUGH FOOD RESCUE AND VITAL SUPPLIES DISTRIBUTION INCLUDING KITCHEN EQUIPMENT, CHILDREN'S TOYS AND DIAPERS, AND NEW CLOTHING, AS WELL WORKSHOPS THAT HELP MOVE THE WOMEN "FROM THE MARGINS TO THE MAINSTREAM." DURING THE REPORTING PERIOD, THE PROGRAM CONDUCTED FOOD RECOVERY AND DISTRIBUTION ACTIVITIES AND FACILITATED WORKSHOPS FOCUSED ON WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP, HEALTH, AND FINANCIAL LITERACY. THE INITIATIVE ALSO EXPANDED OPPORTUNITIES FOR CIVIC ENGAGEMENT BY INVOLVING UNIVERSITY STUDENTS, LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS, AND COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS IN A COLLABORATIVE MODEL BASED ON SHARED RESPONSIBILITY AND LOCAL PARTICIPATION.
- $22,245 spent. ONLINE EDUCATION FOR AFGHAN WOMEN IN AFGHANISTANRESTRICTIONS ON WOMEN'S ACCESS TO EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT CONTINUE TO CREATE SIGNIFICANT BARRIERS FOR AFGHAN WOMEN AND GIRLS. IN RESPONSE, FIVE YEARS AGO WOMEN FORWARD INTERNATIONAL (WFI), BROUGHT TOGETHER OUR PARTNERS IN AFGHANISTAN WITH LYNN UNIVERSITY'S EDUCATION FACULTY AND STUDENTS AND ICOHERE, A TECH COMPANY IN CALIFORNIA, TO BUILD A NEW COMPUTER LABORATORY AND DEVELOP A SECURE ONLINE PLATFORM TO ACCOMMODATE ACCESS TO HIGHER EDUCATION PREPARATION, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, AND CAREER-ORIENTED LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES FOR COLLEGE-AGE AFGHAN WOMEN. IN 2025, WFI SUPPORTED A SIX MONTH LEADERSHIP TRAINING COURSE FOR A COHORT OF 22 AFGHAN WOMEN AND PREPARED FOR ITS 2026 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE WORKSHOP SERIES TO INCLUDE WFI'S NETWORK OF MENTORS AS WELL AS LYNN UNIVERSITY FACULTY. THE PROGRAM IS DESIGNED TO PROVIDE FLEXIBLE, TECHNOLOGY-ENABLED EDUCATION THAT CAN CONTINUE DESPITE CHANGING LOCAL CONDITIONS.
- $17,251 spent. EMPOWERING INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS IN THE UNITED STATESSINCE 2023, WOMEN FORWARD INTERNATIONAL (WFI) HAS PARTNERED WITH CALIFORNIA HIGH SCHOOLS AND THE WOVEN TEACHING PROGRAM OF THE WOVEN FOUNDATION TO EXPAND HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES FOR NEWCOMER STUDENTS. MANY PARTICIPATING STUDENTS ARE RECENT ARRIVALS TO THE UNITED STATES AND ARE NAVIGATING THE TRANSITION TO A NEW EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM, LANGUAGE ENVIRONMENT, AND COMMUNITY. DURING 20252026, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH WOVEN TEACHING, WFI DELIVERED A SERIES OF WORKSHOPS ON THE HISTORY AND PRINCIPLES OF THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS TO OVER 100 INTERNATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS. WFI ALSO ORGANIZED A CULMINATING EDUCATIONAL VISIT TO THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY, WHERE THE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS PRESENTED THEIR ORIGINAL POETRY INSPIRED BY THEIR READINGS OF THE DECLARATION AND HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS. THEY ALSO MET WITH UNIVERSITY STUDENT MENTORS FROM THE INTERNATIONAL HOUSE AT UC BERKELEY WHO SHARED THEIR KNOWLEDGE OF NAVIGATING BOTH THE UC BERKELEY AND COMMUNITY COLLEGE APPLICATION PROCESS. WFI ALSO ENGAGED THE ADMISSIONS OFFICERS OF BOTH UNIVERSITY SYSTEMS TO PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF THE APPLICATION NPROCESS TO THE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS. THE EVENT PROVIDED PARTICIPANTS WITH OPPORTUNITIES TO DEVELOP LEADERSHIP, PUBLIC SPEAKING, AND CREATIVE COMMUNICATION SKILLS WHILE ENGAGING WITH THE UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY. THROUGH A CAPSTONE PROJECT WITH THE GOLDMAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY AT UC BERKELEY, WFI ALSO BEGAN DEVELOPING A STRATEGIC ROADMAP TO EXPAND THIS "HUMAN RIGHTS AMBASSADORS PROGRAM" TO ADDITIONAL HIGH SCHOOLS AND UNIVERSITIES THROUGHOUT CALIFORNIA AND THE UNITED STATES.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 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 October 13, 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 November 6, 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 October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since September 2019.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 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 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.