Light Up a Village
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
Points to look into
- It owes more than it owns.
These come from the organization's own tax return. There may be a good explanation; ask the charity.
What it says it does
The goal of our non-profit organization is to help impoverished and disadvantaged communities of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa, become self-sufficient by implementing changes in development sectors such as education, entrepreneurship, electricity, and agriculture. "Education Energy Entrepreneurship for ALL" is our tagline.
- Income
- $304,990
- Spending
- $318,688
- Spent on programs
- 92%
- Reserves
- -0.5 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 100%
- Employees
- 0
- Volunteers
- 10
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: 38 out of 100. Higher than 5% of charities in its peer group (food and agriculture, $250k to $1m).
Reserves
0 of 35Spendable reserves are negative: it owes or has committed more than it holds.
Debt
0 of 20It owes 1645% of what it owns.
Living within its means
8 of 15Spending exceeded income by 4% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 27% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1592% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 1 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
Weak: 48 out of 100. Higher than 15% of charities in its peer group (food and agriculture, $250k to $1m).
Independent board
25 of 257 of 7 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
0 of 15Reports no 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
0 of 10Did not give the board a copy of this return before filing it.
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 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 (1)
- $292,164 spent. The following programs were conducted in 2025:Our non-profit organization's mission is to help impoverished and disadvantaged communities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Africa, become self-sufficient by implementing reforms across sectors such as education, entrepreneurship, electricity, and agriculture. The DRC is one of the world's poorest nations, with roughly 75% of its populationover 60 million peopleliving in poverty, despite immense natural wealth. "Education, Energy, and Entrepreneurship for All" is our tagline. Please visit our website, which is still under construction, to see photographs of field implementations of projects in Kinshasa, Mpanoka, Sankuru, and other locations. Here are some highlights from activities undertaken in 2025:Electrification: Leveraging its extensive expertise in Electrical Engineering, Light Up A Village has spearheaded the implementation of photovoltaic systems and off-grid generators across several key regions, including Plateau de Bateke in Kinshasa, and the provinces of Sankuru and Kasai Central. Building on this momentum, we expanded our solar electrification and off-grid generator initiatives in 2025 to additional surrounding rural communities, specifically targeting primary schools and hospitals to foster community resilience and improve public health outcomes, such as cold storage for vaccines and medications. A 17-kW generator was purchased and installed at the central hospital in Katako-Kombe in Sankuru, followed by a more powerful 30-kW generator at the hospital in Lusambo in the same province. Agriculture: The Light Up A Village program has actively supported agricultural development in Mpanoka Village, located on the Bateke Plateau just 20 kilometers from Kinshasa. Our activities have been expanded in 2025, to reach remote villages in the provinces of Sankuru, Bandundu, and Kasai Central. Benefiting from an equatorial climate and ample rainfall, the region is exceptionally well-suited for farming. LUV has secured 25 hectares of arable land and provided the funding necessary to cultivate various crops, including cassava, peanuts, and tomatoes. While rural agriculture in the community has traditionally been the work of local women using manual tools like the hoe, LUV has introduced tractor rentals to modernize these processes and significantly increase labor productivity. To ensure consistent yields during the dry season, the organization is currently constructing irrigation infrastructure and planning to install specialized piping systems. Furthermore, Light Up A Village continues to fund a pilot beekeeping project, which serves as a foundation for broader expansion scheduled for 2025Education: Dr. Avoki M. Omekanda, a distinguished expert in electrical machines and drive-by-wire systems with an engineering doctorate from the Facult Polytechnique de Mons, has dedicated significant personal and professional resources to advancing technical education in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Throughout 2025, Dr. Omekanda traveled to Kinshasa four times to deliver intensive electrical engineering lectures at ISTA University. These educational missions required balancing his demanding role as a Research Engineer at the General Motors Global R&D Center, using his weekends, holidays, and personal vacations to ensure Congolese students received high-caliber instruction. Despite the challenging conditions of overcrowded, unconditioned auditoriums, students remained highly engaged for hours on end, driven by a shared vision that specialized education is the most effective pathway for young people to escape systemic poverty. Supporting these academic efforts, the Light Up A Village program has played a pivotal role by financing Dr. Omekandas travel and providing critical institutional support to ISTA University. LUVs contributions extend beyond instruction to include essential ICT resources, such as computers and specialized electrical engineering textbooks, as well as funding for local engineering conferences. Furthermore, the organization facilitates access to higher education by providing tuition assistance to low-income engineering students, recognizing that improving the workforce's technical education is a primary driver of the adoption of sustainable technologies and local economic growth. A comprehensive visual record of these educational initiatives and community events in Kinshasa is available in the gallery.
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 October 13, 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 2021.
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 October 21, 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.