WEPAN

Financials

From the e-filed returns the IRS publishes as XML (latest three processing years; amended returns replace the original). PDF copies at the IRS.

Officers, directors and key employees

As listed on the 990 for the year ended June 30, 2025, highest compensation first.

Address and contacts

Address (IRS master file)

2001 L ST NW STE 500 PMB 50176, WASHINGTON, DC 20036-4955

In care of

% DIANE MATT

Principal officer (990 for 2024)

ERSHELA SIMS PHD, 2001 L ST NW, STE 500-50176, WASHINGTON, DC 20036

Signed the 990

PAULA LAMPLEY JD, PRESIDENT-ELECT

Phone

(720) 943-4587

Website

WWW.WEPAN.ORG

Return prepared by

WINKEL GREEN & COMPANY LLP

Mission

THE WOMEN IN ENGINEERING PROACTIVE NETWORK (WEPAN) WAS FOUNDED IN 1990 AS A 501(C)3 NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION. IT'S MISSION IS TO ADVANCE CULTURES OF INCLUSION AND DIVERSITY IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONS. WEPAN AIMS TO ACHEIVE THIS MISSION BY: EMPOWERING PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS WHO ARE CATALYSTS OF CHANGE ENSURING THE SUCCESS OF WOMEN IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONS SUSTAINING A STRONG NETWORK CREATING RESEARCH-BASED EVIDENCE DRIVING SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF PROVEN PRACTICES DEVELOPING USEFUL AND TIMELY RESOURCES

Program accomplishments

• ACCESS+: STEM PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES AND ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE THE WEPAN INITIATIVE ACCESS+ WORKS TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF STEM PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES (PROS) ENGAGED IN ADVANCING EQUITY IN STEM. ACCESS+ USES A COHORT PARTICIPATION MODEL TO SUPPORT STEM PROS CHANGE AGENTS THROUGH THE USE OF THE EQUITY ENVIRONMENTAL SCANNING TOOL (EEST), ENGAGEMENT IN A MONTHLY COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE (COP), AN ANNUAL CONVENING, AND ACCESS TO MINI-GRANT FUNDING TO DEVELOP PROJECTS WITHIN THEIR ORGANIZATIONS. TO DATE, ACCESS+ HAS DIRECTLY ENGAGED OVER 160 INDIVIDUALS ACROSS NEARLY 40 ORGANIZATIONS REPRESENTING A RANGE OF STEM DISCIPLINES INCLUDING BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING, BIOPHYSICS, AQUATICS RESEARCH, ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES, AND PHARMACOLOGY. THE EEST OR EQUITY ENVIRONMENTAL SCANNING TOOL WAS ITERATIVELY DEVELOPED TO BE DEPLOYED BY INDIVIDUAL STEM PROS TO ASSESS ENGAGEMENT IN FRAMES OR AREAS CRITICAL TO ORGANIZATIONAL ADEPTNESS WITH RESPECT TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION. THE EEST GENERATES A REPORT HIGHLIGHTING FRAMES FOR POTENTIAL FOCUS TO DRIVE ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE. THE EEST AND ITS COMPONENTS WERE DEVELOPED WITH A TEAM OF EXPERTS UTILIZING RELEVANT SCHOLARSHIP AND PARTNERING WITH ORGANIZATIONS WITH COMPLIMENTARY TOOLS. COHORTS ARE GUIDED AS THEY USE DATA FROM THE EEST TO IDENTIFY AND PRIORITIZE AREAS FOR STRATEGIC ACTION PLANNING TO DRIVE CHANGE WITHIN THEIR ORGANIZATIONS.
  Expenses $135,014
• ARC NETWORK: STEM PROFESSORIATE THE ARC NETWORK SUPPORTS A CONSTITUENT COMMUNITY OF MORE THAN 2,000 CHANGEMAKERS BY CURATING, SYNTHESIZING, RECOVERING, DISSEMINATING, AND REMOVING BARRIERS TO AND DUPLICATION OF EFFORT AROUND RESOURCES FOR INTERSECTIONAL GENDER EQUITY AND SYSTEMIC CHANGE IN ACADEMIC STEM. USING A THREE I'S FRAMEWORK OF INTERSECTIONALITY, INTENTIONALITY, AND INCLUSIVITY TO GUIDE ALL OF ITS ACTIVITIES, THE ARC NETWORK EMPOWERS THE COMMUNITY TO SHARE, COLLABORATE AROUND, ADAPT, AND BUILD UPON EXISTING RESOURCES THROUGH A VARIETY OF ACTIVITIES INCLUDING: -COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, AND DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES INCLUDING WEBINARS THAT SHOWCASE KEY WORK FROM THE COMMUNITY, TOWN HALLS ON CRITICAL EMERGING ISSUES THAT IMPACT THE COMMUNITY, AND NEWSLETTERS HIGHLIGHTING RESOURCES, OPPORTUNITIES, EQUITY ISSUES IN THE NEWS, AND MORE. -THE ARC NETWORK COMMUNITY LIBRARY, WHICH FEATURES A COLLECTION OF NEARLY 10,000 RESOURCES ON EQUITY IN STEM AS WELL AS GUIDES FOR APPLYING THE RESOURCES TO PRACTICE. -THE ARC NETWORK VIRTUAL VISITING SCHOLAR PROGRAM, WHICH FUNDS ANNUAL COHORTS OF SCHOLARS TO CONDUCT AND SHARE META-ANALYSIS OR META-SYNTHESIS RESEARCH ON EXISTING SCHOLARSHIP ON INTERSECTIONAL GENDER EQUITY IN STEM TOPICS. -ARC NETWORK EMERGING WORKSHOPS, EACH OF WHICH BRING TOGETHER ABOUT 20-25 SCHOLARS AND PRACTITIONERS FOR A TWO-DAY WORKSHOP CENTERED ON CRITICAL TOPICS AND ISSUES RELATED TO ACADEMIC STEM AND RESULT IN ACTION-ORIENTED REPORTS. -THE ADVANCE EQUITY IN STEM COMMUNITY CONVENING (ADVANCE EISCC), AN ANNUAL CONVENING WHERE NEARLY 400 ATTENDEES CONNECT, COLLABORATE, AND SHARE RESEARCH, PROGRAMS, AND PROMISING PRACTICES FOR CHANGE. THE ADVANCE EISCC HAS CONSISTENTLY RECEIVED WORLD-CLASS NET PROMOTER SCORES AND SUPPORTED 65 UNDER-RESOURCED COMMUNITY MEMBERS IN ATTENDING THE 2025 CONVENING THROUGH OUR TRAVEL GRANT PROGRAM.
  Expenses $1,146,693
• . SYNERGIIIZE: ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE WEPAN ACCELERATOR, SYNERGIIIZE CULTIVATES THRIVING STEM INNOVATION ECOSYSTEMS WHERE ALL STEM INNOVATORS ARE HOLISTICALLY AND EQUITABLY RESOURCED THROUGHOUT THEIR EDUCATIONAL, CAREER, AND ENTREPRENEURIAL PATHWAYS. THIS ALLOWS FOR MORE INCLUSIVE, COMMUNITY- CENTERED, AND SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS TO PRESSING PROBLEMS FACING THE WORLD. WE ENACT THIS VISION THROUGH AN INNOVATOR PROGRAM, A GATEBREAKER PROGRAM, AN ANNUAL SUMMIT, AND OTHER COMMUNITY AND NETWORK DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES. A. THE SYNERGIIIZE INNOVATOR PROGRAM IS AN 8-MONTH PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM UNIQUELY DESIGNED TO EMPOWER AND SUPPORT UNDERCAPITALIZED INNOVATORS ON THEIR ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND COMMERCIALIZATION JOURNEYS. B. THE SYNERGIIIZE GATEBREAKER PROGRAM WORKS SPECIFICALLY WITH INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS THAT CONTROL ACCESS TO CRITICAL RESOURCES, CONNECTIONS, KNOWLEDGE, AND FUNDING THAT INNOVATORS NEED. WE EMPOWER GATEKEEPERS TO WIELD THEIR POWER RESPONSIBLY AS ACCOUNTABLE AGENTS OF CHANGE, ACTIVATING THEM INSTEAD AS GATEBREAKERS WHO DISMANTLE BARRIERS, IMPROVE TRUSTWORTHINESS, AND BUILD THRIVING INNOVATION ECOSYSTEMS. C. THE SYNERGIIIZE SUMMIT IS A TWO-DAY INTENSIVE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SUMMIT THAT BRINGS TOGETHER STEM INNOVATORS AND ENTREPRENEURS WITH INVESTORS, FUNDERS, ENTREPRENEURSHIP SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS, AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER PROFESSIONALS WHO WANT TO LEVERAGE THEIR POSITION AND INFLUENCE TO DRIVE CHANGE ACROSS THE STEM INNOVATION ECOSYSTEM. THIS YEAR, NEARLY 600 INNOVATORS AND GATEBREAKERS PARTICIPATED IN SYNERGIIIZE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS, INCLUDING 56 STEM VENTURES. NINETY-FOUR PERCENT OF GATEBREAKERS AND 96% OF INNOVATORS EXPERIENCED GROWTH IN THEIR SELF-EFFICACY AND BELIEF IN THEIR ABILITY TO PUT WHAT THEY LEARNED FROM OUR PROGRAMS TO PRACTICE. NINETY-EIGHT PERCENT OF UNDERCAPITALIZED INNOVATORS REPORTED A GREATER SENSE OF BELONGING AFTER PARTICIPATING IN A SYNERGIIIZE PROGRAM.
• WEPAN KNOWLEDGE CENTER ROOT CAUSES FOR WOMEN'S UNDERREPRESENTATION IN STEM (SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, MATHEMATICS) FIELDS CROSS DISCIPLINES, WHETHER IN ENGINEERING, PHYSICS, COMPUTER SCIENCE, OR MATHEMATICS. CREATING A SPACE TO SHARE RESOURCES AND ENCOURAGE CONNECTIONS AMONG WOMEN IN STEM ADVOCATES IS AN EFFECTIVE WAY TO INCREASE VISIBILITY AND BROADEN THE CONVERSATION ABOUT ADVANCING WOMEN ACROSS STEM DISCIPLINES. WEPAN RECOGNIZED THE NEED FOR A KNOWLEDGE CENTER TO ENABLE RESEARCHERS AND PRACTITIONERS TO QUICKLY AND EASILY LOCATE RESOURCES IMPORTANT TO THEIR WORK WITHOUT REINVENTING THE WHEEL OR RELYING ON OUTDATED DATA. MANY PROGRAMS SHARED RESULTS WITH THOSE IN THEIR OWN COMMUNITY BY MEANS OF CONFERENCES, PRESENTATIONS, AND ARTICLES, BUT NOT MORE WIDELY. SUCH INFORMATION, SCATTERED ACROSS MANY DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS, WEBSITES, EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS, AND INDIVIDUAL PROJECT SITES, WAS DIFFICULT TO FIND. TO THIS END, WEPAN HAS CREATED THE WOMEN IN STEM KNOWLEDGE CENTER (WSKC). THE WSKC IS A KNOWLEDGE REPOSITORY AND SHOWCASE FOR WEPAN GENERATED AND CURATED RESOURCES FOCUSED ON WOMEN IN STEM. THE WKC WAS FUNDED BY THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION (NSF) (0648210, 1016711) AND BY THE HENRY LUCE FOUNDATION. WSKC CONTENT INCLUDES: -WEPAN-GENERATED RESEARCH -INTERVIEWS WITH STEM THOUGHT LEADERS -WEBINAR RECORDINGS AND RESOURCES WEPAN PROGRAM DAYS STARTED IN 2021, THE WOMEN IN ENGINEERING PROGRAM (WIEP) DAY AND WOMEN OF COLOR SUMMIT (WOCS) ARE MANIFESTATIONS OF WEPAN'S COMMITMENT TO SUPPORT PRACTITIONERS OF WOMEN IN ENGINEERING (WIE) AND SYNONYMOUS PROGRAMS (WISE, MEP, ETC.) AND WOMEN OF COLOR IN ENGINEERING AND STEM MORE BROADLY. THE WOMEN IN ENGINEERING PROGRAM DAY (WIEP) PAYS HOMAGE TO WEPAN'S ORIGINS AS AN ORGANIZATION FOUNDED BY WOMEN IN ENGINEERING PROGRAM PRACTITIONERS. OUR ANNUAL WIEP BUILDS ON THE INAUGURAL THEME "CALLING US TO REMEMBER OUR ROOTS- AND CONVENES PRACTITIONERS AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS IN THE ADVANCEMENT OF WOMEN IN ENGINEERING TO NETWORK, SHARE RESOURCES, AND DISCUSS PROMISING PRACTICES FOR SUPPORTING WOMEN IN ENGINEERING. THIS YEAR, WE HELD OUR THIRD ANNUAL VIRTUAL WIEP, WHICH INCLUDED A PRESENTATION BY ONE OF OUR PARTNERS, DISCOVERE'S MESSAGES MATTER RESEARCH, AND A KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY WEPAN PAST PRESIDENT, ASEE IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT, AND FOUNDING DEAN AND PROFESSOR OF ENGINEERING, CAMPBELL UNIVERSITY, DR. JENNA CARPENTER. THE WOMEN OF COLOR SUMMIT (WOCS) RECOGNIZES THAT, WHILE CRITICAL TO STEM FIELDS, WOMEN OF COLOR ARE OFTEN UNDERSERVED, UNDER-RESOURCED, AND UNDERVALUED IN THEIR RESPECTIVE FIELDS. THE WOCS CONTINUES TO RAISE AWARENESS OF BOTH THE COMMON AND THE UNIQUE EXPERIENCES OF WOMEN OF COLOR AS THEY NAVIGATE STEM CAREERS WHILE EMPHASIZING THE NEED TO DISAGGREGATE WOC IDENTITIES IN ORDER TO DEVELOP EFFECTIVE PRACTICES. THE WOCS BRINGS TOGETHER WOMEN OF COLOR IN STEM WITH INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS WHO AUTHENTICALLY SUPPORT WOC IN THRIVING AND ADVANCING IN THEIR CHOSEN FIELDS. THIS PAST YEAR, THE 3RD ANNUAL WEPAN WOMEN OF COLOR SUMMIT WAS SPONSORED BY THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION'S TECHNOLOGY, INNOVATION AND PARTNERSHIPS AND TRANSLATIONAL IMPACTS (TIP/TI) DIRECTORATE.
  Expenses $289,330

What it must file and when

IRS records say it files Form 990 or 990-EZ. Based on its last return; a smaller organization may file the 990-N. Its accounting year ends in June, so each return is due on the 15th day of the 5th month after that.

IRS record

EIN

52-1729532

Tax-exempt status

501(c)(3): Charitable, religious, educational or scientific organization

Foundation status

Publicly supported organization (509(a)(2))

Donations deductible (Pub 78)

Public charity, 50% deduction limit

Exempt since

1991

Accounting year ends

June

Files

Form 990 or 990-EZ

Category (NTEE)

Science and technology (U40Z)

Assets (IRS master file)

$1,025,653

Income (IRS master file)

$1,542,750

Filing history

990-N: the IRS bulk file holds only the latest e-Postcard per organization; earlier years come from archived copies of that file since 2020 and can have gaps (the IRS e-Postcard search lists every one). 990, 990-EZ, 990-PF, 990-T: every e-filed return in the IRS e-file index since 2019; XML for the latest three processing years, amounts from the IRS Statistics of Income extracts before that. PDF copies and determination letters at the IRS (search EIN 52-1729532).

Questions about WEPAN

What is the EIN of WEPAN?

The employer identification number (EIN) of WEPAN is 52-1729532.

Is WEPAN tax-exempt?

Yes. The IRS lists it as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) since 1991.

Are donations to WEPAN tax-deductible?

Yes. It is listed in IRS Publication 78 (Public charity, 50% deduction limit).

Which annual return does WEPAN file?

Form 990 or 990-EZ. Based on its last return; a smaller organization may file the 990-N.

When is the next return of WEPAN due?

The return for tax year 2025 (the year ending June 30, 2026) is due November 16, 2026. Form 8868 extends it by six months; the 990-N cannot be extended.

When did WEPAN last file with the IRS?

The latest return in the IRS public files is the 990 for the year ended June 2025.

Who is the principal officer of WEPAN?

The 990 for the year ended June 30, 2025 names ERSHELA SIMS PHD.

Who are the officers and directors of WEPAN?

The 990 for the year ended June 30, 2025 lists 21 people; 3 received compensation from the organization, the highest $156,443 (ERSHELA SIMS PHD, EXECUTIVE DI).

How much revenue does WEPAN have?

On its 990 for the year ended June 30, 2025 it reported revenue of $1,542,750, expenses of $1,985,601 and total assets of $1,025,653 at year end.

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