Nonprofit · EIN 85-4380654
LIGHT UP A VILLAGE
Tax-exempt · OAKLAND TWP, MI 48306
Financials
| Year ended | Form | Revenue | Expenses | Net income | Total assets | Liabilities | Net assets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 31, 2025 | 990 | $304,990 | $318,688 | -$13,698 | $833 | $13,705 | -$12,872 |
| December 31, 2024 | 990 | $240,890 | $241,123 | -$233 | $1,373 | $547 | $826 |
| December 31, 2023 | 990 | $199,395 | $200,579 | -$1,184 | $2,517 | $1,458 | $1,059 |
Financial details: 990 for the year ended December 31, 2025
Revenue
- Contributions, gifts and grants
- $304,990
- Program service revenue
- $0
- Investment income
- $0
- Other revenue
- $0
Expenses
- Grants and similar amounts paid
- $0
- Compensation of officers, directors and key employees
- $0
- Salaries, compensation and benefits (total)
- $0
- Professional fundraising fees
- $0
- Occupancy
- $1,575
- Travel
- $27,961
- Depreciation
- $586
- Program services (functional)
- $292,164
- Management and general (functional)
- $22,414
- Fundraising (functional)
- $4,110
Balance sheet and other
- Total assets, start of year
- $1,373
- Total assets, end of year
- $833
- Total liabilities, end of year
- $13,705
- Net assets, end of year
- -$12,872
- Land, buildings and equipment
- $783
- Net assets without donor restrictions
- -$12,872
- Gross receipts
- $304,990
- Employees
- 0
- Volunteers
- 10
- Year formed
- 2021
- State of legal domicile
- MI
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 December 31, 2025, highest compensation first.
| Name | Title | Hours / week | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| AVOKI OMEKANDA | President Trustee or director, Officer | 40 | $0 |
| EBENEZER NORMAN | Director Trustee or director | 1 | $0 |
| ABRAHAM GEBREGEREGIS | Director Trustee or director | 1 | $0 |
| MAZHARUL CHOWDHURY | Director Trustee or director | 1 | $0 |
| CIZA SYLVIE NDEGEY | Director Trustee or director | 1 | $0 |
| JANE OTSEIDU | Director Trustee or director | 1 | $0 |
| MARIE P OMEKANDA | Treasurer & Sec Trustee or director, Officer | 2 | $0 |
990 for the year ended December 31, 2024: 7 people
| Name | Title | Hours / week | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| AVOKI OMEKANDA | President Trustee or director, Officer | 40 | $0 |
| EBENEZER NORMAN | Director Trustee or director | 1 | $0 |
| ABRAHAM GEBREGEREGIS | Director Trustee or director | 1 | $0 |
| MAZHARUL CHOWDHURY | Director Trustee or director | 1 | $0 |
| CIZA SYLVIE NDEGEY | Director Trustee or director | 1 | $0 |
| JANE OTSEIDU | Director Trustee or director | 1 | $0 |
| MARIE P OMEKANDA | Treasurer & Sec Trustee or director, Officer | 2 | $0 |
990 for the year ended December 31, 2023: 7 people
| Name | Title | Hours / week | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| AVOKI OMEKANDA | President Trustee or director, Officer | 40 | $0 |
| EBENEZER NORMAN | Director Trustee or director | 1 | $0 |
| ABRAHAM GEBREGEREGIS | Director Trustee or director | 1 | $0 |
| MAZHARUL CHOWDHURY | Director Trustee or director | 1 | $0 |
| CIZA SYLVIE NDEGEY | Director Trustee or director | 1 | $0 |
| JANE OTSEIDU | Director Trustee or director | 1 | $0 |
| MARIE P OMEKANDA | Treasurer & Sec Trustee or director, Officer | 2 | $0 |
Address and contacts
- Address (IRS master file)
- 3919 BRIARBROOKE LN, OAKLAND TWP, MI 48306-4749
- In care of
- % AVOKI OMEKANDA
- Mailing address (990-N for 2021)
- 3919 Briarbrooke Lane, Rochester MI 48306
- Principal officer (990-N for 2021)
- Avoki Omekanda, 3919 Briarbrooke Lane, Rochester MI 48306
- Signed the 990
- MARIE OMEKANDA, Treasurer & Sec
- Phone
- (248) 342-1779
- Website
- lightupavillage.org
- Return prepared by
- GREGG S BOSSEN CPA PC
Mission
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.
Program accomplishments
- 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.Expenses $292,164
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 December, so each return is due on the 15th day of the 5th month after that.
| Tax year | Year ended | Due | IRS public records |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | December 31, 2025 | May 15, 2026 | 990 on file |
| 2024 | December 31, 2024 | May 15, 2025 | 990 on file |
| 2023 | December 31, 2023 | May 15, 2024 | 990 on file |
IRS record
- EIN
- 85-4380654
- Tax-exempt status
- 501(c)(3): Charitable, religious, educational or scientific organization
- Foundation status
- Publicly supported organization (170(b)(1)(A)(vi))
- Donations deductible (Pub 78)
- Public charity, 50% deduction limit
- Exempt since
- 2021
- Accounting year ends
- December
- Files
- Form 990 or 990-EZ
- Category (NTEE)
- Food, agriculture and nutrition (K20)
- Assets (IRS master file)
- $833
- Income (IRS master file)
- $304,990
Filing history
| Form | Year ended | Revenue | Expenses | Assets | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 990 | December 2025 | $304,990 | $318,688 | $833 | IRS |
| 990 | December 2024 | $240,890 | $241,123 | $1,373 | XML |
| 990 | December 2023 | $199,395 | $200,579 | $2,517 | XML |
| 990 | December 2022 | $100,685 | $98,983 | $3,001 | IRS |
| 990-N for 2021 Officer: Avoki Omekanda | December 31, 2021 | ≤ $50,000 receipts | – | – | e-Postcard |
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 85-4380654).
Questions about LIGHT UP A VILLAGE
- What is the EIN of LIGHT UP A VILLAGE?
- The employer identification number (EIN) of LIGHT UP A VILLAGE is 85-4380654.
- Is LIGHT UP A VILLAGE tax-exempt?
- Yes. The IRS lists it as tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) since 2021.
- Are donations to LIGHT UP A VILLAGE tax-deductible?
- Yes. It is listed in IRS Publication 78 (Public charity, 50% deduction limit).
- Which annual return does LIGHT UP A VILLAGE 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 LIGHT UP A VILLAGE due?
- The return for tax year 2026 (the year ending December 31, 2026) is due May 17, 2027. Form 8868 extends it by six months; the 990-N cannot be extended.
- When did LIGHT UP A VILLAGE last file with the IRS?
- The latest return in the IRS public files is the 990 for the year ended December 2025.
- Who is the principal officer of LIGHT UP A VILLAGE?
- The 990-N for 2021 names Avoki Omekanda.
- Who are the officers and directors of LIGHT UP A VILLAGE?
- The 990 for the year ended December 31, 2025 lists 7 people; 0 received compensation from the organization.
- How much revenue does LIGHT UP A VILLAGE have?
- On its 990 for the year ended December 31, 2025 it reported revenue of $304,990, expenses of $318,688 and total assets of $833 at year end.
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