Michael’s humanitarian and philanthropic missions started in 1999. Previously a successful builder and Miami nightlife executive, Michael is now fully retired from the private sector and focuses 100% of his time and efforts on Global Empowerment Mission (GEM) – 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded by Michael in 2011 as a first responder to global disasters with the aim to deliver the most amount of aid to the most amount of people in the shortest amount of time.
Michael has built an international organization that’s disrupting the disaster sector through its innovative, efficient and modernized systems. Unlike many nonprofit executives, Michael is hands on, boots on the ground, on the field and the offices. He oversees the management of 6 international branches on multiple continents.
GEM has responded to disasters in 53 countries, distributed over $281 million in supplies, coordinated over 335 disaster mission trips and built or repaired more than 508 homes, 15 schools, and has supported children in Haiti with their education for the last decade.
On the second day of the full-scale invasion in Ukraine in February 2022, Michael arrived at a Polish-Ukrainian border with the team and immediately established logistical operations in Poland and Hungary to support Ukrainians fleeing the war. Thanks to the GEM Relocation program 38,892 Ukrainian refugees were relocated to over 40 countries and found a safe shelter. Within three month Michael established a warehouse in Kyiv, Ukraine and moved to Kyiv himself to coordinate all GEM programs within Ukraine. Now 1,5 years later, GEM delivered 1535 trucks of aid inside Ukraine and serviced 983 cities supporting 200 000 families in the front line regions with the critical aid per month. In addition, GEM has repaired 229 houses, 9 schools, 7 clinics, 9 residential apartment buildings, 2 governmental buildings and replaced over 20000 windows all over Ukraine.
Michael Capponi is serving as a member of the Advisory Board to the World for Ukraine Summit.