Virginia · Nonprofit
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF THE BLIND INC
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF THE BLIND INC (Virginia) receives grants from 24 organizations whose IRS filings report $438,166 to it, the largest being THE GIBNEY FAMILY FOUNDATION INC ($95,000). 17 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $2.9M
- Funders on record
- 24
- Grants received
- $438k
- Net assets
- $5.1M
What American Council of the Blind Inc does
Mission
To increase the independence, security, equality of opportunity, and quality of life for all blind and visually impaired people.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Membership and organization services strengthened affiliates through regular presidents' engagement, including weekly sessions that provide a forum for timely topics and guest presenters. The american council of the blind (acb) community platform hosted approximately 4,800 events, supported by 230 volunteers who contributed more than 19,000 hours of service. Programming included a broad mix of social and educational offerings such as braille instruction, assistive technology training, health and wellness sessions, peer support, and topic-driven discussions. Training modules were also developed to support community hosts and volunteers. Since its launch in 2020, the platform has provided more than 26,000 events to the community.
$455,674 spent23% of program spendingConference and conventionthe american council of the blind's 64th annual convention was a dynamic hybrid event, combining virtual and in-person experiences with over 250 workshops, seminars, business meetings, exhibitors, and tours. Eligible members could actively participate in discussions on proposed resolutions, vote on them, and elect board members. The convention also featured informative breakout sessions on relevant community issues, available for live attendance or through podcast recordings, ensuring broad accessibility and engagement for all attendees.
$433,602 spent$485,798 earned by the program22% of program spendingAdvocacy and governmental affairs helped move congress to reintroduce two bills that were part of acb's legislative imperatives: the websites and software applications accessibility act and the medical device nonvisual accessibility act. Put on the 2025 hill day, where members participated in dozens of meetings with congressional staffers to discuss legislation that will positively impact the lives of persons who are blind or have low vision. Participated in a coalition call with the centers for medicare and medicaid services (cms) to call for the rescission of the eyeglasses exclusion act. Celebrated the 35th anniversary of the americans with disabilities act (ada) with the consortium of constituents with disabilities (ccd).
$351,267 spent$63,485 earned by the program18% of program spendingPublic awareness attended and presented at numerous technology, advocacy, and disability-related conferences promoting acb's work and services. The fifth annual acb audio description awards gala was broadcast live on youtube and peacock, extending acb's reach across the nation. Acb media's 10 internet streams had over 154,400 listening hours. Acb's social media presence resulted in over 34,300 followers across seven platforms with consistent engagement on daily posts. Acb's website and the audio description project website allow acb to keep the public aware of ongoing activities, current initiatives, and news important to people who are blind, low vision, or who are connected to someone in the community.audio description project (adp)acb's audio description project sponsors a broad range of activities designed to build awareness of audio description. At the 2025 audio description awards gala, the awards for best audio description writer and narrator were given for the first time. The adp celebrated the media industry's advancement of audio description; served on the fcc's disability advisory committee; sponsored its annual essay contest for students; conducted sessions of the…
$717,199 spentof which $79,450 as grants$111,289 earned by the program37% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $1,957,742.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2024 to 2025, from $6.3M to $7.6M (+20%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2020 0% · 2021 5% · 2022 15%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
49% of AMERICAN COUNCIL OF THE BLIND INC’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (51% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 2 of the last 9 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Chief executive
Timothy Scott Thornhill
Executive director
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 4 funders to 7 funders, grant income rose $14k → $54k.
5 of 24 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 19% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
Left out of every figure on this page: $404k from 2 payers (the payer shares this organization's board, largest Aid Association for the Blind of the District of Columbia C/O). These are real filings, and they are not money AMERICAN COUNCIL OF THE BLIND INC raised.
From the IRS filings of AMERICAN COUNCIL OF THE BLIND INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF THE BLIND INC has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 22% of grant income, and it takes 4 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 4 funders to its left
60% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund AMERICAN COUNCIL OF THE BLIND INC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 59% · 2018 82% · 2019 33% · 2020 35% · 2021 53% · 2022 42% · 2023 30% — diversifying over time.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
27% of AMERICAN COUNCIL OF THE BLIND INC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 71% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF THE BLIND INC draws 80% of its grant income from funders outside Virginia, across 11 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $83k arriving through sponsors registered in 4 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF THE BLIND INC runs a healthier operating margin than three-quarters of the 4,665 health nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 4,665 health nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2025
Government funding AMERICAN COUNCIL OF THE BLIND INC receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $25k on record.
- Department of the Interior$25k
Federal grants vs contracts are distinguished; state line items keep their reported category. Matched by name + geography (the BMF), so coverage is partial and precision-first.
Organizations like AMERICAN COUNCIL OF THE BLIND INC
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In Virginia
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
82% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
69%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 37 states
Part of a family of 1 related entity
- American Council of the Blind Enterprises and Services Inc · exempt
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for AMERICAN COUNCIL OF THE BLIND INC: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds AMERICAN COUNCIL OF THE BLIND INC?
- AMERICAN COUNCIL OF THE BLIND INC (Virginia) receives grants from 24 organizations whose IRS filings report $438,166 to it, the largest being THE GIBNEY FAMILY FOUNDATION INC ($95,000). 17 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does AMERICAN COUNCIL OF THE BLIND INC have?
- IRS filings report 24 organizations giving $438,166 in grants to AMERICAN COUNCIL OF THE BLIND INC, 17 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of AMERICAN COUNCIL OF THE BLIND INC?
- THE GIBNEY FAMILY FOUNDATION INC is the largest funder on record, with $95,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like AMERICAN COUNCIL OF THE BLIND INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Virginia. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
Play a game about who funds American Council of the Blind →
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2025 (financials across 2017–2025), and the filings of 24 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing