Illinois · Nonprofit
NATIONAL SOCIETY TO PREVENT BLINDNESS
NATIONAL SOCIETY TO PREVENT BLINDNESS (Illinois) receives grants from 83 organizations whose IRS filings report $4,838,257 to it, the largest being RACINE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC ($670,220). 51 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $15M
- Funders on record
- 83
- Grants received
- $4.8M
- Net assets
- $28M
What National Society to Prevent Blindness does
Mission
We prevent blindness and preserve sight across all age spectrums and multiple eye conditions. We focus on improving the nation's vision and eye health by educating the american public on the importance of taking care of their eyes and vision, by promoting advances in public health systems of care that support eye health needs, and by advocating for public policy that emphasizes early detection and access to appropriate eye care.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Public education/awareness - prevent blindness increases awareness and educates the public on the importance of taking care of their eyes through brochures, fact sheets, public service announcements, newsletters, media campaigns, special events, monthly observance calendar, our website and social media. Each year millions of people read, hear or see our messages about early detection of eye disease and prevention of accidents that can cause permanent loss of sight. Social media and news outlet placements impressions totaled over 2 billion last year.
$1,093,206 spentof which $46,875 as grants$244,350 earned by the program25% of program spendingCommunity service/patient support - prevent blindness advocates for public policies that improve health systems nationwide and resources that ensure everyone has affordable, accessible, and quality eye care options. Current efforts include advocating for increased surveillance of vision problems, public health and prevention programming, investments in research, access to eye health care, safety in and access to effective treatments, a strengthened eye health professional workforce, and fair out-of-pocket costs. We provide patient support through education and awareness campaigns, free/low-cost eye care assistance through industry partnerships, and advocacy and support programs that empower individuals living with vision challenges and their caregivers. In addition, our affiliate system screened over 1 million children and adults nationwide for early detection of vision disorders.
$991,119 spentof which $22,375 as grants22% of program spendingHealth education & training - prevent blindness serves as an education and technical assistance resource for public health professionals on areas related to eye health through direct vision program review and guidance, an annual national eye health summit, webinars, allied health education, surveillance efforts, online training and certification programs, research grants, and professional recognition awards. These activities are targeted towards eye care professionals, healthcare providers, teachers, community service providers, and social workers along with others working in the field of blindness prevention. We educated, trained or certified over 700,000 professionals and organizations last year.
$1,906,248 spentof which $207,750 as grants$80,057 earned by the program43% of program spendingResearch - to support important advancements in the understanding of vision and eye health, prevent blindness mobilizes grassroots support for protecting and increasing funding for vision and eye health research through the national eye institute and the centers for disease control and prevention. Prevent blindness made more than 5,000 contacts to key policymakers last year to support vision and eye health. The prevent blindness joanne angle investigator award provides funding for research investigating public health related to eye health and safety. This research grant promotes the core mission of prevent blindness - preventing blindness and preserving sight.
$439,122 spentof which $6,250 as grants$614,860 earned by the program10% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $4,429,695.
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 $20M to $29M (+44%).
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: 2017 11% · 2018 11% · 2019 6% · 2020 12% · 2021 8% · 2022 14% · 2023 1% · 2024 2% · 2025 0%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
89% of NATIONAL SOCIETY TO PREVENT BLINDNESS’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (7% 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
Jeffrey Todd
President & CEO
Board chair
Jim Mcgrann
Board chair
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 15 funders to 36 funders, grant income rose $255k → $635k.
15 of 83 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 35% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of NATIONAL SOCIETY TO PREVENT BLINDNESS’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 83 funders by total. 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
NATIONAL SOCIETY TO PREVENT BLINDNESS has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 14% of grant income, and it takes 8 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 8 funders to its left
46% 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 NATIONAL SOCIETY TO PREVENT BLINDNESS.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 39% · 2018 17% · 2019 29% · 2020 58% · 2021 16% · 2022 17% · 2023 15% — 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
46% of NATIONAL SOCIETY TO PREVENT BLINDNESS's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 61% 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
NATIONAL SOCIETY TO PREVENT BLINDNESS draws 83% of its grant income from funders outside Illinois, across 23 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $1.7M arriving through sponsors registered in 11 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
NATIONAL SOCIETY TO PREVENT BLINDNESS runs a healthier operating margin than three-quarters of the 2,969 health nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 2,969 health nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2025
Government funding NATIONAL SOCIETY TO PREVENT BLINDNESS receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $1.2M on record — $1.2M federal, $2k state.
- Department of Health and Human Services$1.2M
- (HH) CONSULTANT SVCS (TO DEPTS)$2k
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 NATIONAL SOCIETY TO PREVENT BLINDNESS
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 Illinois
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
76% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
82%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 41 states
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for NATIONAL SOCIETY TO PREVENT BLINDNESS: 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 NATIONAL SOCIETY TO PREVENT BLINDNESS?
- NATIONAL SOCIETY TO PREVENT BLINDNESS (Illinois) receives grants from 83 organizations whose IRS filings report $4,838,257 to it, the largest being RACINE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC ($670,220). 51 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does NATIONAL SOCIETY TO PREVENT BLINDNESS have?
- IRS filings report 83 organizations giving $4,838,257 in grants to NATIONAL SOCIETY TO PREVENT BLINDNESS, 51 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of NATIONAL SOCIETY TO PREVENT BLINDNESS?
- RACINE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION INC is the largest funder on record, with $670,220 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like NATIONAL SOCIETY TO PREVENT BLINDNESS find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Illinois. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
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 83 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 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing