Massachusetts · Nonprofit
THE CARROLL CENTER FOR THE BLIND INC
THE CARROLL CENTER FOR THE BLIND INC (Massachusetts) receives grants from 140 organizations whose IRS filings report $8,658,281 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($1,701,120). 98 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2025
- $11M
- Funders on record
- 140
- Grants received
- $8.7M
- Net assets
- $18M
What The Carroll Center for the Blind Inc does
Mission
The mission of the carroll center for the blind is to empower those who are blind and visually impaired to achieve independence and lead a fulfilling life. Established in 1936, the center serves blind and visually impaired people of all ages by providing rehabilitation,skills training, and educational opportunities to achieve independence, self-sufficiency, and self-fulfillment and by educating our communities regarding the potential of persons who are blind and visually impaired. For over 80 years, the center has pioneered innovative services for the blind and visually impaired by developing methods for people with low vision to learn the skills to be independent in their homes, in class settings, and in their workplaces, preparing them for diverse opportunities for success and independent living.
As stated on its FY2025 Form 990.
Programs
Rehabilitation training programs: vision rehabilitation programs are designed in a residential setting for adults who have had a significant loss of vision. These intensive programs provide training and support to encourage the physical and emotional adjustments needed to live with blindness/low vision as well as to develop daily living skills, vocational readiness, and computer proficiencies to live independent and fulfilling lives and obtain jobs. Summer programs are held for teenagers and young adults to develop the skills to transition to adulthood and achieve independence. 90 individual clients received 642 weeks of service in fiscal 2025.
$2,295,217 spent$1,983,351 earned by the program39% of program spendingEducational service programs: the center provides services to children who have low vision or are blind and attend public, private, or charter schools in their community. The center's teachers work with local educators in providing instruction in braille, adaptive technologytraining, learning-media assessments, alternative materials, and overall access to the curriculum. Summer and weekend programs are provided to help children develop blindness skills, socialize with others, and further their independence. 407 school-aged children across 93 schools received 12,244 hours of specialized instruction in fiscal 2025.
$2,393,131 spent$4,067,249 earned by the program41% of program spendingCommunity service programs: the center pairs individuals who are blind or visually impaired with certified orientation and mobility instructors to deliver navigational skills for safe and independent travel in the home, workplace, college, and community. 625 individual clients received 4,405 hours of specialized instruction in fiscal 2025.
$536,961 spentof which $1,487 as grants$478,819 earned by the program9% of program spendingComputer access training - served 87 individuals over the course of 159 weeks in fiscal 2025.
$436,158 spent$308,888 earned by the program7% of program spendingOther trainings
$188,013 spentof which $9,333 as grants$123,042 earned by the program3% of program spending
The 5 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $5,849,480.
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 2020 to 2021, from $8.3M to $11M (+38%).
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 0% · 2020 12% · 2021 10% · 2022 7%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
35% of THE CARROLL CENTER FOR THE BLIND INC’s revenue is contributions — more donation-reliant than the typical peer (7% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 1 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
Gregory Donnelly
President & CEO
Board chair
Carol Covell
Board chair
As listed on its FY2025 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 25 funders to 74 funders, grant income rose $179k → $1.5M.
16 of 140 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 28% 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 THE CARROLL CENTER FOR THE BLIND INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 140 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
THE CARROLL CENTER FOR THE BLIND INC has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 20% of grant income, and it takes 10 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 10 funders to its left
35% 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 THE CARROLL CENTER FOR THE BLIND INC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 13% · 2018 42% · 2019 17% · 2020 32% · 2021 56% · 2022 8% · 2023 17% — growing more concentrated.
“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
58% of THE CARROLL CENTER FOR THE BLIND INC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 70% 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
75% of THE CARROLL CENTER FOR THE BLIND INC's grant income comes from Massachusetts funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $2.4M arriving through sponsors registered in 12 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
THE CARROLL CENTER FOR THE BLIND INC 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 THE CARROLL CENTER FOR THE BLIND INC receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $1.5M on record.
- CT$1.1M
- DE$358k
- NJ$8k
- VT$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 THE CARROLL CENTER FOR 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 Massachusetts
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
67% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
70%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 2 states
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for THE CARROLL CENTER FOR 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 THE CARROLL CENTER FOR THE BLIND INC?
- THE CARROLL CENTER FOR THE BLIND INC (Massachusetts) receives grants from 140 organizations whose IRS filings report $8,658,281 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($1,701,120). 98 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does THE CARROLL CENTER FOR THE BLIND INC have?
- IRS filings report 140 organizations giving $8,658,281 in grants to THE CARROLL CENTER FOR THE BLIND INC, 98 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of THE CARROLL CENTER FOR THE BLIND INC?
- FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND is the largest funder on record, with $1,701,120 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like THE CARROLL CENTER FOR THE BLIND INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Massachusetts. 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 Carroll Center for 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 140 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