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New York · Nonprofit

VISIONSSERVICES FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED

VISIONSSERVICES FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED (New York) receives grants from 58 organizations whose IRS filings report $4,286,211 to it, the largest being LAVELLE FUND FOR THE BLIND INC ($1,760,848). 29 of them have funded it in more than one year.

Revenue FY2024
$15M
Funders on record
58
Grants received
$4.3M
Net assets
$141M
29/58 repeat funderspeak grant-dependency 6%
01What it does

What Visionsservices for the Blind and Visually Impaired does

Mission

Visions is a 98-year-old nonprofit vision rehabilitation and social service organization that trains low income people of all ages experiencing blindness and severe vision loss to lead independent and active lives at work, in their homes and communities, trains and supports their families and unpaid caregivers. Visions free services focus on reaching persons of color; people with limited english proficiency; frail elders; persons of all ages with multiple disabilities; and people of very low income. Our vision is for everyone to see what is possible. We turn possibilities into realities for over 7,961 persons annually. 88 cents of every dollar is spent on program services with only 12 cents spent on administration and fundraising. 28% of staff identify as blind or visually impaired and 3% as wheelchair users or experiencing other disabilities. 52% of staff is bilingual. Government funding covers approximately 50% of the actual cost of providing programs and services.

As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.

Programs

  1. Community services: visions served more than 8,000 individuals (including family members, caregivers, and professional organizations we have provided education to in the community). This included more than 6,375 unduplicated individuals through community-based services, promoting independence through vision rehabilitation, assistive technology, vocational training, community engagement, and caregiver support servicescore rehabilitation services included vision rehabilitation therapy, orientation and mobility, social work counseling, low vision therapy, occupational therapy, referrals to low vision doctors, in-home and community-based instruction, youth services, work readiness, job placement, diagnostic vocational evaluations, and unpaid caregiver support services. These services helped children, youth, adults, older adults, and caregivers build practical skills, safety, confidence, and community connection.the outreach department educated or trained more than 4,600 individuals about vision loss. Outreach and services were provided in 18 languages through bi-lingual staff and part-time interpreters.blindline, intake and info@visionsvcb.org, received and responded to nearly 1,000…

    $8,059,669 spent$4,424,697 earned by the program
    60% of program spending
  2. Visions center on blindness (vcb): a total of 660 participants attended programs at vcb, an increase from the previous year. Programs included sessions for blind children and their families, youth programs held in july and august, and year-round short-term residential services designed to prepare blind youth and adults for employment, independent living, and community participation.the vocational rehabilitation center on the vcb campus offered overnight pre-employment transition services (pre-ets) for blind youth, daily living skills and work readiness training for blind adults, and technology training for blind youth and adults. Vcb also offered one-week sessions for older adults and college students, a 60-day work readiness program, and a 15-week pre-ets program for blind youth ages 1822, primarily funded by the nys commission for the blind, including a paid internship component.

    $3,490,201 spent$729,130 earned by the program
    26% of program spending
  3. Visions at selis manor: visions expanded the variety of classes and services offered for adults and older adults, including new support groups provided both in person and virtually. Participation increased to 965 individuals registered for services at visions at selis manor, including 703 participants registered through the older adult center.based on self-reported surveys, nearly 83% of participants reported greater life satisfaction as a result of participation at visions, while 82% reported making exercise part of their regular routine. Many participants also reported increased optimism, self-confidence, and self-acceptance. Wellness check-in calls continued throughout the year, including during holidays. Food insecurity and social isolation remained key focus areas, addressed through the provision of breakfast, lunch, a food pantry, and expanded opportunities for social connection and engagement.

    $1,847,118 spent$1,664,029 earned by the program
    14% of program spending

The 3 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $13,396,988.

02The organization over time

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.

100 = 20172017 Revenue 100 ($16M) Expenses 100 ($9.1M) Net assets 100 ($97M)2018 Revenue 97 ($15M) Expenses 117 ($11M) Net assets 107 ($104M)2019 Revenue 64 ($9.9M) Expenses 121 ($11M) Net assets 110 ($107M)2020 Revenue 96 ($15M) Expenses 121 ($11M) Net assets 118 ($115M)2021 Revenue 92 ($14M) Expenses 129 ($12M) Net assets 136 ($132M)2022 Revenue 107 ($17M) Expenses 142 ($13M) Net assets 112 ($109M)2023 Revenue 71 ($11M) Expenses 155 ($14M) Net assets 121 ($117M)2024 Revenue 95 ($15M) Expenses 172 ($16M) Net assets 146 ($141M)
'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24
Revenue (95)Expenses (172)Net assets (146)Peer revenue range

Balance sheet

Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2023 to 2024, from $118M to $142M (+20%).

$98M
$104M
$108M
$115M
$132M
$110M
$118M
$142M
'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24
Total assetsTotal liabilities

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.

2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
ContributionsProgram revenueInvestmentOther

Government-grant reliance: 2017 30% · 2018 33% · 2019 50% · 2020 34% · 2021 31%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.

12% of VISIONSSERVICES FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (21% for the typical peer).

This organization
Typical peer · 3,405 orgs

Surplus & reserves

Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 3 of the last 8 reported years ran a deficit.

$6.4M
’17
$4.5M
’18
−$1.1M
’19
$3.9M
’20
$2.6M
’21
$3.7M
’22
−$3.0M
’23
−$912k
’24
1.2
months of
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.

'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24
Listed3029283127293129
Joined·+1+1+3+8+3+4+3
No longer listed·22012125
03Who funds it

Who funds it, year by year

2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 5 funders to 19 funders, grant income rose $52k → $624k.

10 of 58 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 14% 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 VISIONSSERVICES FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 58 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

VISIONSSERVICES FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED leans on a few funders — its largest provides 41% of grant income and the top three 61%; half comes from just 2 funders.

the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left

25% 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 VISIONSSERVICES FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED.

41%
largest funder
61%
top three
~5
effective funders

Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 72% · 2018 43% · 2019 39% · 2020 58% · 2021 44% · 2022 40% · 2023 48% — 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

38% of VISIONSSERVICES FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 50% give in more than one year at all.

first grant+1y+2y+3y+4y+5y+6y

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

78% of VISIONSSERVICES FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED's grant income comes from New York funders.

ID
IL
NY
PA
NJ
CT
CA
MO
FL

In-state vs out-of-state, by year

’17
’18
’19
’20
’21
’22
’23
New York out of state home

Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $613k arriving through sponsors registered in 8 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.

04Its place in the field

Against its field

VISIONSSERVICES FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED's funding base is broadening — from 5 funders to 19 as grant income climbed.

Operating margin−6% · bottom quartile
Months of reserve1.2mo · below the median
Revenue growth (annualized)−1% · bottom quartile

this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 3,289 human services nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2024

Organizations like VISIONSSERVICES FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED

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 New York

Nationally

05Profile & governance

Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.

Where the money goes

83% of spending goes to programs.

Program 83%Management 12%Fundraising 5%

Governance

17
board members
100%
independent
✓Conflict-of-interest policy✓Whistleblower policy✓Document retention✓Board reviewed the 990✓Audited financials

Public support

78%

Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.

Footprint & structure

Files a return copy in 1 state

NY

Screen this organization

A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for VISIONSSERVICES FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED: 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.

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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 VISIONSSERVICES FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED?
VISIONSSERVICES FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED (New York) receives grants from 58 organizations whose IRS filings report $4,286,211 to it, the largest being LAVELLE FUND FOR THE BLIND INC ($1,760,848). 29 of them have funded it in more than one year.
How many funders does VISIONSSERVICES FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED have?
IRS filings report 58 organizations giving $4,286,211 in grants to VISIONSSERVICES FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED, 29 of which have funded it in more than one year.
Who is the largest funder of VISIONSSERVICES FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED?
LAVELLE FUND FOR THE BLIND INC is the largest funder on record, with $1,760,848 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
How can an organization like VISIONSSERVICES FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED find more funders?
Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in New York. 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 Visionsservices for the Blind and Visually Impaired →

These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2017–2024), and the filings of 58 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