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Please find service and revenue data for U.S. non-profit organizations serving the blind and visually impaired
Service and revenue data on 20 non-profit organizations based in the US that serve the blind and visually impaired are included. The 20 non-profit organizations include: American Foundation for the Blind, American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults, American Printing House for the Blind, Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired, The Blinded Veterans Association, Braille Institute, The Carroll Center for the Blind, The Edith Bishel Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Hadley Institute for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Helen Keller International, JBI International, Lighthouse International, Lowell Association for the Blind, National Braille Association, Orbis International, Foundation Fighting Blindness, Perkins School for the Blind, Prevent Blindness, and New Eyes and Learning Ally.
The organizations
1. American Foundation for the Blind (revenue: $10,506,000) — "The mission of this foundation is to create a world of no limits for people who are blind or visually impaired. Their programs and services are designed to help improve the lives of people affected by vision loss. We provide resources and support directly to individuals with vision loss and their family, as well as to businesses, employers and professionals who provide services to blind and visually impaired people."
What they offer:
Family of Websites — "AFB offers informative, fully accessible websites for a variety of audiences—from parents of children with visual impairments, to job seekers, to seniors adjusting to vision loss."
Center on Vision Loss — "Through this center, AFB helps people with vision loss find the resources, help, and support needed to continue living a healthy, independent life."
Professional Development — "This program serves as a hub of information and resources for professionals who work with people with vision loss."
Public Policy Center — "This center serves for advocating and works to influence policy related to the rights of individuals with vision loss."
Technology Evaluation — "AFB Tech serves as a source for objective, comprehensive accessibility evaluations of mainstream and specialized products."
2. American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults (revenue: $3,850,698) — "AAF is a service agency that specializes in providing to blind people help that is not readily available to them from government programs or other existing service systems. It operates through countless volunteers across the nation, overseen by a volunteer board and a full-time executive director. Dr. Marc Maurer currently serves in this position."
The American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults has its headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland, and offices in Tarzana, California, and volunteer workers throughout the country. "The Tarzana office houses free lending library of Braille and Twin Vision (print/Braille) picture books for blind children, while the Baltimore office manages Free Braille Book program. Books are sent postage free to borrowers in the United States. The Action Fund also distributes free Braille calendars to blind and deaf-blind people on a nationwide basis."
3. American Printing House for the Blind (revenue: $22,411,589) — "APH was founded in 1985 and is the world’s largest nonprofit organization creating educational, workplace, and independent living products and services for people who are blind and visually impaired."
"Products and services created and offered by APH further the independence of people of all ages who are blind and visually impaired. These include accessible books and magazines in braille, large print, recorded, and computer file formats, educational product, independent living products and production of custom accessible media, such as braille menus."
4. Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (revenue: $992,654) — "The Mission of AER is to serve and empower professionals to deliver standards-based practices that lead to improved educational and rehabilitative outcomes for individuals with visual impairment and blindness. AER develops and promotes professional excellence through support of those who provide services to people with visual impairments by providing: Professional Support, Division memberships, Publications, Professional Development, Awards and Advocacy."
5. The Blinded Veterans Association (revenue: $2,537,017) — "This association's mission is to operate as a not-for-profit corporation exclusively for charitable, educational, patriotic, and civic improvement purposes; to promote the welfare of blinded veterans so that, notwithstanding their disabilities, they may take their rightful place in the community. All BVA Programs and Services are available to any blinded veteran in need, regardless of how or when they lost their sight, or whether they are a BVA member." The programs and provided by BVA include the Field Service Program, which helps blind veterans navigate the VA claims system, the Public Education Program, BVA raises awareness of the blindness issues and educates the public on what to do when they encounter a blind person, the Advocacy Program has a major impact on VA policies for blinded veterans.
In addition, Blind Hockey, is a BVA program that offers free blind hockey lessons to veterans with vision loss and there is the scholarship program, in which BVA gives scholarships to spouses, dependent children, or grandchildren of blinded veterans. They also have volunteer service program, operation peer support, BVA bulletin, BVA media and Veterans Care Review Partnership.
6. Braille Institute (revenue: $30,513,723) — "The Braille Institute offers a broad range of free programs, classes and services serving thousands of students of all ages to empower themselves to live more enriching lives with blindness and vision loss. It serves the community from six centers and 220 community outreach locations throughout Southern California, and lead popular national programs like Braille Challenge and Cane Quest."
7. The Carroll Center for the Blind (revenue: $6,416,848) — "The Carroll Center was established in 1936 and offers many innovative services for the blind and visually impaired. The center has also developed many methods for people with low vision to learn the skills to be independent in their homes, in class settings, and in their work places."
8. Edith Bishel Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired (revenue: $225,418) — "The Edith Bishel Center provides assistance and services to people with vision loss and blindness, including: Optometric Low Vision Examinations, Independent Living and Low Vision Aids, Low Vision skills training and education, Social activities and support groups, Information about other vision-related resources and benefits and Reading and Writing Assistance Program. All of these services are offered in six southeastern Washington counties: Benton, Franklin, Walla, Columbia, Yakima, and Klickitat."
9. Hadley Institute for the Blind and Visually Impaired (revenue: $6,853,126) — "Hadley offers courses free of charge to its blind and visually impaired students and their families, and affordable tuition to blindness professionals. This institute is the largest provider of distance education for people who are blind or visually impaired around the world, serving more than 10,000 students annually in all 50 states and in 100 countries. Also, the institute is the largest educator of braille worldwide."
10. Helen Keller International (revenue: $69,215,219) — "Helen Keller International saves and improves the sight and lives of the world’s vulnerable by combating the causes and consequences of blindness, poor health and malnutrition. To accomplish this, it builds the capacity of local government, non-profit and private sector systems and infrastructure, and promote the development of sustained, large scale programs that deliver effective solutions to preventable blindness and malnutrition."
11. JBI International (revenue: $5,967,858) — "The JBI Library provides individuals who are blind, visually impaired, physically handicapped or reading disabled with books, magazines and special publications of Jewish and general interest in Audio, Large Print and Braille formats. The unique services provided by JBI, all of which are free of charge, enable over 35,000 children, adults and seniors to participate fully in the life of their communities."
12. Lighthouse International (revenue: $69,600,427) —"Lighthouse International’s services and programs include: Low Vision Center, Vision Rehabilitation, Assistive Technology Training Orientation and Mobility Training, Occupation Therapy, Early Intervention, Youth Services, Social Services, Career Services and Print Access Center."
13. Lowell Association for the Blind (revenue: $23,422,814) — "The Lowell Association for the Blind offers programs and services, which are designed to serve a vast array of interests, age groups, and everyday needs. List of the services that Lowell Association offer: adult services program (offers services such as Women helping Women, Braille Instruction, Radio Reading Service, Technology Assistance), youth service program (offers Youth Program, Senior Youth Program, Visually Impaired Partners Program and Kids in Direct Service Volunteer Program)"
14. National Braille Association (revenue: $1,658,626) — "The National Braille Association, founded in 1945, is an international organization dedicated to providing continuing education to those who prepare braille, and to providing braille materials to persons who are visually impaired. This organization has no local units or chapters. All members join as individuals. Many of them work through philanthropic, religious or service groups in their own communities or are professionals in related fields. All serve NBA in a volunteer capacity, including those on the Board of Directors."
15. Orbis International (revenue: $164,865,737) — "Training is the main pillar at Orbis International, through which, with the help of world-leading expert volunteers, Orbis provides training to all types of healthcare workers — from doctors and nurses in regional hospitals to district leaders and teachers in remote areas."
16. Foundation Fighting Blindness (revenue: $71,952,870) — "The Foundation Fighting Blindness is the world’s leading private founder of retinal disease research. That funding has been a driving force behind the progress toward cures, including the identification of more than 250 genes linked to retinal disease, and the launch of 20 clinical trials for potential treatments. On an annual basis, the Foundation Fighting Blindness and the Foundation’s Clinical Research Institute fund more than 100 research grants. The research projects are conducted by more than 150 research investigators at institutions, eye hospitals, and universities in the United States, Australia, England, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Italy, Israel, and Mexico."
17. Perkins School for the Blind (revenue: $55,709,646) — "Perkins consists of five distinct lines of business that collaborate on local, national and global levels that work together every day to change what it means to be blind. They offer different services and programs such as: Perkins School for the Blind, Perkins International, Perkins Solutions, Perkins eLearning and Perkins Library."
18. Prevent Blindness (revenue: $8,483,116) — "Prevent Blindness was founded in 1908 and it is the nation's leading volunteer eye health and safety organization dedicated to fighting blindness and saving sight. Today, Prevent Blindness with its annual Focus on Eye Health National Summit has become a key venue to elevate the national dialogue around vision and significant public health issues such as surveillance, access, prevention messaging, service integration, and program development and replication. It’s also been a strong springboard to release important new public health information, including prevalence data with Vision Problems in The U.S., economic information with Cost of Vision Problems, and forecasting data on the potential future prevalence and costs with The Future of Vision."
19. New Eyes (revenue: $822,499) — "New Eyes for the needy is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1932 to improve the vision of the poor. New Eyes for the needy purchases new prescription eyeglasses through a voucher program for children and adults in the United States who cannot afford glasses on their own. The organization accepts, recycles and distributes donated glasses for poor people overseas."
20. Learning Ally (revenue: $18,067,130) — "Learning Ally through innovative programs, technology and solutions dramatically improve outcomes for students with print-related disabilities like blindness, visual impairment, dyslexia and other learning differences. The mission of this organization is to promote personal achievement when access and reading are barriers to learning by advancing the use of accessible and effective educational solutions."