Service and Revenue Data - US For Profit Organizations for the Blind

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Please find service and revenue data for U.S. for-profit organizations serving the blind and visually impaired.

While there is no preexisting information to fully answer your question, we've used the available data to pull together key findings. Organizations that serve the blind or visually impaired are overwhelmingly non-profit by nature. For-profit or commercial entities are primarily focused on selling products to the blind, rather than services.

Below you'll find an outline of our research methodology to better understand why information you've requested is publicly unavailable, as well as a deep dive into our findings. Due to the dearth of relevant results, I was unable to complete your spreadsheet.

METHODOLOGY
In researching this topic, I assumed that by, "serving the blind and visually impaired," you are referring to organizations that offer services, rather than products, to the blind or visually impaired. I began by looking for pre-compiled lists of organizations that serve the blind. Several lists, such as here, here, and here, provided organizations to research. I researched these organizations, cross-referencing them with sites such as Charity Navigator or the Melissa database to confirm their business status, and they were all listed as non-profit, not-for-profit, or 501(3)c organizations.

Then, I searched specifically for commercial entities that provide services to the blind or visually impaired, but all of thee organizations I encountered sell products or technologies, rather than offering services.

I also looked for entities that may provide impact investment dollars to corporations to assist the blind or visually impaired, but I found none. Along these lines, I looked for corporate social responsibility initiatives in search of companies focusing their outreach efforts on this population. While I found a few references, such as this one from Toyota, none of them were significant in terms of providing services to the visually impaired on an annual basis.

FINDINGS
While I was unable to identify any organizations that fit the request criteria, I discovered several companies that are developing products or assistive technologies to assist the blind or visually impaired. These references offer an example of the types of for-profit organizations I encountered through my research.

Flying Blind, LLC, is a small Cleveland-based company that sells used adaptive technologies and partners with and supports other organizations that assist the blind or visually impaired. It has an estimated revenue of $160,000.

• The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is developing a wearable device that senses objects in the path of a visually impaired people, alerting them with a vibration about the location of the object.

Second Sight Medical Products makes retinal implants that transmit images as electrical pulses that the brain interprets as visual images.

• Biotechnology company Sparks Therapeutics is bringing to market a genetic treatment for a rare type of hereditary blindness. It will offer discounts on the $850,000 therapy for patients, based on drug effectiveness.

CONCLUSION
In conclusion, organizations that serve the blind or visually impaired are overwhelmingly non-profit entities, while for-profit organizations are largely focused on developing and selling products or assistive technologies.

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