Blind Babies Foundation Foundation

What it reported doing in 2013

Blind babies foundation (bbf), currently a program of junior blind (jb), is a leading expert in early childhood vision loss, with more than 65 years of experience in the field. Similarly, for 65 years, blind babies foundation and junior blind have shared the same vision to enable families of infants and preschoolers who are blind or visually impaired to encourage greater independence by intervening early and helping their children maximize their strengths. Bbf and jb have been partners for several years and most recently shared office space when the jb transition and rehab program launched in 2012. Please see schedule o for further information blind babies foundation (bbf), currently a program of junior blind (jb), is a leading expert in early childhood vision loss, with more than 65 years of experience in the field. Similarly, for 65 years, blind babies foundation and junior blind have shared the same vision to enable families of infants and preschoolers who are blind or visually impaired to encourage greater independence by intervening early and helping their children maximize their strengths. Bbf and jb have been partners for several years and most recently shared office space when the jb transition and rehab program launched in 2012. While working together, it became clear a merger would enable the agencies to double the impact of services for families of children with vision loss. Jb would also support administrative and accounting functions through their la office. Therefore, with aligned goals and missions, a plan was developed to merge agencies in july 2014. At bbf, our highly-trained vision impairment specialists (vis) provide family-centered services in the natural environment of the family home, in the child's early childhood program and through accompaniment on important medical visits to encourage the child's optimal development, with careful attention to individual abilities and needs. When a child is born with vision loss or is blind, his developmental needs are far more complex and require highly-specialized intervention services to get a good start in life. These essential early services help to enhance available vision, teach essential blindness skills as necessary, and promote full sensory development of other faculties and skills, often preventing a further decline of visual acuity or total vision loss.as soon as a visual impairment is detected, bbf is called upon to helpfamilies move from crisis to understanding, acceptance andself-sufficiency. Throughout northern and central California bbf's vision impairment specialists train hundreds of families and professionals each year-from head start staff to teachers, health care providers and family members-all of whom address the unique needs of the children and must know how vision loss affects child development in order to tailor interventions to meet their needs. Blind babies foundation also lectures in teacher preparation programs at san francisco state university, santa clara university and local community colleges. Bbf has been known in the field of pediatric ophthalmology as a thoughtful leader and model agency. Under bbf leadership, a ground breaking national registry of early childhood vision loss was developed called babies count, the data of which is utilized by medical and education communities throughout the country. Among the 28 us states currently participating, blind babies foundation is one of the primary providers of data to the registry. Blind babies foundation is also part of a key national group, the international preschool seminarcomprised of 32 representatives of universities, research institutions, direct service agencies and schools for the blind, who meet regularly to collaborate and develop industry best practices. It is through these local, regional, national and international collaborations that blind babies foundation, a program of junior blind, has proudly shaped andcontributed to best practices in the field of early childhood visi

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 76.7%; rating input score 77
• Program expense ratio: 74.9%; rating input score 75
• Fundraising efficiency: $4.92 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 25th percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: Limited
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: Limited
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: -1.4%; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
• Officer compensation ratio: 5.4%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: Limited
• Revenue growth: -13.7% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: -50.6% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings