Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
310538511
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Cincinnati, OH, USA
Phone
5132218558
Rating
88
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Blind/Visually Impaired Centers

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$11,635,008
Expenses
$13,615,316
Assets
$39,870,515
Liabilities
$4,821,577

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

31 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Teri J Shirk (President/CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • Teri J Shirk (President/CEO): $311,664 total reported compensation
  • Monica L Braddock (CFO): $214,870 total reported compensation
  • Kimberly M McNeer (VP Human Resources): $196,657 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Empowering people who are blind or visually impaired with opportunities to seek independence.

What it reported doing in 2024

Cincinnati Association for the Blind & Visually Impaired (CABVI) is a national leader in manufacturing, with a legacy dating back to 1911. Our program proudly operates under the Ability One Program, in line with the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act (JWOD), creating meaningful employment for individuals who are blind or visually impaired. Through partnerships with the Ability One Program, the State of Ohio's State-Use initiative, and the Community Rehabilitation Program, CABVI delivers a wide range of high-quality products. Our principal product lines include rolled paper and tape products, standard and custom signage, kitchen gadgets, door hardware, and the packaging of sticky notes and batteries. In 2024, we added the assembly of Classification Folders to our lineup, an expansion that created 10 new jobs and broadened our product mix. CABVI provided 52,917 hours of work to employees with vision loss, empowering people and setting a standard for what inclusive employment can achieve.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 98% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 35
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 74.3%; rating input score 74
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.68 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -17%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.93; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.12; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10.4%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.3% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.4% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.9% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 74.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 17 of 17 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $10.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $312K · 31 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $150K reported
  • Consistency: 38 of 38 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 filed related-organization links
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 23/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 6/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 19/100.