East Texas Lighthouse for the Blind

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
751518083
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Tyler, TX, USA
Phone
9035953444
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$10,010,712
Expenses
$7,454,577
Assets
$61,343,271
Liabilities
$4,074,509

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

Leadership & pay

21 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • LEONA HOLLOMAN (PRESIDENT & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • LEONA HOLLOMAN (PRESIDENT & CEO): $304,699 total reported compensation
  • LEE TILLSON (VP SALES & MARKETING): $222,519 total reported compensation
  • HEATH HONZELL (VP OPERATIONS): $222,184 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The purpose of the east Texas lighthouse for the blind shall be the rehabilitation, education, training and employment of people who are blind, visually impaired, and/or otherwise disabled and the furtherance of their interest and welfare through programs designed to provide rehabilitation, training, and employment opportunities, being wholly charitable and benevolent.

What it reported doing in 2024

Rehabilitation services - furthers the mission of the organization through the following sub-programs: east Texas lighthouse for the blind scholarship program, client services, low vision AIDS store. The scholarship committee subsidizes adaptive technology purchases and provides scholarships for post-secondary education for blind and visually impaired persons. Client services provides rehabilitation and training services to blind and visually impaired persons to assist them in becoming more self-sufficient. Low vision AIDS store provides additional employment opportunities for adults who are blind or visually impaired. The store serves the blind community by providing increased access to specialty low-vision AIDS. In 2025, 506 clients were served, 502 future medical professionals were trained through the vision awareness training, 336 eye exams were provided, 317 pairs of glasses were given out, $31,107 worth of scholarships were granted and 91 grants for adaptive equipment worth $23,707 were issued.

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 99% 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.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of total spending goes to programs and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 72
  • Transparency & Controls: 77
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 77
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 50.1%; rating input score 50
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • 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: Limited
  • 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: 25.5%; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 8.23; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 17%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.8% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.1% per year; rating input score 100; 30th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 50.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $3.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $305K · 21 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes grants and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

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

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 50/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 6/100.