Hadley Institute for the Blind and Visually Impaired

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
362183809
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Winnetka, IL, USA
Phone
8474468111
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Specialized Education Institutions

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$5,506,616
Expenses
$9,471,484
Assets
$104,464,242
Liabilities
$671,875

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

Leadership & pay

33 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JULIE S TYE (PRESIDENT)
  • ELIZABETH SAWYER (WOMAN'S BOARD PRESIDENT)
  • JOHNJOE FARRAGHER (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • JULIE S TYE (PRESIDENT): $278,887 total reported compensation
  • BROOKE VOSS (VP & CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFF): $221,761 total reported compensation
  • JOAN JAEGER (CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER): $219,359 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Hadley creates personalized learning opportunities that empower adults with vision loss or blindness to thrive at home, at work and in their communities.

What it reported doing in 2024

Adults adjusting to vision loss due to such common conditions as glaucoma, macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy (as well as a whole host of other eye conditions) turn to hadley for both practical help and social/emotional support. Our practical help comes in the form of short tutorials that address the most common activities of daily living that become more difficult with diminished vision. From pouring coffee to using a smart phone to read the mail, hadley tips and tricks can be immediately applied and build confidence. These 500+ workshops are available on hadleyhelps.org as well as in large print and audio formats sent to members' homes. Our social/emotional support addresses the stark reality that vision loss often brings with it increased levels of isolation, anxiety and depression. Our support staff connect with hadley members on a personal level, understanding what could most help them cope. Through our peer-to-peer program and visual support groups, we connect members to each other and to hadley's expert help as they learn to adapt to life with the disability of diminished sight.

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 100% 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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and the filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 51
  • Accountability: 98
  • Sustainability: 40
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 70.4%; rating input score 70
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2.33 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 96%; rating input score 96; 26th 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: -72%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 11.03; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 17.2%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.5% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.5% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 70.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 24 of 25 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $6.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $279K · 33 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $183K reported
  • Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 9 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 6/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 1/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 15/100.