Heritage for the Blind

Legal name: Heritage for the Blind Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
582164446
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Brooklyn, NY, United States
Phone
1-800-236-6283
Rating
66
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Judaism
Affiliation
Judaism

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$396,073
Expenses
$951,771
Assets
$189,569
Liabilities
$2,307,460

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

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ISRAEL BILUS (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • SHRAGE TOIV (DIRECTOR): $118,300 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Heritage for the Blind’s mission is multi-faceted. It includes the preservation of vision, through the promotion of eye health awareness as well as materials for the visually impaired. We help individuals in need improve their health and economic security. Did you know that many visually impaired individuals & adults over 55 may be able to get help with prescription drugs, health care, utilities, and other basic needs? Our free nonprofit tool helps you learn about programs you may want to look into. Heritage for the Blind is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Our free tool helps you **discover** programs you may want to explore — we do not provide or administer government benefits, and applications are made directly with each program.

What it reported doing in 2024

The organization encourages people to donate cars in an effort to accelerate the retirement of older high polluting vehicles and promote a shift to new cleaner and more efficient alternatives. The organization maintains a website where users can learn about the benefits of a cleaner environment as well as a myriad amount of eye health information and available federal state and city benefits to those in need.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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.

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: 77
  • Transparency & Controls: 53
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 7
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 60.1%; rating input score 60
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1.92 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -140.3%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.2; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 12.17; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.4%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -7% per year; rating input score 0; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -8.2% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -8.9% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: Mission, programs, and operating context captured from the official website.
  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 60.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $572K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $118K · 3 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes foreign activity
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 9/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 1/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 11/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 27/100.