Himalayan Cataract Project Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
030362926
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Norwich, VT, USA
Phone
8025227630
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
International Development

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$39,631,386
Expenses
$38,885,105
Assets
$40,962,507
Liabilities
$4,672,651

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

22 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KATHERINE OVERBEY (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)
  • JACKTON DOWNARD (VICE PRESIDENT, FINANCE)
  • MICHELLE VERNICK (VICE PRESIDENT, GLOBAL TALENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • KATHERINE OVERBEY (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $379,795 total reported compensation
  • EMILY R NEWICK (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $263,549 total reported compensation
  • JEFF WALLACE (CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER): $243,353 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

We enable countries to cure avoidable blindness by developing high quality, cost-effective eye care in underserved areas of the world.

What it reported doing in 2025

Ethiopia: cure blindness project supports over 28 partners in ethiopia with capacity building for ophthalmologists, residents and allied ophthalmic personnel, support for patient care administering more than 39,0000 cataract surgeries and over 3,100 other eye surgeries, provision of equipment, surgical instruments and consumables to provide patient care and investment in primary eye care to ensure prevention and early intervention of blindness. Additionally, cure blindness project continues to plan for, create, construct, and operationalize a fully independent specialty eye care clinic in ethiopia.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 96% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 81% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • 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. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 90
  • Transparency & Controls: 72
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 37
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 99.1%; rating input score 99
  • Program expense ratio: 85.2%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: $24.17 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • 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: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Pass
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 1.9%; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.05; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.11; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.5%; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 14.4% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 14.5% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 13% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 99.1% of revenue deployed · 85.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 7 filed program accomplishments · $33.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $380K · 22 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $448K reported
  • Consistency: 39 of 40 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 17 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 5 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.
  • 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: 6 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 32/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 31/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 46/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.