The Jewish Guild for the Blind

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
131623854
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
2127696200
Rating
69
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Blind/Visually Impaired Centers
Affiliation
Judaism

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$10,245,886
Expenses
$5,804,758
Assets
$20,055,374
Liabilities
$-27,952,673

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

Leadership & pay

18 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CALVIN W ROBERTS MD (PRESIDENT & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • CALVIN W ROBERTS MD (PRESIDENT & CEO): $1,305,428 total reported compensation
  • PAUL D MISITI (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $554,703 total reported compensation
  • MAURA SWEENEY (CHIEF PROGRAM & SERVICE OFFICER): $512,008 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To provide exceptional services that inspire people who are visually impaired to attain their goals.

What it reported doing in 2024

Vision rehabilitation: approximately 1,200 people received vision rehabilitation services in 2024. Examples included: academic and communication skills training to assess academic potential, use adaptive AIDS, and prepare for tests such as high school equivalency tests and college preparatory exams. Training in adaptive technology to help clients enter or stay in school or the job market, including technologies that enlarge written material, software that reads what is on a computer screen, and other devices that compensate for vision loss. Career services that prepare clients for work, including pre-employment training, resume and interview strategies, job retention services, and presentations for employers on how to fully integrate and accommodate people who are visually impaired. Living skills training to teach clients how to function safely and independently in the home. Orientation and mobility instruction on how to navigate safely in homes and neighborhoods and to travel to school and work. Services for youth to provide exposure to career pathways through work readiness and pre-vocational skill development.

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 96% 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 the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 63
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 93
  • Sustainability: 68
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 67.9%; rating input score 68
  • Program expense ratio: 75.5%; rating input score 75
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • 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: 87.5%; rating input score 88; 20th 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: 43.3%; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.45; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11.8%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -20.9% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -8.4% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -4.3% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 67.9% of revenue deployed · 75.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 8 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $4.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $1.3M · 18 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 36 of 37 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, 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
  • Related organizations: 6 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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 14/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule R controlled transactions itemized did not reconcile in the filed values.