VisionLink
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 231370508
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Phone
- 4454652800
- Rating
- 65
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Blind/Visually Impaired Centers
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $2,155,817
- Expenses
- $2,587,681
- Assets
- $6,770,839
- Liabilities
- $1,116,125
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
11 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Karla S McCaney (President & CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- Karla S McCaney (President & CEO): $265,623 total reported compensation
- Alyssa Richman (Chief Administrative and F): $168,586 total reported compensation
- Beth Deering (Chief Programming Officer): $146,818 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Our MissionIs dedicated to assisting all who are living with vision loss to achieve greater independence through excellence in education and wrap-around support services that advance necessary skills and establish meaningful community connections. The organization is committed to collaborating with local, regional, and national partners to broaden access to resources and opportunities that enable those we serve to live their lives to the fullest.Our Vision Seeks to inspire all who are living with vision loss to thrive.
What it reported doing in 2024
VisionLink provides education, skills training, community resource navigation, and community-based engagement opportunities for individuals with vision loss, as well as their families, caregivers, and the broader community. Services include instruction in vision rehabilitation, orientation and mobility, and assistive technology, supporting independent living through skills such as home management, communication, technology use, and safe navigation. Programs are delivered in person at VisionLink's site, in community-based settings, and remotely.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 70% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 97% 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of total spending goes to programs and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 58
- Transparency & Controls: 72
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 31
- Growth: 0
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 67.5%; rating input score 68
- Program expense ratio: 54.2%; rating input score 54
- Fundraising efficiency: $5.49 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
- Compensation committee: Missing
- 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: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -20%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.62; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.16; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 22.5%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -8% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -6.2% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -3.9% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 67.5% of revenue deployed · 54.2% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.4M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $266K · 11 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 29 of 30 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
- 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.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 54/100.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 19/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 7/100.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 10/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 48/100.