Visionspring Inc

What it reported doing in 2024

Visionspring works to increase lifelong earning, learning, safety, and well-being through eyeglasses for people vulnerable to poverty. In 2024, we screened more than 2.6m people and corrected the vision of nearly 2.13m, people - farmers, weavers, factory workers, drivers, and students - gained the clear vision they need to see well and do well. This year also marked our total distribution of eyeglasses to 14.1m people and has unlocked an estimated $3b in income-earning potential for households living on less than $4 per day since the organization's founding in 2001.in 2024, visionspring continued its focus on optical services and eyeglasses sales, growing at a rate of 13% year-on-year. Our target customers were reached in over 20 countries, including our largest markets in india, bangladesh, and sub-saharan africa. Visionspring's program activities are implemented through two models, vision access programs, and institutional partnerships.vision access programs: our vision access programs advance our impact along three themes: see to earn, see to learn, and see to be safe. In 2024, through our vision access programs, we screened the vision of 1.5 million people in workplaces, factories, schools, transportation hubs, and rural and informal settlements. We helped 546k individuals see clearly through a combination of near vision spectacles (reading glasses) and prescription glasses. Of those who got glasses, 95% were adults, 5% were children. 79% received their first-ever pair.see to earn: we partner with private foundations, governments, and corporate social responsibility offices of major businesses to bring free vision screening and low-cost glasses to adults engaged in the informal and agricultural economies. We deepened the market penetration of our longest running program which shifts the task of correcting blurry near vision to community providers. Reading glasses for improved livelihoods (rgil) expanded with health entrepreneurs in zambia, served new districts with community health workers in uganda, and extended into a nationwide network of microfinance clients in bangladesh. Globally in 2024, we screened the vision of 1.15m people and dispensed glasses to 359k people through rgil, representing 30% of total eyeglasses delivered through all of our models. Additionally, our clear vision workplaces (cvw) program, powered by an alliance of leading brands, dramatically increases eyeglasses coverage rates among workers who produce textiles, garments, and home goods.livelihoods in focus (lif) is our strategic initiative to dramatically increase eyeglasses coverage rates - and associated productivity and income - in communities engaged in vision-intensive agriculture and artisan craft. Last year, livelihoods in focus (lif) expanded significantly thanks in part to the deployment of more than $1 million of the mackenzie scott gift we received in 2022 to improve vision care access to agricultural workers and artisans in strategic markets. We hired our first direct implementation team in ghana and onboarded new partners in ghana, india, kenya, and uganda. In total, we brought livelihoods into focus for 234k people through lif.see to learn: eyeglasses increase a student's ability to succeed in school, boosting learning outcomes equivalent to an additional half year of schooling on average. In 2024, we continued the focus on see to learn program in india and screened the vision of 489k school children and dispensed 42k pairs of eyeglasses.see to be safe: un sustainable development goal 3.6 seeks to halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents by 2030. Yet even though 60% of traffic accidents can be attributed to poor sight, vision acuity is not a part of global interventions to make roads safer. We are working to change that through see to be safe (s2s).equipping drivers with eyeglasses enables them to see more clearly, thereby minimizing road hazards. To lower the incidence of vehicle accidents and the as

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 86.2%; rating input score 86
• Program expense ratio: 75%; rating input score 75
• Fundraising efficiency: $8.7 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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: 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; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 24th 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: -4%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.15; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 12.4%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 15.6% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 15.6% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 22.5% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings