Washington Council of the Blind

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237297653
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2023
Forms available
Form 990 2023
Location
Yakima, WA, USA
Phone
8002551147
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$145,588
Expenses
$190,460
Assets
$1,594,819
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JULIE BRANNON (PRESIDENT)
  • ANDY ARVIDSON (FIRST VICE PRESIDENT)
  • SHERI RICHARDSON (SECOND VICE PRESIDENT)
  • DENISE COLLEY (IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • JULIE BRANNON (PRESIDENT)
  • ANDY ARVIDSON (FIRST VICE PRESIDENT)
  • SHERI RICHARDSON (SECOND VICE PRESIDENT)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Wcb is a consumer-based membership organization and nonprofit dedicated to promoting opportunity, equality, and independence in the blind community through education, public awareness, and advocacy. Wcb has a diverse volunteer base across the state with local chapters committed to fostering lifestyles that reflect participation, productivity, independence, and dignity.

What it reported doing in 2023

Conferences and conventions: wcb holds an annual state convention where the governance of wcb occurs, membership elects officers and directors, and decides on changes to bylaws and program service agendas. Members also attend the american council of the blind (acb) annual convention, a national conference where state affiliates meet to discuss and vote on the acb program service agenda.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 75% for direct work, and 25% for grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 66
  • Sustainability: 48
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 96.4%; rating input score 96
  • Program expense ratio: 86.6%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.09 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 98.6%; rating input score 99; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 83.3%; rating input score 83; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -30.8%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 8.37; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.6% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -6% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.7% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 96.4% of revenue deployed · 86.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 12 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $165K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 12 people listed
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2012 to 2023
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 22/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 10/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.