Wills Eye Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
593794523
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Philadelphia, PA, USA
Phone
2159283320
Rating
65
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Single Organization Support

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,336,489
Expenses
$1,952,139
Assets
$10,978,017
Liabilities
$653,722

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DR JULIA HALLER (PRESIDENT & DIRECTOR)
  • JOSEPH P BILSON (VICE PRESIDENT & DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • DR JULIA HALLER (PRESIDENT & DIRECTOR): $1,307,116 total reported compensation
  • JOSEPH P BILSON (VICE PRESIDENT & DIRECTOR): $441,293 total reported compensation
  • MICHAEL ALLEN (SECRETARY): $370,992 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The foundation was created to raise funds in support of the mission of the wills eye entities which include wills eye hospital, ambulatory surgical centers, and an ophthalmology clinic.

What it reported doing in 2024

Provide support to various charitable, educational, and scientific organizations specified in the corporation's articles. Areas of activity includes clinical research, educational training and fellowship operational support.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 95% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 71
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 37
  • Sustainability: 67
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 68.5%; rating input score 69
  • Program expense ratio: 79.9%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: $16.23 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • 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: 0%; rating input score 0; 3rd 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: Fail
    • 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: 16.4%; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.62; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 40.3%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 19.6% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.8% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 14.6% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 68.5% of revenue deployed · 79.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 2 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $1.3M · 8 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 14 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 — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 53/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: CEO compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 2/100.