BBB Wise Giving Report for
Prevent Blindness America

BBB Wise Giving Report issued August 2011
BBB Wise Giving Report expires August 2013


Does not meet one or more standards
This charity does not meet one or more of the 20 standards for Charity Accountability. Find out more...


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Charity Contact Information

Name: Prevent Blindness America
Address: 211 West Wacker Drive, Suite 1700
  Chicago, IL 60606
Phone: 800-331-2020
312-363-6001
Web Address: www.preventblindness.org
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BBB Wise Giving Alliance Comments

Year, State Incorporated: 1908, New York
Affiliates: 27 chapters

Stated Purpose: "to prevent blindness and preserve sight, providing a continuum of vision care."

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Evaluation Conclusions

              

Prevent Blindness America (PBA) does not meet the following 2 Standards for Charity Accountability.

Standard 16: Annual Report - Have an annual report available to all, on request, that includes: (a) the organization's mission statement, (b) a summary of the past year's program service accomplishments, (c) a roster of the officers and members of the board of directors, (d) financial information that includes (i) total income in the past fiscal year, (ii) expenses in the same program, fund raising and administrative categories as in the financial statements, and (iii) ending net assets.

PBA does not meet this standard because the fiscal year 2010 annual report did not include:

  • Total income.

Standard 19: Cause Related Marketing - Clearly disclose how the charity benefits from the sale of products or services (i.e., cause-related marketing) that state or imply that a charity will benefit from a consumer sale or transaction. Such promotions should disclose, at the point of solicitation: (a) the actual or anticipated portion of the purchase price that will benefit the charity (e.g., 5 cents will be contributed to abc charity for every xyz company product sold), (b) the duration of the campaign (e.g., the month of October), (c) any maximum or guaranteed minimum contribution amount (e.g., up to a maximum of $200,000).

PBA does not meet this Standard because:

  • In the past year, the organization participated in promotions for the sale of consumer goods that indicate the organization will benefit from these purchases, however the promotions did not specify the actual or anticipated amount of the purchase price that will benefit the organization.
Prevent Blindness America (PBA) meets the remaining 18 Standards for Charity Accountability.
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Programs

              

PBA sponsors and promotes screenings for the early detection of signs of eye trouble among preschool and school age children and adults. The organization informs the general public about the basic facts of eye care, health and safety through television, radio, newspapers, magazines and films, distribution of publications and through responses to telephone and written requests from the public. PBA also provides information on developments in vision and eye care to doctors, nurses, scientists, teachers, social workers and others in the field of blindness prevention. The organization annually awards grants to graduate students and post-doctoral fellows researching eye care issues.

For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2010, PBA's program expenses were:

  
Community services 4,591,045
Public health education 4,212,452
Professional education and training 2,056,402
Research 713,937
Total Program Expenses: $11,573,836
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Governance

              

Chief Executive : Hugh Parry, President & CEO
Compensation*:
$285,193

Chair of the Board: Jim Anderson
Chair's Profession / Business Affiliation: Partner, Howe, Anderson, and Steyer

Board Size: 27

Paid Staff Size: 176

*April 1, 2009 - March 31, 2010 compensation includes annual salary and, if applicable, benefit plans, expense accounts, and other allowances.
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Fund Raising

              

Method(s) Used:

Direct mail, special events, grant proposals, Internet appeals, planned giving, and cause-related marketing.
Fund raising costs were 12% of related contributions. (Related contributions, which totaled $11,222,029, are donations received as a result of fund raising activities.)
PBA incurred joint costs of $230,199 for informational materials and activities that included fund raising materials. Of those costs, $177,156 was allocated to fund raising expenses and $53,043 was allocated to program expenses.
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Tax Status

              

This organization is tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. It is eligible to receive contributions deductible as charitable donations for federal income tax purposes.
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Financial

              

The following information is based on PBA's audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2010.

Source of Funds  
Contributions 6,122,508
Investment income 5,611,440
Fees and grants from government agencies 2,411,708
Special events (net) 1,450,883
Legacies and income from trusts held by others 1,089,258
Miscellaneous 370,220
Program service revenue 311,222
Combined service campaigns 147,672
Total Income $17,514,911


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Uses of Funds as a % of Total Expenses

Programs: 78%  Fund Raising: 9%  Administrative: 13% 

Total income   $17,514,911
  Program expenses $11,573,836
  Fund raising expenses 1,356,991
  Administrative expenses 1,873,981
 
Total expenses   $14,804,808
Income in Excess of Expenses   2,710,103
Beginning net assets   29,959,213
Ending net assets   32,669,316
Total liabilities   2,562,745
Total assets   $35,232,061


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An organization may change its practices at any time without notice. A copy of this report has been shared with the organization prior to publication. It is not intended to recommend or deprecate, and is furnished solely to assist you in exercising your own judgment. If the report is about a charity and states the charity meets or does not meet the BBB Standards for Charity Accountability, it reflects the results of an evaluation of information and materials provided voluntarily by the charity. The name Better Business Bureau is a registered service mark of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc.

This report is not to be used for fund raising or promotional purposes.

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