Visionspring
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
TO PROVIDE EYEGLASSES AND VISION SCREENING TO UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS THOUGH GLOBAL PROGRAMS.
- Income
- $12.9 million
- Spending
- $13.4 million
- Spent on programs
- 75%
- Reserves
- 21.3 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 84%
- Employees
- 15
- Volunteers
- 16
- Highest pay
- $354,789, chief executive officer
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Strong: 93 out of 100. Higher than 57% of charities in its peer group (philanthropy, $10m to $100m).
Reserves
35 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 21.3 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 5% of what it owns.
Living within its means
8 of 15Spending exceeded income by 4% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 23% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1575% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 11 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 38% of charities in its peer group (philanthropy, $10m to $100m).
Independent board
25 of 2511 of 12 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (1)
- $10.1 million spent. 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 ASSOCIATED RISKS OF INJURY AND MORTALITY, WE SCREEN THE VISION OF TRUCKERS, BUS DRIVERS AND ALLIED TRANSPORT WORKERS IN MAJOR TRANSIT HUBS WITH CORPORATE SPONSORS AND MINISTRY OF TRANSPORTATION PARTNERS. IN 2024, VISIONSPRING SCREENED 169K DRIVERS AND TRANSPORT WORKERS, BRINGING OUR SEE TO BE SAFE TOTAL TO 861K SINCE 2018. IN NIGERIA AND ZAMBIA WE EXPANDED S2S THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS WITH TRANSPORT COMPANIES, SCREENING 117K DRIVERS AND DISPENSING 32K EYEGLASSES.PHARMACIES: OUR PHARMACY PROGRAM MATURED OUT ITS R&D PHASE, CONTINUING EXPANSION IN GHANA, BANGLADESH, AND NIGERIA WITH KEY ADJUSTMENTS TO FOCUS ON NEAR VISION SCREENING FOR PRESBYOPIA. SPECIFICALLY, WE IMPLEMENTED AN IMPROVED DEMAND GENERATION PILOT WITH A LOCAL MARKETING AGENCY IN KUMASI, GHANA, LEADING TO A TRIPLING OF SALES IN PILOT PHARMACIES (+150 PAIRS PER PHARMACY). WE ALSO PARTNERED WITH PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS TO REACH MORE PHARMACIES AND CONDUCTED A SURVEY TO COLLECT FEEDBACK AND KPI METRICS AROUND SCREENING AND SALES. THROUGH THE PHARMACY PROGRAM WE HELPED 39K PEOPLE SEE CLEARLY THROUGH READING GLASSES, AND MORE THAN DOUBLED OUR FOOTPRINT FROM 297 TO 615 PHARMACIES.INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERSHIPS: THROUGH INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERSHIPS, VISIONSPRING SELLS BULK QUANTITIES OF EYEGLASSES, COUPLED WITH TRAINING AND MARKETING SUPPORT, TO OUR NETWORK OF HOSPITAL, PHARMACY, EYE CARE CENTER, NGO, AND GOVERNMENT PARTNERS. OUR PARTNERS RELY ON VISIONSPRING'S QUALITY PRODUCT, TIMELY DELIVERY, FAVORABLE PAYMENT TERMS, AND SELL-THROUGH SUPPORT TO EXPAND THEIR VISION SERVICES TO LOW-INCOME CUSTOMERS. IN 2024, WE HELPED 1.2M PEOPLE SEE CLEARLY THROUGH OUR INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERSHIPS CHANNEL. OF THE 1.2M, 59% WERE SERVED THROUGH PRIVATE MISSION-ALIGNED INSTITUTIONS SUCH AS HOSPITALS AND 41% WERE SERVED THROUGH GOVERNMENT PARTNERSHIPS. OUR INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERSHIPS TEAM MARKED A SIGNIFICANT ACHIEVEMENT IN 2024 BY INTRODUCING AN INNOVATIVE EYEWEAR COLLECTION IN BANGLADESH, AFRICA AND LATIN AMERICA.TO SUPPORT VISIONSPRING'S GLO
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated November 6, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2024.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since March 2002.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated November 4, 2026.
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