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Foundation for Vision Research FY2021 filing

Tax-deductible

Grand Rapids, MI501(c)(3)Since 2016Medical ResearchEIN 81-5141432Revenue $637K in FY2021

On file with the IRSfvr.org5030 Cascade Rd Se, 49546-3725 · Grand Rapids, MITax-exempt since Jan 2018Publicly supported charity — 170(b)(1)(A)(vi)

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To fund Research devoted to the Vision sciences including investigation for better understanding of the causes of Vision loss. To conduct Research to further understand Vision loss and develop treatments to address those conditions. To receive and administer funds and assets for charitable, educational and scientific purposes as set forth in section 501(c)(3) of the internal revenue code of 1986, as amended (the "code"), or any corresponding provision of any subsequent federal tax laws, including the making of distributions to organizations that qualify as exempt organizations under code section 501(c)(3). To conduct educational events directed to health care professionals and the public to bring attention to Vision threatening eye diseases and provide information as to potential preventative measures.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
95¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$52K paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · Pay: Part VII

Before you give

FY2021 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
Looks good: listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
Looks good: the IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2025
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2025, 1 tax year back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
6 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $187K a year · 27% of revenue · last 6 filings
Looks good: a surplus in 6 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
95%
of spending
Looks good: 95% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$52K
to officers and key staff · 13% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 13% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
15 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 14.8 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
1
named funder · $10K
Fine: 1 funder names it on their filings; under 3.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$2K
0.3% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 0% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
2
of 6 voting members
Worth a look: 2 of 6 voting members are independent, under half.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$637K
+22% vs prior year
Spent
$404K
To programs
95%
Net assets
$705K
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$637K
FY2021▲ +22%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$522K
FY2021$637K
FY2022$734K
FY2023$652K
FY2024$691K
FY2025$931K
Expenses
$404K
FY2021▲ +24%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$326K
FY2021$404K
FY2022$423K
FY2023$539K
FY2024$609K
FY2025$743K
Net assets
$705K
FY2021▲ +49%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$472K
FY2021$705K
FY2022$1.0M
FY2023$1.1M
FY2024$1.2M
FY2025$1.4M

From the FY2021 Form 990 (year ending October 2021) · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

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You’re viewing the FY2021 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2025) →

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Jan 2018.

IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File

Where the money goes

95 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 95% · $384K Management & general 5% · $20K

Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.

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Who runs it and what they're paid

7 people listed on the 990; $52K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2020); the FY2021 filing did not itemize Part VII
$51,993Pt VII · Sec A
Tim Alles
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Alita Hassan
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Dr Thomas M Aaberg JR’s $90K as President is at the 62nd percentile of top reported officer pay among 328 $100K–1M medical research nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.

Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 3 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021
Dr Thomas M Aaberg JR$89,763$77,448$39,423——
Kathryn E Aaberg$80,354$70,225$60,094——
Barbara N Hart———$54,569$51,993

Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.

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Questions the 990 asks

The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.

  • Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2Yes
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aNo

Programs and updates

Funds research and education to understand and treat vision loss.

Questions for Foundation for Vision Research

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Provided by the organization

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1 program · $384K · in their own filed words · FY2020
01

In furtherence of its exempt purpose the foundation continues vision research to better understand the causes of vision loss and to develop treatments to address those conditions.

$384Kprogram expense

Funders

Who pays for it.

From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.

Grants

Schedule I · funders on record
Grants received · FY2024
Douglas & Maria Devos FoundationFY2024$10K
Total grants receivedfrom 1 funder$10K

By the numbers

The FY2021 990, line by line.

Download 990
from philanthropy.org
1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$637K
Ln 12
Fees for servicesLn 2g$608K
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$28K
Investment incomeLn 3$1K
Money outPt IX
$404K
Ln 25
Programscol B$384K
Managementcol C$20K
Owns and owesPt X
$705K
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$498K
Total assetsLn 16$707K
LiabilitiesLn 26$2K
PeoplePt VI, VII
7
listed · VII A
PaidVII A1
Voting boardVI 1a6
IndependentVI 1b2
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$28K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$608K
Investment incomeLn 3$1K
Total revenueLn 12$637K
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$498K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$498K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$47K
Other assetsLn 15$18K
Total assetsLn 16$707K
LiabilitiesLn 26$2K
Net assetsLn 32$705K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 510
Fiscal year endsHeaderOctober
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13Yes
Records policyVI 14Yes
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY21End FY21
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$306K$498K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$45K$47K
Total assetsLn 16$475K$707K
LiabilitiesLn 26$4K$2K
Net assetsLn 32$472K$705K
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$52K$52K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$169K$169K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$17K$17K
Payroll taxesLn 10$16K$16K
Legal feesLn 11b$10K$10K
Accounting feesLn 11c$7K$7K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$34K$34K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$1K$1K
Office expensesLn 13$11K$11K
OccupancyLn 16$51K$51K
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$8K$8K
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$6K$6K
InsuranceLn 23$20K$18K$2K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$254$254
Total functional expensesLn 25$404K$384K$20K$0

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest $931K$743K$188K$1.4M 990 PDF
FY2024 $691K$609K$82K$1.2M 990 PDF
FY2023 $652K$539K$113K$1.1M 990 PDF
FY2022 $734K$423K$312K$1.0M 990 PDF
FY2021 Viewing $637K$404K$233K$705K 990 PDF
FY2020 $522K$326K$195K$472K 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
See the full FY2021 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $637,216 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $11,758$27,977
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $469,658$608,218
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $1,197$1,021
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $38,900$0
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $521,513$637,216
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paid$0
I-14 Benefits paid to members$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $211,998$254,641
I-16a Professional fundraising fees$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $114,402$149,261
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $326,400$403,902
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year $195,113$233,314
Part VI · Governance 2 of 6 board members independent, 2 to look at
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body6
VI-1b Independent voting members2
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsYes
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payNo
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyYes
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyYes
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $637,216 across 5 lines filed
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$27,977
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$27,977
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $608,218$608,218
VIII-3 Investment incomeRelated to mission $1,021$1,021
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $609,239$637,216
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $403,902 across 14 lines filed
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $51,993$51,993
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $169,197$169,197
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $16,994$16,994
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $16,457$16,457
IX-11b Legal feesManagement $10,297$10,297
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $7,250$7,250
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $33,867$33,867
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $1,327$1,327
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $10,755$10,755
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $50,886$50,886
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $8,034$8,034
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $6,210$6,210
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $18,343 · Management $2,038$20,381
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Management $254$254
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $384,063 · Management $19,839 · Fundraising $0$403,902
Part X · Balance sheet $707,100 assets, 10 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $305,648$498,161
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $105,810$143,442
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $45,369$47,066
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $18,431$18,431
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $475,258$707,100
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $3,539$2,067
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $3,539$2,067
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $471,719$705,033
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $471,719$705,033
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $475,258$707,100
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $705,033 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$637,216
XI-2 Total expenses$403,902
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$233,314
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$471,719
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$705,033

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2021 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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