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Foundation for Vision Research FY2023 filing

Tax-deductible

Grand Rapids, MI501(c)(3)Since 2016Medical Research EIN 81-5141432Revenue $652K in FY2023

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.
97¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$100K paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · Pay: Part VII

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FY2023 · 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
97%
of spending
Looks good: 97% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$100K
to officers and key staff · 18% of spending
Fine: pay to officers and key staff is 18% of spending; 15% to 20%.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
21 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 20.6 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
0.2% 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
$652K
-11% vs prior year
Spent
$539K
To programs
97%
Net assets
$1.1M
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$652K
FY2023▼ -11%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$522K
FY2021$637K
FY2022$734K
FY2023$652K
FY2024$691K
FY2025$931K
Expenses
$539K
FY2023▲ +28%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$326K
FY2021$404K
FY2022$423K
FY2023$539K
FY2024$609K
FY2025$743K
Net assets
$1.1M
FY2023▲ +11%
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 FY2023 Form 990 (year ending October 2023) · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

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You’re viewing the FY2023 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

97 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 97% · $525K Management & general 3% · $14K

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; $100K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2022); the FY2023 filing did not itemize Part VII
Kathryn E Aaberg
Executive Di
$60,094Pt VII · Sec A
$39,423Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Timothy R Alles
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Alita Hassan
Board Member
$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.

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Provided by the organization

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1 program · $525K · in their own filed words · FY2022
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.

$525Kprogram 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 FY2023 990, line by line.

Download 990
from philanthropy.org
1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$652K
Ln 12
Fees for servicesLn 2g$634K
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$17K
Investment incomeLn 3$2K
Money outPt IX
$539K
Ln 25
Programscol B$525K
Managementcol C$14K
Owns and owesPt X
$1.1M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$925K
Total assetsLn 16$1.1M
LiabilitiesLn 26$2K
PeoplePt VI, VII
7
listed · VII A
PaidVII A2
Voting boardVI 1a6
IndependentVI 1b2
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$17K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$634K
Investment incomeLn 3$2K
Total revenueLn 12$652K
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$925K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$925K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$50K
Other assetsLn 15$18K
Total assetsLn 16$1.1M
LiabilitiesLn 26$2K
Net assetsLn 32$1.1M
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 FY23End FY23
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$827K$925K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$41K$50K
Total assetsLn 16$1.0M$1.1M
LiabilitiesLn 26$2K$2K
Net assetsLn 32$1.0M$1.1M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$100K$100K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$252K$252K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$27K$27K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$27K$27K
Payroll taxesLn 10$27K$27K
Management feesLn 11a$1K$1K
Legal feesLn 11b$4K$4K
Accounting feesLn 11c$9K$9K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$14K$14K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$2K$2K
Office expensesLn 13$8K$8K
Information technologyLn 14$586$586
OccupancyLn 16$50K$50K
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$6K$6K
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$7K$7K
InsuranceLn 23$3K$3K
Total functional expensesLn 25$539K$525K$14K$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 Viewing $652K$539K$113K$1.1M 990 PDF
FY2022 $734K$423K$312K$1.0M 990 PDF
FY2021 $637K$404K$233K$705K 990 PDF
FY2020 $522K$326K$195K$472K 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons I · Grants A · Public support O · Explanations
See the full FY2023 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $652,332 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $11,556$16,725
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $721,531$633,926
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $1,316$1,681
I-11 Other revenue$0
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $734,403$652,332
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paid$0
I-14 Benefits paid to members$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $320,201$432,756
I-16a Professional fundraising fees$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $102,663$106,541
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $422,864$539,297
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year $311,539$113,035
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 $652,332 across 5 lines filed
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$16,725
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$16,725
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $633,926$633,926
VIII-3 Investment incomeRelated to mission $1,681$1,681
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $635,607$652,332
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $539,297 across 16 lines filed
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $99,517$99,517
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $252,187$252,187
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $26,981$26,981
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $27,108$27,108
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $26,963$26,963
IX-11a Management feesManagement $1,450$1,450
IX-11b Legal feesManagement $3,789$3,789
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $9,202$9,202
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $14,073$14,073
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $1,859$1,859
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $8,307$8,307
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $586$586
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $50,463$50,463
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $6,157$6,157
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $7,237$7,237
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $3,418$3,418
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $524,856 · Management $14,441 · Fundraising $0$539,297
Part X · Balance sheet $1,131,411 assets, 10 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $826,937$924,735
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $133,012$138,250
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $40,658$49,995
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $18,431$18,431
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $1,019,038$1,131,411
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $2,466$1,804
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $2,466$1,804
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $1,016,572$1,129,607
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $1,016,572$1,129,607
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $1,019,038$1,131,411
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $1,129,607 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$652,332
XI-2 Total expenses$539,297
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$113,035
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$1,016,572
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$1,129,607

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2023 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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