Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in May 1977.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
84 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
Something off? Claim to add context
Who runs it and what they're paid
22 people listed on the 990; $306K paid to officers and key staff.
Bryan Williams’s $184K as President/CEO is at the 89th percentile of top reported officer pay among 1137 $1–10M animals 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 · 2 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bryan Williams | $184,323 | $178,700 | $175,402 | $158,614 | $174,748 |
| Harvey Potts | $121,418 | $115,806 | $110,935 | $104,798 | $104,179 |
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.
See Dogs for the Deaf INC executive salaries →Questions the 990 asks
The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.
- Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Programs and updates
Trains and places hearing and other assistance dogs with individuals in their homes.
Questions for Dogs for the Deaf INC
Your first name shows with your question. Dogs for the Deaf INC answers here, for everyone.
Incorporated in 1977, dogs for better lives (DBL) is the oldest hearing dog training center in the united states, and among one of the first assistance dog organizations in the world to be fully accredited by assistance dogs international (adi).
DBL'S public education is primarily done through sharing of digital online media and printed materials, including its monthly enewsletter, quarter impact report, quarterly magazine, canine listener, and annual report.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2025 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | FY25 | FY24 | FY23 | FY22 | FY21 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| End of yearLn 1g | $9.1M | $8.5M | $8.8M | $9.3M | $11.7M |
| Given inLn 1b | $175K | $60K | |||
| SpentLn 1d–1f | $492K | $1.3M | $1.6M | $1.3M | $1.0M |
| Line | Start FY25 | End FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $190K | $345K |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $8.6M | $9.2M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $7.4M | $7.1M |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $16.6M | $17.0M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $218K | $399K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $16.4M | $16.6M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $230K | $184K | $23K | $23K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $3.1M | $2.7M | $68K | $310K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $79K | $71K | $1K | $7K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $504K | $436K | $19K | $49K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $277K | $242K | $8K | $28K |
| Management feesLn 11a | $3K | $3K | ||
| Legal feesLn 11b | $72 | $54 | $18 | |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $12K | $6K | $4K | $3K |
| Investment management feesLn 11f | $54K | $54K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $28K | $28K | ||
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $74K | $48K | $27K | |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $39K | $32K | $2K | $5K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $128K | $117K | $2K | $9K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $221K | $187K | $18K | $15K |
| TravelLn 17 | $210K | $204K | $2K | $4K |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $8K | $2K | $6K | |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $340K | $325K | $5K | $10K |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $110K | $99K | $3K | $8K |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $471K | $265K | $3K | $203K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $5.9M | $4.9M | $220K | $701K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest ViewingFiled with the IRS Nov 3, 2025 | $5.5M | $5.9M | −$411K | $16.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024Filed with the IRS Oct 23, 2024 | $4.1M | $5.1M | −$1.0M | $16.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023Filed with the IRS Oct 24, 2023 | $3.0M | $4.1M | −$1.2M | $16.7M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022Filed with the IRS Oct 19, 2022 | $3.3M | $3.7M | −$418K | $17.1M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021Filed with the IRS Oct 25, 2021 | $4.3M | $3.6M | $648K | $19.1M | 990 PDF |
Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2025 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $5,458,979 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 20 of 20 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $5,458,979 across 9 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $5,870,389 across 19 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $17,027,372 assets, 15 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $16,627,903 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2025 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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