irs program accomplishments · form 990 part iii · fy2024
What they reported doing
- #1 primary $413KSUSTAINABLE FINANCEINFLUENCING AND INCREASING NEW FINANCING WITHIN THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTORS.
- #2 $121KCATALYTIC PARTNERSHIPSGROWING THE ECOSYSTEM OF CHAMPIONS THAT JOIN IN THE SOLUTION AND ACCELERATE GLOBAL SCALE.
named programs · 5 · from sources
What they call their work
EYElliance Insights & Data Portal
Centralized source of market intelligence, data, and policy analysis to guide national planning and attract investment in the eyeglasses sector.
First Grade, First Glasses
Blueprint for institutionalizing school-based eyeglass provision in national education systems to ensure children can see and learn.
Frontline Vision
Roadmap for integrating reading glasses delivery into public community health systems via community health workers in underserved areas.
Optical Enterprise Growth Hub
Global platform providing optical entrepreneurs with playbooks, coaching, ERP tools, and investment preparation to scale affordable eyeglass businesses in low- and middle-income markets.
Pan-African Innovation Challenge
Annual competition offering up to $100,000 in catalytic capital and Hub membership to high-potential optical enterprises across Africa.
activities · 5 groups
What they do
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Comprehensive Eye Care Access 4 activities
- Advocate for inclusion of eyeglasses in national and global health agendasAdvocated for and achieved inclusion of reading glasses in Uganda's national community health worker package and influenced UNESCO, The World Bank, and the Global Partnership for Education to prioritize school-based vision services. Mainstreamed delivery at WHO and secured front-page New York Times coverage that elevated US government attention and USAID funding.
- Implement school-based vision screening and eyeglass delivery programsAdvances the First Grade, First Glasses initiative and School Eye Health program to institutionalize on-site vision screening by teachers or nurses, professional eye exams, and free eyeglass provision for children within national public education systems. Co-pilots programs with Uganda’s Ministry of Health to generate evidence for national scale-up.
- Integrate reading glasses into government community health worker programsWorks with Ministry of Health teams in Liberia, Uganda, and Côte d’Ivoire to integrate vision screenings, reading glasses provision, and referrals into government-led community health worker programs. Trained supervising health agents and community health workers to conduct screenings and distribute reading glasses, contributing to national essential packages for non-communicable diseases.
- Strengthen global assistive technology partnerships and narrativesAdvised the Global Partnership for Assistive Technology on its eyeglasses product narrative to shape funding priorities and built catalytic partnerships to grow an ecosystem of champions advancing global scale in eyeglass access.
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Startup Acceleration & Business Growth Support 1 activity
- Build capacity of optical entrepreneurs and health systemsOperates the Optical Enterprise Growth Hub and delivers tools such as the Optical Business Basics Playbook to support low-cost optical enterprises with operational guidance, mentoring, blended finance access, and de-risked market entry. Provides one-year memberships with coaching and investment preparation to high-potential enterprises.
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Vision Research Funding 1 activity
- Fund and support replication of eyeglass access blueprints via partnersFunds and supports implementation of the First Grade, First Glasses blueprint through partners like Clinton Health Access Initiative to enable government replication. Awards catalytic grants (e.g., $10,000 to SH Sun Heng Optics) and provides access to subordinated debt up to $50,000 to pilot innovations and scale optical enterprises.
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Industry Research and Benchmarking 1 activity
- Generate and disseminate data for policy and investment decisionsOperates the EYElliance Insights & Data Portal to provide market intelligence, costing data, field insights, and policy analysis for national planning. Contributed to World Bank and 'Value of Vision' reports with comparative costing and disability-inclusion research to inform global funding priorities.
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Youth and Student Entrepreneurship Competitions 1 activity
- Host innovation challenges to accelerate optical enterprisesHosts the Pan-African Innovation Challenge to identify high-potential optical enterprises and provide them with catalytic capital and structured support to scale operations and open new retail outlets.
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financials · form 990 · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$626K
Contributions & grants$623K99%
Program service revenue$00%
Investment income$5370%
Other revenue$3K
expenses
Total expenses$2.05M
Program expenses70%
Admin / overhead16%
Fundraising14%
Salaries & benefits$1.13M
Grants paid out$272K
Largest expense lineCompensation
balance sheet
Total assets$1.11M
Cash$1.07M
Investments$0
Liabilities$68K
Net assets$1.04M
Liquid reserves6.3 mo
5 years on record · 2020–2024 · YoY revenue -40.6%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024
Who runs it
paid leadership · 5
| Name | Title | Hours/wk | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| ELIZABETH SMITH | CO-FOUNDER/CEO | 50 | $222K |
| MAGGIE SAVAGE | CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER | 40 | $191K |
| ABIGAIL MCDANIEL | GLOBAL DIRECTOR | 40 | $174K |
| MARIAH BOYLE | ASSO.DIRECTOR GRANTS & ADM. | 40 | $132K |
| JEFF PAQUETTE | CFO | 40 | $30K |
board members · 5
- ALEX PALACIOS — DIRECTOR
- CHRIS JURGENS — DIRECTOR
- DR JORDON KASSALOW — CO-FOUNDER/BOARD CHAIR
- HARVEY KOH — DIRECTOR
- JAYANTH BHUVARAGHAN — DIRECTOR
relationships · 54
Who they work with
- Aspen Institute Network — Jordan Kassalow appointed as a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute.
- Clinton Health Access Initiative Partner — Collaborated with EYElliance on the implementation of eye health pilot programs in Uganda.
- Clinton Health Access Initiative Partner — Collaborates with EYElliance on a pilot program to provide reading glasses and vision screening training to community health workers in Uganda.
- Clinton Health Access Initiative Partner — Partner organization implementing the First Grade, First Glasses blueprint
- Clinton Health Access Initiative Partner — Partnered to implement the First Grade, First Glasses blueprint for government adoption.
- Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) Partner — Collaborating on policy advocacy, program piloting, and technical implementation to expand access to eyeglasses in Uganda.
- Community Health Impact Coalition Partner — Collaborates with CHIC to advance the pro-community-health-worker movement and promote financing for community health workers.
- DFC Partner — Engaging Development Finance Corporation to unlock catalytic capital for the eyeglasses market.
- Directorate of Community Health and Health Promotion, Côte d’Ivoire Partner — Partnering with EYElliance to implement the Frontline Vision pilot within national community health systems.
- Direktorat of Community Health and Health Promotion Partner — Co-leading the Frontline Vision pilot with EYElliance to deliver vision screenings and reading glasses through community health workers.
- Global Partnership for Assistive Technology Partner — Collaborated with EYElliance on product narrative development and funding priorities for eyeglasses.
- Global Partnership for Education Partner — Engaged by EYElliance to increase awareness of vision correction within school health and inclusive education programs.
- Government Public Health Systems Partner — Leverages existing government public health infrastructure to deliver reading glasses through community health workers.
- Government of Uganda Government — Partnering on national policy change and pilot implementation for community health worker-led vision services.
- International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness Partner — Collaborated on the development of the 'Value of Vision' investment case report.
- Kelzmo Eyecare Partner — Collaborating through the Optical Enterprise Growth Hub to understand growth barriers and scale low-cost optical services in Africa.
- Lapaire Partner — Co-founded the Optical Enterprise Growth Hub with EYElliance
- Lapaire Partner — Co-founded the Optical Enterprise Growth Hub with EYElliance.
- Ministry of Health Government — Co-piloting a program to generate evidence for national scale-up of vision screening and eyeglass delivery.
- Ministry of Health in Côte d’Ivoire Government — Works with EYElliance to integrate vision screenings and reading glasses into community health worker programs.
- Ministry of Health in Côte d’Ivoire Partner — Co-implementing the Frontline Vision pilot to expand access to reading glasses through community health workers.
- Ministry of Health in Liberia Government — Works with EYElliance to integrate vision screenings and reading glasses into community health worker programs.
- Ministry of Health in Uganda Government — Works with EYElliance to integrate vision screenings and reading glasses into community health worker programs.
- Ministry of Health, Côte d’Ivoire Government — Co-designed a pilot with EYElliance to integrate vision screening and reading glasses dispensing into routine community health services.
- Ministry of Health, Côte d’Ivoire Partner — Implementing the Frontline Vision pilot in partnership with EYElliance and the National Eye Health Program.
- Ministry of Health, Liberia Government — Partnered with EYElliance to integrate reading glasses into the national essential package for non-communicable diseases and community health workers' minimum package of services.
- National Eye Health Program Partner — Jointly leading the Frontline Vision pilot with EYElliance to integrate vision care into community health services.
- National Eye Health Program, Côte d’Ivoire Partner — Collaborating with EYElliance on the Frontline Vision pilot to expand access to reading glasses through community health workers.
- National Geographic Society Funder — Liz Smith is a two-time grant recipient from the National Geographic Society for documenting endangered song.
- National Public Education Systems Partner — Works with national public education systems to institutionalize school-based eyeglass provision.
+ 24 more
strategies · 3
How they approach the work
Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.
- Entrepreneur-Led Co-Design for Sustainable Enterprise Scalemethodology: entrepreneur-led_designBy co-designing business support resources and platforms with experienced optical entrepreneurs, EYELLIANCE ensures relevance and effectiveness because involving frontline operators produces practical, market-tested solutions that drive sustainable growth of local eyewear enterprises.
- Integration of Vision Care into Public Health Systemsmethodology: system-integration-for-sustainabilityBy embedding vision screening and reading glasses distribution within government health systems and community health worker routines, EYELLIANCE achieves sustainable scale because integration leverages existing infrastructure, builds trust through familiar providers, and institutionalizes eye care as part of routine primary care.
- Market Transformation through De-risking and Channel Activationmethodology: market_transformationBy de-risking market entry and investment for optical enterprises and activating underutilized government and private-sector channels, EYELLIANCE catalyzes systemic adoption of scalable eyeglass distribution models because reducing financial and operational barriers enables sustainable scale and encourages broader stakeholder participation.