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CHARITY REVIEW
Issued: July 2026 Expires: July 2028

Foundation Fighting Blindness

Accredited Charity
Accredited Charity

Meets Standards
(800) 683-5555
6925 Oakland Mills Road, Suite 701
Columbia, MD, 21045
https://fightingblindness.org/
📄 Full Report 🖨️ Print 📋 BBB Charity Standards

Standards For Charity Accountability

Governance

  1. Board Oversight
  2. Board Size
  3. Board Meetings
  4. Board Compensation
  5. Conflict of Interest

Measuring Effectiveness

  1. Effectiveness Policy
  2. Effectiveness Report

Finances

  1. Program Expenses
  2. Fundraising Expenses
  3. Accumulating Funds
  4. Audit Report
  5. Detailed Expense Breakdown
  6. Accurate Expense Reporting
  7. Budget Plan

Fundraising & Info

  1. Truthful Materials
  2. Annual Report
  3. Website Disclosures
  4. Donor Privacy
  5. Cause Marketing Disclosures
  6. Complaints

Foundation Fighting Blindness meets the 20 Standards for Charity Accountability.

Stated Purpose:
"to drive the research that will provide preventions, treatments, and cures for people affected by retinitis pigmentosa, macular degeneration, Usher syndrome, and the entire spectrum of retinal degenerative diseases."

Year, State Incorporated:
1971, MD

The Foundation Fighting Blindness (FFB) is a leading private funder of retinal disease research. Funding is focused on genetic technologies, restorative therapies, novel medical therapies, clinical structure and function, genetics, and cell and molecular mechanisms of disease. FFB funds laboratories and grants across the globe including Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, England, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and Switzerland. In 2025, the organization funded 113 projects conducted by over 124 research investigators across 90 institutions, eye hospitals, and universities.

For the year ended June 30, 2025, Foundation Fighting Blindness's program expenses were:

Research $27,376,928
Public health education $3,681,241
Total Program Expenses $31,058,169

Chief Executive
Jason Menzo, Chief Executive Officer

Compensation*
$723,931

Chair of the Board
Jason Morris

Chair's Profession / Business Affiliation
Chief Operating Officer, Courtesy Products

Board Size
24

Paid Staff Size
88

*2024 compensation includes annual salary and, if applicable, benefit plans, expense accounts, and other allowances.

Method(s) Used:
Direct mail appeals, Invitations to fund raising events, Print advertisements (newspapers, magazines, etc.), Television, Radio, Grant proposals, Internet, Planned giving arrangements, Cause-related marketing (affinity credit cards, consumer product sales, etc.), Membership appeals, Workplace Giving, Cryptocurrency

Fundraising costs were 29% of related contributions. (Related contributions, which totaled $30,712,858, are donations received as a result of fundraising activities.)

This organization is tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. It is eligible to receive contributions deductible as charitable donations for federal income tax purposes.

The following information is based on Foundation Fighting Blindness's audited financial statements - consolidated for the year ended June 30, 2025.

Source of Funds
Contributions $16,214,332
Planned giving $8,594,833
Investment income, net $7,376,466
Special events, net $5,814,890
Contract revenue $1,889,982
Research patent revenue $1,407,035
Program service fees $114,226
In-kind contributions $88,803
Other income $35,179
Total Income $41,535,746

Programs: 72% Fundraising: 21% Administrative: 7%

Total Income $41,535,746
Total expenses: $43,122,556
  Program expenses $31,058,169
  Fundraising expenses $9,012,000
  Administrative expenses $3,052,387
  Other expenses $0
Income in Excess of Expenses $-1,586,810
Beginning Net Assets $144,986,026
Other Changes In Net Assets $0
Ending Net Assets $143,399,216
Total Liabilities $22,239,112
Total Assets $165,638,328

Note: According to the organization's consolidated audited financial statements for the year ended June 30, 2025, FFB received in-kind contributions totaling $277,739 in the form of fundraising event support ($188,936) and legal services ($88,803).

An organization may change its practices at any time without notice. A copy of this report has been shared with the organization prior to publication. It is not intended to recommend or deprecate, and is furnished solely to assist you in exercising your own judgment. If the report is about a charity and states the charity meets or does not meet the Standards for Charity Accountability, it reflects the results of an evaluation of information and materials provided voluntarily by the charity. The name Better Business Bureau is a registered service mark of the International Association of Better Business Bureaus.

This report is not to be used for fundraising or promotional purposes.

RELATED CONTENT

Report completed by:
BBB Wise Giving Alliance