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CHARITY REVIEW
Issued: October 2025 Expires: October 2027

Helen Keller Intl

Accredited Charity
Accredited Charity

Meets Standards
(212) 532-0544
One Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, Floor 2
New York, NY, 10017
https://helenkellerintl.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

Helen Keller Intl meets the 20 Standards for Charity Accountability.

Stated Purpose:
"to improve the lives of people around the world by protecting vision, enhancing nutrition, and fighting disease."

Year, State Incorporated:
1915, NY

Also Known As:
Helen Keller International

Helen Keller Intl (HKI) partners with local communities that are striving to overcome longstanding cycles of poverty. HKI aims to help people create lasting change in their own lives by delivering building blocks of good health, sound nutrition and clear vision. The organization actively combats the following conditions linked to blindness and low vision, disease and death: malnutrition (including micronutrient malnutrition), cataract, refractive error and neglected tropical diseases, including onchocerciasis (river blindness), trachoma, intestinal worms, schistosomiasis and lymphatic filariasis. HKI operates in regions through branch offices and controlled entities (Africa, Asia, Europe and the United States), encompassing approximately 20 countries.

For the year ended June 30, 2024, Helen Keller Intl's program expenses were:

Nutrition, including Vitamin A $57,771,868
Neglected tropical diseases $22,039,661
Distribution of medicines and other (in-kind), primarily for blindness prevention $20,479,725
U.S. vision program $3,495,368
International eye health $820,207
Total Program Expenses $104,606,829

Chief Executive
Sarah Bouchie, President and Chief Executive Officer

Compensation*
$56,661

Chair of the Board
Bill Toppeta

Chair's Profession / Business Affiliation
President, Macomber Peak Partners

Board Size
30

Paid Staff Size
900

*2023 compensation includes annual salary and, if applicable, benefit plans, expense accounts, and other allowances.

Note: Ms. Bouchie's term started in November 2023. The highest compensated employee in 2023 was the former President and Chief Executive Officer, Kathy Spahn, whose term ended in November 2023. Ms. Spahn received compensation totaling $477,384.

Method(s) Used:
Direct mail appeals, Grant proposals, Internet, Direct mail appeals, Planned giving arrangements, Print advertisements (newspapers, magazines, etc.), Radio

Fundraising costs were 4% of related contributions. (Related contributions, which totaled $91,417,845, 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 Helen Keller Intl's audited financial statements - consolidated for the year ended June 30, 2024.

Source of Funds
Contributions - corporations, foundations, and individuals $39,124,038
Grants - U.S. and non-U.S. government agencies $30,044,891
In-kind contributions $20,515,674
Program and other revenue $2,612,824
Legacies and trusts $1,733,242
Realized and unrealized gains on investments, net $1,709,339
Dividends and interest income $847,303
Total Income $96,587,311

Programs: 84% Fundraising: 3% Administrative: 13%

Total Income $96,587,311
Total expenses: $124,149,053
  Program expenses $104,606,829
  Fundraising expenses $3,826,924
  Administrative expenses $15,715,300
  Other expenses $0
Income in Excess of Expenses $-27,561,742
Beginning Net Assets $145,778,832
Other Changes In Net Assets $94,155
Ending Net Assets $118,311,245
Total Liabilities $39,537,435
Total Assets $157,848,680

Note 1: According to HKI's audited financial statements - consolidated - for the year ended June 30, 2024, the organization received in-kind contributions totaling $20,515,674 in the form of pharmaceuticals ($20,479,725) and video services ($35,949).

Note 2: In the financial section above, "other changes in net assets" refers to a change in perpetual and restricted assets.

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