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CHARITY REVIEW
Issued: September 2024 Expires: September 2026

SEE International

Unable to Verify
Unable to Verify
13 14 19
(805) 963-3303
6500 Hollister, Suite 120
Goleta, CA, 93117
https://www.seeintl.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

The BBB Wise Giving Alliance requested but did not receive complete information from the organization and is unable to verify the organization's compliance with the following Standard(s) for Charity Accountability: 13, 14, 19

SEE International meets the remaining 17 Standards for Charity Accountability.

Stated Purpose:
"to provide medical, surgical, and educational services by volunteer Opthalmic surgeons with the primary goal of restoring sight to blind individuals worldwide."

Year, State Incorporated:
1974, CA

Also Known As:
Surgical Eye Expeditions International

SEE International reports that it works locally in Santa Barbara and 34 countries to assist those who suffer from preventable blindness, particularly in low-income regions, offering free accessible vision care and essential sight-restoring surgeries. The organization's initiatives include taking direct action through vision screenings, treatment, and surgeries. SEE International works to educate ophthalmologists to perform the Manual Small Incision Cataract Surgery (MSICS) procedure to enable high-volume, cost-effective cataract surgeries in resource-limited environments. The organization advocates for vision health and operates its Direct Supply Support (DSS), which provides medical supplies, particularly intraocular lenses (IOLs), to its international partners, who can conduct free surgeries with subsidized medical resources. SEE International also offers short-term programs, which the organization coordinates in collaboration with global partners to perform high-volume surgeries for underserved patients. The programs are reported to last three to five days restoring vision for 50 to 600 patients. Patients are pre-screened, and those with severe conditions or cataract blindness in both eyes receive priority treatment.

For the year ended December 31, 2022, SEE International's program expenses were:

International clinics $77,173,882
Santa Barbara Vision Care $1,189,493
Education $253,333
Unites States - Domestic $50,299
Total Program Expenses $78,667,007

Chief Executive
Donald W. Bell, Chief Executive Officer

Compensation*
$123,006

Chair of the Board
Scott W. Groff

Chair's Profession / Business Affiliation
President, Repeated Signal Solutions, Inc.

Board Size
14

Paid Staff Size
19

*2022 compensation includes annual salary and, if applicable, benefit plans, expense accounts, and other allowances.

Note: Rachel B. Tennant, Vice President of Development was the highest compensated employee, receiving $143,103 in compensation.

Method(s) Used:
Direct mail appeals, Grant proposals, Internet, Membership appeals, Planned giving arrangements, Cause-related marketing (affinity credit cards, consumer product sales, etc.)

Fundraising costs were 2% of related contributions. (Related contributions, which totaled $79,898,055, 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 SEE International's audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2022.

Source of Funds
In-kind contributions $76,538,023
Contributions $2,658,590
Government grants - Employee Retention Tax Credit $698,879
Program service revenue $17,480
Memberships $2,563
Other income $1,692
Investment income $-1,917,710
Total Income $77,999,517

Programs: 97% Fundraising: 2% Administrative: 1%

Total Income $77,999,517
Total expenses: $81,183,589
  Program expenses $78,667,007
  Fundraising expenses $1,323,780
  Administrative expenses $1,192,802
  Other expenses $0
Income in Excess of Expenses $-3,184,072
Beginning Net Assets $14,181,322
Other Changes In Net Assets $0
Ending Net Assets $10,997,250
Total Liabilities $508,463
Total Assets $11,505,713

Note: According to SEE International's 2022 audited financial statements, the organization received $76,538,023 in contributed goods and services including donated eye surgies and examinations ($69,429,740), medical supplies and equipment ($7,069,574), and other ($38,709).

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