Connecticut Radio Information System Inc
Mission
The mission of the Connecticut Radio Information Service (CRIS) is to provide quality audio access services for people who are blind or print-challenged.
Ruling year
1978
Executive Director
Ms. Diane Weaver Dunne
Main address
315 Windsor Ave.
Windsor, CT 06095 USA
EIN
06-0987696
NTEE code
Services to Promote the Independence of Specific Populations (P80)
Blind/Visually Impaired Centers, Services (P86)
Other Youth Development N.E.C. (O99)
IRS filing requirement
This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.
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Communication
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Imagine that you could not read – how would you get the kind of in-depth information you needed to be an active and knowledgeable participant in any conversation; how would you excel in school; how would you be able to enjoy the exhibits at museums? U.S. disability statistics indicate that: • 61,200 people in Connecticut have a visual impairment; • Dyslexia is the most common form of learning disabilities; • Children with learning disabilities graduate at a rate of only 65%; • There is a significant void of human-narrated children’s magazines for children who are blind, learning disabled or physically challenged; • Only 11% of adults with disabilities visit museums; and • 45% of Connecticut’s students do not meet their achievement level in English language arts/literacy. For those of us who can read, there is a plethora of information available for learning what is going in our communities, the state, the nation and the world. The audio programming CRIS provides enables people who
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
CRISKids
Children’s/Educational programming
• CRISKids for Schools (FY 2013), focusing on custom audio recordings of academic and classroom materials requested by educators, and the CRIS Common Core State Standards;
• CRISKids™ (FY 2012), delivering audio versions of award-winning children’s magazines focusing on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math; and
• CRISKids Streaming, broadcasting audio versions of children’s magazines to each patient room at the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center through its in-house system.
Emma, a student at Windsor’s Clover Street School, says, “Sometimes in books, they have really long words and you can’t understand them unless you go through a lot of work figuring out how to pronounce them. So with CRISKids, they read it to you and as you are following along, you can see the word and they will tell you so you can understand it better.”
CRIS Access
CRISAccess™ (FY 2013)provides:
- audio versions of signage displayed at museum exhibits, as well as a brief audio-description of the exhibit along with tactile information, currently being utilized at Sturbridge Museum, Sturbridge, MA.; Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, CT; and New England Air Museum, Windsor Locks, Conn., and;
- audio versions of primary documents of WWI from the National Archives in collaboration with the Connecticut State Library.
Old Sturbridge Village says, “Of all the initiatives that the Village recently implemented to address accessibility, CRISAccess is the one that has received the greatest accolades from both the public as well as our advisory board of users and experts.”
CRIS En Espanol
Provides audio recordings of Spanish-language newspapers and magazines.
CRIS General
Provide access to audio recordings of newspapers and magazines to adults who are blind or print challenged in their own homes, in assisted living facilities, and in hospitals.
Betty Clark is legally blind and in frail health. Her daughter told us “she always loved the news and current events and reading was her best friend when she had vision. She loves the radio from CRIS. It is on all the time and she is back to informing our family on current events and the world news. It is awesome; it brought back a big part of her life that was missing and makes her feel connected to the town and world around her.”
Where we work
External reviews
Photos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Evaluation documents
Download evaluation reportsNumber of children who have access to audio recordings of educational materials
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Related Program
CRISKids
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Due to budget cuts in schools, some schools were not able to pay the membership fee. We anticipate serving 10,207 in 2020/21.
Number of downloads of audio recordings at museums, aquariums and outdoor cultural and recreational facilities and of audio recordings of WWI and of the Women's Suffrage Movement..
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Children and youth, Ethnic and racial groups
Related Program
CRIS Access
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Since there are no industry standards to measure how many unique users are downloading recordings, we are now taking the greatest of downloads each month for one exhibit.
Number of indivduals in their own homes, patients at hospitals, people living in retirement communities, and visitors to senior centers,
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Seniors
Related Program
CRIS General
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
The goal of CRIS is to: enhance knowledge, improve literacy, promote independence, and prevent isolation for people who are unable to read due to blindness or a print disability. We meet this goal by offering timely and continuous distribution of publications and other print materials using a variety of communications technology, including telephone, radio broadcasts, smartphones, mobile apps and Internet streaming.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
The strategy we use to identify the needs of people who are blind or print challenged and provide programming to meet those needs. When Established in 1978, CRIS launched its broadcast service the following year with a two-hour broadcast to 50 adults. Improvements in broadcast and streaming technology and CRIS’ identification of unmet needs have enabled CRIS to expand its service to patients in hospitals and rehabilitation facilities, seniors residing in assisted living facilities, visitors of senior centers, visitors of museums, and students with special needs attending schools, after-school programs, summer school, and summer camps. As a result, the number of people who have access to CRIS programs has grown from 4,000 people in 2010 to over 92,000 people in 2022.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Our competent and dedicated staff have proven their ability to address the needs of people who are blind or print challenged, seek out innovative ways in which to meet those needs and provide programming to increase the number of people who have access to audio recordings of information that provides the opportunity for enhanced knowledge, reduced isolation, and increased independence
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
We are actively working on creating a new long range strategic plan.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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Who are the people you serve with your mission?
Children and adults who are blind or printed-challenged due to a visual, learning, physical, medical, emotional, or intellectual disability, as well as a medical conditions that makes it difficult or impossible for them to read print materials.
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How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?
Phone calls, Evaluations, and anecdotal information ,
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals,
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What significant change resulted from feedback?
We added custom audio recordings of educational material based on feedback from teachers.
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With whom is the organization sharing feedback?
Our staff, Our board, Our funders,
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How has asking for feedback from the people you serve changed your relationship?
Feedback has enabled us to design programming that best needs the needs of our constituents.
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We act on the feedback we receive,
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection,
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connecticut Radio Information System Inc
Board of directorsas of 07/20/2022
Paul Young
Mr. Stephen Thall
Andrew Norton
State of CT
Regina Strand
Total Vision
Karen Bernard
Retired
Gail Lebert
Publishing
Saif Malik
ComcastNBCUniversal
Nyema Pinkney
UTC Aerospace
Carla Pariser
IBM
Rosaliz Cassells
AmericanEagle
Gonmit Sehmbi
Stanley Black & Decker
Benjamin Schimelman
Gfeller Laurie LLP
Stephen Thal
Retired
Paul Young
Retired
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? GuideStar partnered on this section with CHANGE Philanthropy and Equity in the Center.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
We do not display disability information for organizations with fewer than 15 staff.
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