Xavier Society for the Blind
Delivering Faith and Inspiration in Braille and Audio
Mission
To provide the Word of God, and the best of Roman Catholic teaching and literature, spiritual and inspirational
material, to blind or visually impaired persons of any faith in whatever format best meets their needs at no charge and to continually explore ways to make that material more accessible and available to the widest possible audience of those in need.
To offer opportunities for volunteer service for those who wish to help in this work through their donation of time, talent or financial support.
Ruling year
1946
Executive Director
Malachy Fallon
Main address
Xavier Society for the Blind 248 West 35th Street Suite 1502
New York, NY 10001 USA
EIN
13-5563026
NTEE code
Religious Printing, Publishing (X83)
IRS filing requirement
This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.
Sign in or create an account to view Form(s) 990 for 2022, 2021 and 2020.
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Communication
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Xavier Society for the Blind wants to reach as many individuals who are blind and visually impaired and would be interested in our services. We have initiated a Digital Talking Book Project to convert our current audio material to the format used by the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. By converting our material onto the cartridges used in the NLS players we hope to provide more material to our existing clients and to expand our services to a larger audience.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Braille Transcription and Audio Recording
Braille Transcription, Audio recordings for both library books (loan) and digital download of periodicals
Braille and audio books
We continue to serve many clients in many ways:
• providing an altar server manual in braille to a young girl who wants to serve Mass in her parish with her friends and classmates
• transcribing and producing The Mass Propers in braille for our clients who overcome daily challenges to actively participate in Mass and in many instances serve as lectors
• fulfilling custom requests for faith formation textbooks for children and study guides for adults in braille when these resources are not available from any other source
• maintaining over 1,400 titles in braille and audio related to the Catholic Church, religion, and spiritual and inspirational themes for blind and visually impaired people of all faiths seeking to deepen their faith and spirituality
Where we work
Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of products distributed
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Braille Transcription and Audio Recording
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
patron requests, Mass Propers, XR, and CR
Number of overall donors
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Input - describing resources we use
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of first-time donors
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Input - describing resources we use
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of people on the organization's email list
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of grants received
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of Facebook followers
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Total dollars received in contributions
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Input - describing resources we use
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of clients served
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Average online donation
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Input - describing resources we use
Direction of Success
Increasing
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn 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?
Since its founding in 1900 by Fr. Joseph M. Stadelman, SJ, and a devoted teacher of the blind, Margaret Coffey, who was blind herself, Xavier Society for the Blind has assisted blind and visually impaired persons learn about, develop, and practice their faith. We provide free of charge, religious reading materials primarily in the Catholic tradition in braille and audio. We are committed to making these materials more accessible and available to the widest possible audience of those in need.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
XSB plans to use existing technology to reach the blind and visually impaired and to take advantage of new technology to develop the way we provide services to our clients. One example of technology we currently employ is the digital download of audio materials from the XSB website. We also make available the download of braille materials in a brf format which can then be embossed by the client using their own embosser.
We hope to use technology new to XSB with the Digital Talking Book Project. Our collaboration with the DeMello Center on Spirituality is another example of using new technology to reach our clients.
We've created a strategic communications program to create greater awareness of our services and to attract more more clients.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
XSB Director of Technology has spearheaded many of these initiatives using his expertise along with the guidance and vision of the Executive Director. Furthermore, we've been working with other organizations to leverage their experience and expertise.
Our strategic communications program has a number of facets, including:
- social media (Facebook and Twitter)
- direct mail
- client story placements in related newspapers
- television and web media
- electronic newsletter
- print advertising
- mailings to targeted Catholic parishes
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
We have added new clients who receive our services and we hope to add more clients.
The required technology (hardware and software) has been acquired to allow us to transition to the Digital Talking Book format.
We have had several of our clients and Advisory Group members profiled in regional newspapers.
The number of social media followers and newsletter subscribers continues to grow.
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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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, We don’t have the right technology to collect and aggregate feedback efficiently
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- 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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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
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Xavier Society for the Blind
Board of directorsas of 11/07/2023
Rev. Francis Hilton
St. Joseph RC Church
Term: 2020 - 2024
Rev. Francis Hilton, SJ
St Joseph Parish
Daniel Morrison
Morrison Law Firm
Breandan Ward
New York University
Kitty Wynne
Methodist Family Center Preschool
Mike Robinson
National Federation of the Blind, New York State
Paul Fontaine
Catholic University of America
Donna Crilly
Paulist Press
Ines Chisholm
retired
Skylar Covich
Braille Institute of America
Vivian Fridas
National Industries for the Blind
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? No -
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 composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Not applicable -
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? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
No data
Transgender Identity
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
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