Readers Digest Partners for Sight Foundation

“Rdpfs went through a governance strengthening process in fy2019, hiring an outside consultant. As part of that process, our bylaws were amended to reflect recommended improvements to our structure and processes: - dissolved membership requirement and deleted all references to membership - quorum was changed from 1/3 to majority. - committee structure and manner of acting was modified and improved - standing committees of the board were established and listed in the bylaws: executive, audit, investment and finance, governance - role of committee members is defined - limits of committee actions/authority is defined - board officer roles are more clearly defined - board president and vice president titles were changed to chair and vice chair - the role and responsibilities of the executive director are defined. Executive director is designated as a non-voting member of the board.”

“The members of the corporation shall consist of the directors of the corporation. Whenever any member ceases to be a director of the corporation he shall cease to be a member of the corporation. During fy19, the organization voted and removed the membership requirement in accordance with the bylaws.”

“The members shall have voting rights, and each member shall be entitled to one vote on all matters under deliberation by the members. The members have the power to elect directors. Each director shall be elected by a majority vote of the members at the annual meeting of members, except as hereinafter otherwise provided for filling vacancies. During fy19, the organization voted and removed the membership requirement in accordance with the bylaws.”

“Reader's digest partners for sight foundation has its form 990 prepared by an outside accounting firm and has established the following review process to ensure that the information reported is complete and accurate. After the form 990 has been prepared, it is reviewed by the executive director and the members of the audit committee. Comments are sent to the outside accountants, and revisions are made, if necessary. The form 990 is then electronically sent to the board members for review and commenting. Any comments are then grouped, summarized and then provided to the outside accountants. Each issue is documented and addressed until the return is finalized and approved for filing.”

“Board members, officers, and key persons are required to read the conflict of interest policy, and fill out the form on a yearly basis, denoting any possible conflicts of interest. The executive director collects the forms and shares the information with the board chair, who then shares that information with the full board at the annual meeting. Potential conflicts are noted in the minutes of the meeting. If a conflict were to arise, the full board is notified. When a possible conflict of interest becomes relevant to the making of a grant or to any matter requiring action of the board, the board member or staff member shall call it to the attention of the board, shall not attempt to exert personal influence in connection therewith, and in the case of a board member, shall not vote on such matter. Any board member who is excluded from voting because of such possible conflict of interest may briefly state his/her position in the matter and answer pertinent questions from other board members when the board member's knowledge of the matter will assist the board in its deliberations. Said board member shall not be present at or participate in board or committee deliberation, and the existence and resolution of any conflict shall be documented in the foundation's records.”

“The board had established a personnel and compensation committee, the purpose of which was to assist the board in its oversight responsibilities relating to the determination of staff size, responsibilities, performance, compensation and hiring. The committee reviewed current staff compensation and made a recommendation to the board that compensation be held constant at this point in time. The board voted to accept the committee's recommendation. The board decision was documented in a letter to the executive director dated december 5, 2018. Performance and compensation are reviewed annually. In march 2019, the board voted on a committee restructuring, eliminating the personnel and compensation committee, and moving the personnel and compensation oversight responsibilities to the executive committee. In may 2019, the executive committee began the process of working with outside consultation on compensation analysis.”

“The organization makes its form 990 available for public inspection as required under section 6104 of the internal revenue code. It is posted on new york state attorney general website, guidestar.org and other similar types of websites. In addition, the conflict of interest policy, articles of incorporation and by-laws are also available upon written request at 118 north bedford road, room 100, mt. Kisco, ny 10549 or by calling the organization directly at 914-517-7570.”

“Reader's digest partners for sight foundation provides monetary support to organizations which provide direct services to people who are blind or visually impaired. Our support enables these organizations to serve blind and visually impaired persons of all ages, and at various stages of their vision loss by providing skills training in, for example, activities of daily living, orientation and mobility, assistive technology, guide dog usage, low vision rehabilitation, literacy and braille. Support is also offered for organizations providing career, vocational, recreation and youth-in-transition programs for blind and visually impaired people. Rdpfs also provides support for assistive technology research and development, as well as scientific research designed to improve service delivery in the field of low vision. We also provide support for programs designed to improve doctor/patient communication in the ophthalmic field, with the aim of increasing referrals into the low vision rehabilitation system. Rdpfs has a rigorous grant proposal and outcome evaluation process which helps ensure the success of the funded programs. Rdpfs also provides a large print publishing service to people who have trouble reading standard sized print. The select editions large type periodical currently has over 47,000 subscribing members. Each yearly subscription includes 5 volumes, with two stories per volume. Subscribers also receive a large print calendar each year, with information on currently available low vision services.”

“Grant refunds netted against grant expense 54,761.”

“The organization has a committee that assumes responsibility for oversight of the audit of its financial statements and selection of an independent accountant. This process did not change from the prior year.”