Alphapointe Association for the Blind

“The organization made the following significant changes to the bylaws since the filing of the 2016 990: - language changes to better define the frequency and changes of the board of directors meetings, including the annual meeting; - language changes to better define when/how the audited financials will be presented to and approved by the board.”

“An independent accounting firm prepares and reviews the 990. The 990 is then reviewed by the organization's officers and accounting personnel. Any questions or concerns the organization's officers and accounting personnel have are addressed and any corrections or clarifications that need to be made are made. A copy of the 990 is then presented to the audit committee for review and approval prior to filing. The audit committee reports directly to the board of directors on the status of their review. A final copy is also made available to the board of directors following review by the audit committee.”

“At the time of hire or election (in the case of directors) and annually thereafter, the officers, directors, and key employees shall provide the applicable conflict of interest disclosures which shall be completed to identify any relationships, positions, or circumstances in which it is believed a conflict may arise. If a conflict arises, the officer, director, or key employee abstains from the vote of the conflicted position.”

“The organizations CEO compensation is reviewed and updated annually by the executive committee of the board of directors. The executive committee uses comparability data of similar organizations when determining compensation and documents its decision process. Once determined the compensation of the CEO is approved by the Board of Directors.”

“The compensation of the other officers was approved by their respective supervisor. It was based on both a written job performance evaluation and a formal compensation system built for the entire organization utilizing the services of an independent compensation consultant group.”

“The organizations conflict of interest policy, financial statements and governing documents are made available to the public upon request.”

“Most jobs entail the manufacture or assembly of products such as janitorial, medical plastics, office products, and military textiles for the federal government and the New York state use program. In addition, blind jobs were created by fulfilling federal and state contracted services such as warehousing, switchboard, contract audit, mail bag sort, and operating military base supply stores. Alphapointe pursues product sales and service opportunities with state governments and in the commercial marketplace which complement the products and services already being provided through federal channels. All business lines performed by Alphapointe involve blind labor. The commercial business is primarily occurring within the plastic manufacturing, sewing and call center operations, adding at least 25 incremental employment opportunities for blind workers. The organization provides comprehensive rehabilitation, education and activities for all ages of people with visual impairments, having served 2,218 individuals during the past year. The rehabilitation and education program provided structured personalized training for braille, adaptive technology, orientation and mobility, activities of daily living, diabetes education, college prep, and/or job training for 619 individuals. Senior adult services touched 134 seniors who were experiencing vision loss, many being in-home visits. A low vision clinic served 326 individuals facing vision uncertainties. Another 792 individuals received referrals or guidance by contacting Alphapointe about their vision concerns. Some 343 visually impaired young people participated in the youth adventure camp, tech camp or other activities adapted to their circumstances. Another 6,457 individuals were involved in group presentations, volunteer services, or participated with those being served by Alphapointe.”