VisionServe Alliance is a leadership collective of organizations and individuals in the US and Canada engaged in building a better world with and for people with vision loss through education, advocacy, research, products, and services. We provide education and opportunities for dialogue and collaboration to strengthen leadership skills, the quality of services, and the positive impact of our field for people of all ages living with blindness, low vision and other vision impairment. Here is a summary of our service areas:
Networking & Collaboration:
We bring together the full diversity of services for one conversation with the ultimate goal of unifying the many issues and organizations operating independently of one another in the field. We serve as a communication channel to members for sharing information and addressing issues regarding services, legislation, leadership, and management. Facilitate opportunities for collaboration and cooperation among organizations, associations, and entities that serve people who are blind or visually impaired.
Membership Support:
We support and equip our members in their delivery of quality services to people of all ages who are blind or visually impaired. We provide strong member benefits that save your agency $$$, a member portal with useful resources and data, a robust electronic referral system for increased patient referrals, and much more.
Conferences & Education:
We provide a forum for chief executive officers to network, share information, collaborate, and to update executive-level skills for the purpose of improving services provided by the private not-for-profit organizations they lead. We do this through our two annual executive learning experiences (conferences), virtual events, specialized workgroups, informative newsletters, and open communications. We believe implicitly that strong leaders make for strong organizations.
Public Policy:
We provide opportunities to advocate and influence public policy and educate the broader community. We work with the Aging and Vision Loss National Coalition as well as other committees to improve the services provided to Americans of all ages throughout the country.
Consulting Services:
Healthy organizations provide better services. We provide System and Soul, Leadership Challenge, Kolbe Index, and custom consulting services to improve your business’ health, build your organization’s leadership team, and get you all on the same vision.
Our History
VisionServe Alliance was incorporated in 1987 as the National Council of Private Agencies for the Blind and Visually Impaired (NCPABVI). Its purpose was to provide a forum for Executive Directors of nonprofit agencies and organizations specializing in blindness to meet and collaborate. The organization was volunteer-driven until 2005, when after an extensive strategic planning process three decisions were made:
- There was a need for the members’ collective voices to be heard nationally,
- To hire its first Chief Executive Officer to organize and promote this national message, and
- To create a national headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri.
In 2006, NCPABVI merged with the National Vision Rehabilitation Association and became the pre-eminent leader in promoting Medicare reimbursement for certified vision rehabilitation professionals, i.e., Low Vision Therapists, Orientation and Mobility Specialists, and Vision Rehabilitation Therapists.
In 2007, NCPABVI engaged in a re-branding process which resulted in NCPABVI changing its name to VisionServe Alliance to better represent the commonality amongst its diverse membership – an alliance of organizations providing vision rehabilitation-related services.
In 2012, VisionServe Alliance celebrated its 25th Anniversary, received the “Chairman’s Award” from First Nonprofit Insurance Company for 25 years of accomplishments, and received its first matching grant in the amount of $100,000 from the Gibney Family Foundation of South Burlington, Vermont and First Nonprofit Foundation of Chicago, Illinois to expand the vision rehabilitation workforce.