Cabvi

Name

Cabvi

Legal name

Central Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired

Website

https://cabvi.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1929

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Utica

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices10 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Contract Manufacturing (Central Industries): Manufacturing, filling, kitting, sewing, and packaging operations producing products for Federal and NYS customers through preferred source programs at National Industries for the Blind (NIB) and the New York State Preferred Source Program (NYSPSP). Products include healthcare items, industrial items, textiles, janitorial supplies, and office supplies. Over 120 employees, half of whom are legally blind, work in this division.
2. Call Center & Customer Service Operations: Professional contact center solutions provided to government agencies and commercial clients. With 15+ years of proven contact center operations, CABVI provides customer-focused services including customer assistance, order placement, and support with specialized rehabilitation team.
3. Warehousing & Distribution Services: Fulfillment services for e-commerce, third-party fulfillment (3PL), business to business (B2B), and crowdfunding/Kickstarter projects. CABVI has more than 100,000 square feet of warehousing space for fulfillment and distribution services.
4. Kitting & Packaging Services: Manual and automated assembly services for small or large projects, including shrinkwrapping, blister pack, gift pack, displays, multi-packs, and product rework. ISO 9001:2015 certified operations.
5. Base Supply Centers: Six retail stores on military installations (Dolphin Express, Galaxy Express, Shipyard Express, Island Express, Tobyhanna Office Express, Arsenal Express) selling office supplies and products manufactured by people who are blind. Generates more than $8 million in gross sales each year.
6. Better Touch Eco-Friendly Cleaning Products: Line of environmentally preferable cleaning products sold through NYSPSP and direct orders. Products include all-purpose cleaner, window cleaner, disinfectant, sanitizer, floor care, air freshener, hand cleaner, bathroom cleaner, degreaser, and related items.
7. Donations & Fundraising: Charitable donations, vehicle donations through Vehicles for Vision program, event sponsorships (Platinum: $10,000, Gold: $7,500, Silver: $5,000, Bronze: $3,000), and legacy society planned giving.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

CABVI is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit social enterprise providing vision rehabilitation services, assistive technology products and training, and contract-manufactured goods for government and commercial customers. Business units include Central Industries manufacturing, contact center operations, warehousing and distribution, kitting and packaging, six Base Supply Centers on military installations, an Optical Shop offering prescription eyewear and assistive technology, and the Better Touch eco-friendly cleaning products line. Revenue from commercial operations funds mission-critical vision rehabilitation services for blind and visually impaired individuals across ten counties in Central New York.

Product overview

CABVI operates as a social enterprise offering a comprehensive portfolio of products and services for individuals who are blind or visually impaired. The core product offerings include: (1) Better Touch Cleaning Products, an eco-friendly cleaning product line; (2) Optical Shop and Meta Glasses by Ray-Ban assistive technology eyewear; (3) ProGear Eyeguards protective sports glasses; (4) Base Supply Centers retail operations at six military installations; (5) healthcare, industrial, and textile products manufactured by blind workers; (6) assistive technology products including magnifiers, scanners, and reading devices; and (7) Business Solutions comprising call center, warehousing, and kitting/packaging services. Supporting services include vision rehabilitation therapy, assistive technology training, occupational therapy, youth programs (Camp Abilities, Function Better, Pre-Vocational Training), and wellness programs. Revenue from commercial operations funds mission-critical vision services for Central New York.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Central Industries: The Employment and Manufacturing Division of CABVI providing competitive and integrated employment opportunities for people who are blind and visually impaired through manufacturing, filling, kitting, sewing, and packaging operations.
• Better Touch

Products and services

• Better Touch Cleaning Products Eco-friendly line of cleaning products including all-purpose cleaners, glass cleaners, degreasers, and disinfectants sold through NYSPSP and direct orders, with most products third-party certified through EcoLogo or Green Seal. Proceeds support CABVI's programs including Camp Abilities.
• Meta Glasses by Ray-Ban AI-powered smart glasses offering real-time object and person identification, text-to-speech reading, and hands-free voice command operation with integrated audio feedback. Designed to aid individuals with vision loss in daily independence, available at the CABVI Optical Shop with complimentary training sessions.
• ProGear Eyeguards Protective sports eyeguards with dynamic ergonomic design available in temple and strap versions, patented for prescription lenses and tested for high-speed impact protection across various sports.
• Base Supply Centers (BSCs) Six retail stores operated on military installations across the northeastern United States (Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey) selling office supplies and products manufactured by people who are blind. Generates more than $8 million in annual gross sales.
• Healthcare and Industrial Products Diverse manufactured product portfolio including healthcare items (dental/medical kits, exam gloves, briefs, undergarments), industrial supplies (work gloves, wipes, flashlights), textiles (linens, scrubs, pajamas), and janitorial and sanitation items sold through government and commercial channels.
• Assistive Technology Products Low vision aids including the Optaro Electronic Reader (smartphone-attached video magnifier), CloverNote handheld magnifiers, Optelec ClearView+ Speech, Reveal 16i magnifiers, OrCam Read 3 (handheld text-to-speech device), and PEARL camera for scanning and reading printed materials aloud.
• Business Solutions Commercial services bundle including call center operations, customer service, warehousing and distribution, switchboard and answering services, third-party logistics (3PL), and kitting and packaging provided to government agencies (TSA, U.S. DOT, U.S. VA, NYS DMV) and commercial customers.
• Assistive Technology Training Professional training services teaching children and adults with vision loss computer and technology skills at a 600-square-foot facility with eight workstations at the Vision Health and Wellness Center. Covers text-to-speech software, screen enlargement, braille output devices, and smartphone accessibility features.
• Camp Abilities Residential youth development program for children ages 8–15 with blindness or visual impairment, offering summer and winter sessions with outdoor recreation, adaptive sports, tandem cycling, swimming, goal ball, and independence-building activities at Utica University and the Vision Health and Wellness Center.
• Optical Shop Full-service optical dispensary within the Vision Health and Wellness Center providing frame selection assistance, pupillary distance and bifocal measurements, prescription filling, and final quality inspection for eyeglasses with optometrist oversight.
• Avulux Lenses Migraine-relief lenses offered at the CABVI Optical Shop for individuals seeking relief from migraine-related light sensitivity.

Quantifiable outcome

• Serves thousands of consumers in 10 counties in New York
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Freedom Guide DogscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 June 2025Partnership with Freedom Guide Dogs, a nonprofit organization dedicated to training and placing guide dogs with those who are blind or visually impaired. CABVI is sponsoring a puppy from Freedom Guide Dogs.
• UpMobility of Little FallscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunding partner for the Vision for Kids program providing free eye exams and glasses to preschool children ages three through five in Herkimer County.
• Wadas Eye CarecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner eye care provider for Vision for Kids program. Children evaluated with vision problems are issued a voucher for a free eye examination at Wadas Eye Care.
• Towpath Vision CarecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner eye care provider for Vision for Kids program. Children evaluated with vision problems are issued a voucher for a free eye examination at Towpath Vision Care.
• National Industries for the Blind (NIB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPreferred source program partner. CABVI produces products for Federal customers through NIB. The Wagner-O'Day bill (1939) established NIB and CABVI has been under the NIB umbrella since 1972.
• New York State Preferred Source Program (NYSPSP)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPreferred source program partner for NYS customers. CABVI provides production support for New York State customers through NYSPSP. Products sold through NYSPSP website including Better Touch cleaning products.
• New York State Commission for the Blind and Visually HandicappedcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization committed to helping individuals who are blind or visually impaired find and retain jobs both in the community and at CABVI.
• Mohawk Valley Braille Transcribers (MVBT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA nonprofit organization dedicated to formatting texts into Braille, located at CABVI. Provides educational materials, restaurant menus, radio schedules, hospital forms, and certification classes in literary braille transcribing.
• Utica UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner location for Camp Abilities summer session held at Utica University with full day spent at Camp Nazareth in Woodgate and the Adirondack Mountains.
• Village Motors Auto SalesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPresenting sponsor of the Vehicles for Vision Car Show, raising money to support CABVI's Vehicles for Vision program.
• American NitrileminorGTM or Marketing Partner2026 Diamond Event Sponsor for CABVI events.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Lighthouse Guild: NYC-based nonprofit providing comprehensive vision rehabilitation, behavioral health, and support services for people who are blind or visually impaired. Directly comparable social enterprise model combining clinical vision services with workforce development.
• The Chicago Lighthouse: Chicago-based social enterprise serving people who are blind, visually impaired, deaf, or hard of hearing. Operates a similar vertically integrated model with manufacturing, call center, retail, and clinical vision services under one nonprofit umbrella.
• Alphapointe: Kansas City-based nonprofit social enterprise providing employment, manufacturing, and vision rehabilitation services for people who are blind. Operates as an NIB affiliated agency with similar manufacturing and government contracting model.
• Bosma Enterprises: Indianapolis-based nonprofit providing rehabilitation services, training, and employment for people who are blind or visually impaired. Operates government contracting and manufacturing businesses similar to CABVI's Central Industries division.
• Clovernook Center for the Blind: Cincinnati-based nonprofit providing comprehensive vision rehabilitation, employment, and manufacturing services for people who are blind. Comparable mid-size social enterprise operating manufacturing and vision service programs.
• Industries for the Blind (Milwaukee): Wisconsin-based NIB-affiliated nonprofit providing manufacturing, contract services, and employment for people who are blind. Direct competitor for federal AbilityOne contracts in the manufacturing space.

Broad incumbents

• National Industries for the Blind (NIB): Umbrella nonprofit agency that administers the AbilityOne program and oversees CABVI's federal contract work. Comparable as the coordinating entity for the network of NIB-affiliated agencies across the country.

Emerging players

• Vispero: Commercial provider of assistive technology products for people with vision impairments (owns Freedom Scientific, Optelec, Enhanced Vision). Comparable as a supplier of the low-vision devices CABVI distributes and trains on, including video magnifiers and screen readers.
• OrCam Technologies: Israel-based developer of AI-powered wearable assistive devices (OrCam MyEye, OrCam Read) for people who are blind or visually impaired. Comparable as a technology partner whose products CABVI distributes and trains users on through its Optical Shop and assistive technology center.

Regional players

• Leader Dogs for the Blind: Michigan-based nonprofit providing guide dog training, orientation and mobility services for people who are blind. Comparable as a regional nonprofit peer in the broader blindness services ecosystem, though focused on guide dog mobility rather than employment/manufacturing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cabviutica

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cabvi