Blinded Veterans Association

What Blinded Veterans Association does

Blinded Veterans Association (BVA), founded in 1945 and headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, is a U.S. nonprofit organization serving legally blind and visually impaired American veterans. Its sole operational focus evidenced in the input is the distribution of donated assistive technology paired with structured training; the flagship initiative is a 130,000-unit Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses donation program operated jointly with Meta and TechSoup beginning in June 2026. BVA beneficiaries receive the smart glasses at no cost and are onboarded via a self-serve request page on bva.org, monthly training webinars, and in-person distribution and technical-support events such as the National Veterans Golden Age Games in Tampa.

The technology BVA delivers is not built in-house; rather, BVA acts as a credentialed distribution and enablement intermediary for Meta's Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses, which combine computer vision for scene description with natural language processing for conversational follow-up, and support voice-command-driven hands-free operation, document reading, phone calls, and navigation. BVA's own product layer is the training program: monthly webinars and written user guides that move veterans from device receipt to independent daily use.

BVA's business model is nonprofit donation- and grant-funded; no pricing applies to beneficiaries because devices are donated, and revenue recognition (if any) sits in charitable contributions, grants, and partnership in-kind flows. GTM is event-driven and hybrid: online intake via the official site, mass touchpoints through veteran-athletic events (Tampa Golden Age Games), and recurring webinar-based education. Customer concentration is structural: the upstream "supplier" side is dominated by Meta as the single device donor, while the downstream beneficiary base spans an estimated 130,000+ legally blind U.S. veterans.

Name

Blinded Veterans Association

Legal name

Blinded Veterans Association

Website

https://bva.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1945

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Blinded Veterans Association is a U.S. nonprofit that distributes donated Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses to legally blind American veterans and provides recurring training and support nationwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Veterans Services

NAICS

Optical Goods Retailers (45613), Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (62412)

SIC

Ophthalmic Goods (3851)

akta.pro primary industry

Low Vision & Assistive Vision Devices (Magnifiers, Electronic Video Magnifiers, Wearable Vision Aids) (HLAHAJAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Assistive Vision & Screen Access (Screen Readers, Magnification, Braille Displays/Notetakers) (EDAFAKAD), Low Vision Rehabilitation (HLAKAKAJ), Vision Assistive Technology (Screen Readers, Braille, Magnification) (EDAKAIAF)

Keywords

• Veterans assistance
• Assistive technology distribution
• Nonprofit veterans services
• Blind veterans support
• AI wearables program

Headquarters

HQ city

Alexandria

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Charitable Donations and Grants: As a nonprofit organization, BVA operates through charitable donations and partnership contributions, including the Meta AI glasses donation program for blind veterans.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Blinded Veterans Association distributes donated Ray-Ban Meta AI smart glasses to legally blind American veterans across the United States. The AI-powered glasses use visual recognition and natural language processing to describe surroundings and answer follow-up questions hands-free. BVA complements device distribution with structured training delivered through monthly webinars, training guides, and in-person events covering voice commands, document reading, phone calls, and navigation.

Product overview

Blinded Veterans Association operates as a nonprofit that distributes Ray-Ban Meta AI smart glasses to blind veterans and provides associated training services. The core offering is the AI glasses distribution program, which pairs wearable AI technology with a comprehensive training program. BVA distributes the hardware (Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses) and supplements it with training services including monthly webinars and user guides covering voice commands, document reading, phone calls, and navigation. The organization acts as a distribution and training partner for Meta's AI glasses technology.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Ray-Ban Meta AI Glasses Distribution Program A donation-based program that distributes Ray-Ban Meta AI smart glasses to legally blind U.S. veterans at no cost. The AI-powered glasses use visual recognition to describe surroundings and answer follow-up questions hands-free, supporting independent navigation for blind veterans.
• Veterans Training Program Structured training support for blind veterans receiving Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses, delivered through monthly webinars and developing training guides covering voice commands, document reading, phone calls, and navigation to enable independent use of the devices.

Named customers2 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability6 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• National Veterans Golden Age GamesminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 30 June 2026The National Veterans Golden Age Games in Tampa served as the venue for the first distribution of Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses to blind veterans through the BVA partnership program.
• MetacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 June 2026Meta is partnering with BVA to donate 130,000 Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses to legally blind American veterans. The glasses feature visual recognition AI that describes surroundings and answers follow-up questions hands-free. BVA handles distribution, training, and support for veterans receiving the devices.
• TechSoupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 June 2026TechSoup is a partner in the Meta AI glasses donation initiative for blind veterans, working alongside BVA to support over 130,000 eligible veterans in receiving the donated devices.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• National Federation of the Blind: U.S. non-profit advocating for and serving blind individuals, including veterans. Highly comparable to BVA in mission and beneficiary base, though broader (all blind Americans, not veterans specifically) and more advocacy-oriented.
• American Foundation for the Blind: National non-profit focused on addressing vision loss through services, advocacy, and research. Comparable to BVA as a similarly-scaled non-profit serving blind Americans, including veterans.
• Lighthouse Guild: Non-profit providing vision-related healthcare, rehabilitation, and assistive services. Comparable to BVA in providing direct services and adaptive technology access to people with vision loss.
• Hadley (Hadley Institute for the Blind and Visually Impaired): Non-profit providing education, training, and resources to people with vision loss. Closely comparable to BVA's training-focused engagement model with webinars and instructional content for blind adults.
• American Printing House for the Blind: Non-profit producing educational materials and tools for blind learners and adults. Comparable as a mission-driven organization serving blind Americans with assistive resources.
• Guide Dogs for the Blind: Non-profit providing guide dogs and training to blind individuals, including veterans. Comparable to BVA in mission and in providing free adaptive services with comprehensive training.

Others

• U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs - Veterans Health Administration: Federal agency providing healthcare and benefits to U.S. veterans. Relevant adjacent organization but a government entity, not a non-profit; BVA complements VA services for blind veterans specifically.

Broad incumbents

• OrCam Technologies: Commercial company selling AI-powered wearable assistive devices for blind and visually impaired users. Comparable as a provider of AI-vision aids to the same end-user population BVA serves.
• Vispero (Freedom Scientific / Optelec): Established provider of assistive technology products for blind and low-vision users (screen readers, magnifiers). Comparable broad incumbent in the assistive-vision technology category.

Emerging players

• Envision AI: Company offering AI-based assistive tools (smart glasses and mobile apps) for blind and low-vision users. Comparable emerging player in the AI-vision assistance space that BVA is helping populate.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/blindedveterans
• Facebookfacebook.com/blindedveteransassociation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Blinded Veterans Association