Eyes Like Mine

What Eyes Like Mine does

Eyes Like Mine Inc. is a 501-C3 nonprofit organization established in March 2014 in Newark, New Jersey, founded by Krystle Allen along with co-founders Naquela Wright and Ihsaan R. Muhammad Esq. The organization exists to empower, enlighten, and innovate communities about vision loss and the available resources for people with vision loss, with a stated long-term vision of creating a more accessible society where blind and visually impaired individuals can live, learn, and work in equal opportunities. Its primary participants are women with vision loss and the broader blind and visually impaired community in New Jersey, with secondary geographic reach into the Southeastern United States evidenced by 2025 titleholders from Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Missouri.

The organization operates two flagship programs: Dancing with the Blind, a 4-8 week performance arts program that debuted in April 2016 pairing vision-impaired or blind individuals with sighted partners for a dance competition, and the Ms. Blind Diva Empowerment Pageant, an annual empowerment pageant for women with vision loss offering titles including Ms. Blind Diva, Ms. Independent, Ms. Photogenic, Ms. Altruistic, and Director's Choice. Supporting offerings include Tiara Tuesdays (a weekly Facebook livestream series), the Marvelous Moms Community Baby Shower for differently-abled mothers, vision screening services, the Sneaker Ball annual formal event, public speaking engagements, and a volunteer internship program. Eyes Like Mine has no proprietary technology platform; operations run through website-based registration forms on eyeslikemine.org, social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube), and in-person events at partner cultural venues.

Revenue is generated through five streams: event registration fees paid by pageant and dance participants, exhibitor/vendor fees ($125 for Dancing with the Blind and $75 for the Ms. Blind Diva Pageant), corporate and foundation sponsorships, individual donations accepted via PayPal and Zelle, and ticket sales ($50 adults, $10 children for the 2025 pageant). Core institutional partners include Rutgers University Newark, the Newark Museum of Art, NJPAC, and Edison Visionary Lions Club. Named financial sponsors include the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Foreseeable Future Foundation, and Greater Vision Foundation. The organization operates with 1-10 employees and is led by Founder/President Krystle Allen, with no parent company, equity ownership, or external investment structure disclosed.

Name

Eyes Like Mine

Legal name

Eyes Like Mine Inc.

Website

https://eyeslikemine.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Eyes Like Mine is a 501-C3 nonprofit founded in 2014 in Newark, New Jersey that empowers blind and visually impaired individuals through the annual Ms. Blind Diva Empowerment Pageant, the Dancing with the Blind competition, advocacy events, and community partnerships with cultural institutions across New Jersey.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Newark

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Event Registration Fees: Participants in the Ms. Blind Diva Empowerment Pageant and Dancing with the Blind program pay registration fees to compete or perform. Registration fees for pageant participants cover the application process and participation in the multi-day event.
2. Exhibitor/Vendor Fees: Organizations and businesses pay to exhibit at Eyes Like Mine events. Fees are charged per event: $125 for the Dancing With The Blind competition and $75 for the Ms. Blind Diva Empowerment Pageant.
3. Sponsorships: Corporate and foundation sponsors provide financial and in-kind support for events such as the Ms. Blind Diva Empowerment Pageant, Dancing with the Blind, and Sneaker Ball. Sponsors include organizations such as Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Foreseeable Future Foundation, Greater Vision Foundation, and others.
4. Donations: The organization accepts donations via PayPal and Zelle from individuals who support the mission. Donations are framed as community contributions with no minimum amount specified.
5. Ticket Sales: Audience members purchase tickets to attend pageant events and finale performances. Ticket prices for the 2025 Ms. Blind Diva Empowerment Pageant were $50 for adults and $10 for children. Advance tickets for the 2023 pageant were $25 until October 1st.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Eyes Like Mine Inc. is a nonprofit 501-C3 organization that produces community empowerment events and advocacy programs for individuals with vision loss. Its core offerings are the annual Ms. Blind Diva Empowerment Pageant (a multi-day pageant crowning titleholders across categories such as Ms. Blind Diva, Ms. Independent, Ms. Photogenic, Ms. Altruistic, and Director's Choice) and Dancing With The Blind (a 4-8 week inclusive dance training and competition program pairing vision-impaired individuals with sighted partners). Supporting programs include the weekly Tiara Tuesdays livestream series, the Marvelous Moms Community Baby Shower, vision screening events, public speaking engagements, and a volunteer internship program.

Product overview

Eyes Like Mine is a non-profit 501-C3 organization that operates a portfolio of community-focused programs and events centered on empowering individuals with vision loss. The organization offers two flagship programs: Dancing With The Blind (a performance arts program pairing blind and sighted individuals for dance competitions) and the Ms. Blind Diva Empowerment Pageant (an annual pageant celebrating women with vision loss). Supporting offerings include Tiara Tuesdays (an ongoing Facebook livestream series), the Marvelous Moms Community Baby Shower, vision screening services, public speaking engagements, and a volunteer internship program. All programs are coordinated through an event management platform supporting registration, exhibitor participation, and community outreach activities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Dancing With The Blind: A performance arts program featuring vision-impaired or blind individuals paired with sighted partners in dance competitions, modeled after Dancing With The Stars
• Ms. Blind Diva Empowerment Pageant
• Tiara Tuesdays
• Sneaker Ball

Products and services

• Ms. Blind Diva Empowerment Pageant Annual multi-day empowerment pageant for women with vision loss that crowns titleholders across categories including Ms. Blind Diva, Ms. Independent, Ms. Photogenic, Ms. Altruistic, and Director's Choice. Open to women who are blind or visually impaired seeking empowerment, public speaking experience, and community connection.
• Dancing With The Blind 4-8 week inclusive dance training and competition program pairing vision-impaired or blind individuals with sighted partners. Includes fitness and dance training, creativity, and inclusive accessibility through descriptive choreography and movement. Participants commit to selling a minimum of five tickets for the Finale Event.
• Marvelous Moms Community Baby Shower Annual community event for differently-abled expectant and new mothers with babies aged newborn to 3 years, featuring vendor exhibits, panel discussions, games, and baby shower distributions addressing food security, clothing, relocation, transitional housing, transportation, and diapers.
• Vision Screening Services Eye screening services provided at community events in partnership with organizations such as Edison Visionary Lions Club, including events like the Eye Screening for Ice Cream Meetup.
• Public Speaking Engagement Services Booking service for speakers (including titleholders such as Ms. Blind Diva 2022 Goddest Johnson) to provide advocacy presentations on vision loss awareness at community and corporate events.

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core, secondary and minor.

• Newark Museum of ArtcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Newark Museum of Art has partnered with Eyes Like Mine for the Miss Blind Diva Beauty Empowerment Pageant (2023, 2024, 2025 editions). The museum serves as the primary venue for the pageant events, combining cultural arts programming with the empowerment pageant.
• Rutgers University, NewarkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRutgers University, Newark partnered with Eyes Like Mine to organize the 2025 Dancing with the Blind program, integrating the inclusive dance competition into the university community.
• Edison Visionary Lions ClubcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEdison Visionary Lions Club partnered with Eyes Like Mine for the 2023 Disability Pride Inaugural Photoshoot and eye screening events including the Eye Screening for Ice Cream Meetup, providing vision health resources to the community.
• NJPAC (New Jersey Performing Arts Center)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNJPAC partnered with Eyes Like Mine to co-create the Kwanzaa Family Festival & Marketplace (December 20, 2025) and the Differing Abilities virtual event (December 8, 2025), including a panel co-created with founder Krystle Allen and NJPAC.
• SHINE Portrait StudiosecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerSHINE Portrait Studio partnered with Eyes Like Mine for the 2023 Disability Pride Photoshoot, providing professional portrait photography services for the event honoring the 33rd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
• The Empowerment StudiosecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Empowerment Studio partnered with Eyes Like Mine for the 9th Annual 2025 Sneaker Ball, co-organizing the event to celebrate diversity and empowerment.
• Eye Love Eyewear CollectionsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerEye Love Eyewear Collection partnered with Eyes Like Mine for the 2023 Disability Pride Inaugural Photoshoot, contributing to the event's visual and accessibility mission.
• Dodge Poetry (The Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Program)secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerDodge Poetry partnered with Eyes Like Mine for the NJPAC Kwanzaa Family Festival, contributing a poetry performance by Saleem Hue Penny, a Black disabled poet, as part of the opening program.
• WHAT THE FOX PODCASTminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as a sponsor of the 2023 Dancing with the Blind event, contributing promotional or media support.
• AMB DANCE THEATREminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a sponsor of the 2023 Dancing with the Blind event, contributing to the dance arts programming.
• Pageant PlanetminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as a sponsor of the Sneaker Ball 2023 event, providing promotional or organizational support.
• DDIVINO Tasting Room – Eatery – LoungeminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as a sponsor of the 2023 Dancing with the Blind event.
• Lisa Durden Unlimited ProductionsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as a sponsor of the 2023 Dancing with the Blind event.
• AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN IN CINEMAminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as a sponsor of the 2023 Dancing with the Blind event.
• blindCAN FILM FESTIVALminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as a sponsor of the 2023 Dancing with the Blind event, supporting accessible film and arts programming.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• American Foundation for the Blind: Established national nonprofit focused on vision loss research, advocacy, and services. Broader in scope and resources than Eyes Like Mine, but operates in the same vision-loss advocacy space with similar donor and partner profiles.
• Lighthouse Guild: National nonprofit providing services for people who are blind or visually impaired, including programs, events, and advocacy. A larger, more established peer operating in the same mission space with a broader programmatic portfolio.
• Helen Keller Services: Nonprofit serving individuals who are blind, deaf-blind, or visually impaired through rehabilitation, education, and advocacy. Comparable to Eyes Like Mine in target population, but operates broader service delivery rather than event-based empowerment.
• Perkins School for the Blind: Historic nonprofit serving children and young adults who are blind, deafblind, or visually impaired through education and advocacy. Overlaps with Eyes Like Mine's mission space and partnership ecosystem (e.g., disability advocacy organizations).
• Best Buddies International: Nonprofit fostering friendships, employment, and leadership opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Comparable to Eyes Like Mine in empowerment-event programming and donor fundraising model within the disability community.
• Prevent Blindness: National volunteer eye health and safety organization focused on vision screening, advocacy, and education. Comparable to Eyes Like Mine in vision-loss mission and event-driven community engagement, but at a significantly larger scale.
• Special Olympics: Global nonprofit providing sports training and competition for individuals with intellectual disabilities. Comparable to Eyes Like Mine in operating inclusive performance/competition programming for disability communities, with a far larger scale and footprint.

Direct peers

• American Council of the Blind: National consumer advocacy organization for blind and visually impaired Americans, hosting annual conventions, awards, and local chapter events. Comparable to Eyes Like Mine in mission, community-led events model, and grant/donation funding.
• National Federation of the Blind: The largest U.S. membership organization of the blind and visually impaired, running national conventions, advocacy campaigns, and state-level programming. Directly comparable to Eyes Like Mine as a vision-loss advocacy nonprofit operating events and community programs.

Regional players

• VISIONS/Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired: Nonprofit providing rehabilitation, social services, and recreation programs for blind and visually impaired individuals in the New York metro area. Comparable service portfolio (recreation, community programs) to Eyes Like Mine, with a regional rather than Newark-NJ focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCoYl3DG_RZG9mpvT2gC6DJA
• Facebookfacebook.com/eyeslikemineinc
• Instagraminstagram.com/eyeslikemineinc
• Xx.com/EyesLikeMineInc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/eyeslikemineinc

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Eyes Like Mine