diff --git a/field_collection.module b/field_collection.module
index b5cfc07..4ec2126 100644
--- a/field_collection.module
+++ b/field_collection.module
@@ -604,6 +604,8 @@ function field_collection_item_is_empty(FieldCollectionItemEntity $item) {
     return $field['type'] != 'list_boolean';
   });
 
+  $non_empty_instances = array();  // so altering modules dont need to iterate again
+
   foreach ($instances as $instance) {
     $field_name = $instance['field_name'];
     $field = field_info_field($field_name);
@@ -624,6 +626,7 @@ function field_collection_item_is_empty(FieldCollectionItemEntity $item) {
         foreach ($item->{$field_name}[$langcode] as $field_item) {
           if (!module_invoke($field['module'], 'field_is_empty', $field_item, $field)) {
             $is_empty = FALSE;
+            $non_empty_instances[$field_name] = 1;
           }
         }
       }
@@ -631,7 +634,7 @@ function field_collection_item_is_empty(FieldCollectionItemEntity $item) {
   }
 
   // Allow other modules a chance to alter the value before returning.
-  drupal_alter('field_collection_is_empty', $is_empty, $item);
+  drupal_alter('field_collection_is_empty', $is_empty, $item, $non_empty_instances);
   return $is_empty;
 }