American Academy of Ophthalmology
ActiveMutual & Membership Benefit
About American Academy of Ophthalmology
Dedicated to the prevention of global blindness through education and service; supports the Academy’s programs to improve continuing education, public service, quality of care, and ophthalmology training worldwide.
Focus Areas
clinical educationsurgical trainingpublic health/eye care accessglobal blindness preventionregistry and quality improvement (IRIS® Registry)museum education/outreach
Who They Fund
patients needing surgical proceduresunderserved/low-resource communitiespopulations served by surgical outreach teams (e.g., remote or resource-limited areas)
Funding Style
campaign-based/project grants
About American Academy of Ophthalmology
American Academy of Ophthalmology Inc channels most of its recent grantmaking into surgical outreach campaigns, with the largest award in the file going to the Colorado Society of Eye Physicians & Surgeons for $797,507 in 2024. That pattern points to a funder built around ophthalmology service delivery rather than broad philanthropic giving. The foundation also repeatedly backs state and national medical societies, including the American College of Surgeons and several state academy partners, through grants tied to campaign-based surgical work. Its stated mission emphasizes preventing global blindness through education and service. The program descriptions reinforce that emphasis: support goes to clinical education, surgical training, public service, quality of care, risk management, and ophthalmology training worldwide. In practice, the recent grants show a strong preference for structured, profession-based organizations that can deliver training and service projects through established networks. The foundation’s 2025 filings also show a large asset base relative to annual giving, indicating an institution that funds planned programs rather than ad hoc awards. Across the recent grants list, the work centers on ophthalmology-specific infrastructure, education, and short-term surgical service campaigns.
What American Academy of Ophthalmology Funds
In surgical outreach, the foundation gave $282,750 in 2025 to the California Academy of Eye Physicians and Surgeons and $238,198 to the New Hampshire Academy of Eye Physicans and Surgeons for scope of surgery campaigns. Those awards fit a repeated pattern of campaign-based support for organized ophthalmology groups that can coordinate operative service delivery. Clinical education is another clear lane. Through the Ophthalmic Education Fund / ONE Network, the academy supports development and distribution of clinical education resources, including educational media, courses, assessments, simulations, and VR surgical training. Risk management and patient safety also appear as a distinct program area. The Bruce E. Spivey, MD, Fund for Risk Management Studies supports studies and educational programs developed in partnership with OMIC, along with tools and the Spivey lecture at the Academy annual meeting. Global blindness prevention shows up through the Global Outreach program, which provides educational resources, volunteer-hosting support, a volunteer registry, and educational materials for low- and lower-middle-income countries.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$3.1M
Total Assets
$149.5M
Total Revenue
$68.3M
Total Expenses
$66.5M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $30K and $132K, with a median of $90K.
25th Percentile
$30K
Median
$90K
75th Percentile
$132K
Geographic Reach
National33 states funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Leadership
STEPHEN D MCLEOD MD
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