American Academy of Optometry Foundation Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 430768182
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Winter Park, FL, USA
- Phone
- 3213194870
- Rating
- 66
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Eye Diseases, Blindness and Vision Impairments
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $3,442,243
- Expenses
- $1,149,363
- Assets
- $13,244,822
- Liabilities
- $288,917
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
15 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- VALERIE SHARPE (PRESIDENT)
- LORETTA SZCZOTKA-FLYNN (PRESIDENT-ELECT)
- TRISH SHOMION (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)
Highest reported compensation
- TRISH SHOMION (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $281,512 total reported compensation
- RICHARD JONES (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $212,570 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To develop and provide financial support for optometric research and education.
What it reported doing in 2024
The american academy of optometry foundation, inc. (foundation) promotes the advancement of vision science by providing fellowships, scholarships, and research grants to outstanding graduate students of optometry and vision science, and through publications, the academy newsletter, and website.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 89% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 83% of its reported program spending out as grants.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - Most voting board members are independent and program spending has grown recently. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 54
- Transparency & Controls: 56
- Accountability: 91
- Sustainability: 88
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 36.3%; rating input score 36
- Program expense ratio: 78.6%; rating input score 79
- Fundraising efficiency: $27.26 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 13th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Missing
- Foreign activity oversight: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
- Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
- Requires narrative reports: Limited
- Conducts field audits: Limited
- May suspend future funding: Limited
- Requires financial reports: Limited
- Conducts site visits: Limited
- Requires grant agreements: Limited
- May require repayment: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 80.7%; rating input score 81; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Fail
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 66.6%; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 11.52; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 4.8%; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 7.8% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 8.2% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 7.3% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 36.3% of revenue deployed · 78.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $903K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $282K · 15 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 30 of 32 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 13 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 25 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 26 filed related-organization links
- Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
- People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 36/100.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 55/100.