American Ophthalmological Society

Legal name: American Ophthalmological Society Charitable Educ and Scientific Fund

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
411872794
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
San Francisco, California, US
Phone
(415) 561-8578
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Eye Diseases, Blindness & Vision Impairments Research

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$80,176
Expenses
$83,941
Assets
$1,634,309
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • PRESTON H BLOMQUIST MD (PRESIDENT THROUGH 5/2024)
  • EMILY Y CHEW MD (PRESIDENT START 5/2024)

Highest reported compensation

  • DAVID J WILSON MD (SECRETARY / TREASURER): $50,000 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The mission of the American Ophthalmological Society is to promote excellence in patient care, education and research, to address essential issues in medicine, and to advance the art and science of ophthalmology.

What it reported doing in 2024

The american ophthalmological society charitable, educational, and scientific fund ("aos ces fund") supports the american ophthalmological society through the publication and dissemination of scientific papers and the transactions of its annual scientific meeting to share recent advances in ophthalmic education, research, and the art and science of ophthalmology. The ces fund also supports travel grants for non-members who are less than 8 years out from their residencies to participate in the aos annual meeting; there were no travel grants awarded in 2024.

Operating model

Revenue model
Investment-supported. 98% of the money available for current operations came from recurring investment income.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Revenue has declined or grown slowly and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 87
  • Sustainability: 55
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 62%; rating input score 62
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 85.7%; rating input score 86; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: -4.7%; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 19.47; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: Limited

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.9% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -3.8% per year; rating input score 0; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.7% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 62% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 7 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $52K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $50K · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 18 of 18 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes related organizations
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Related organizations: 2 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.

  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 50/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.