California Optometric Association
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 941017064
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2011–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Sacramento, CA, USA
- Phone
- (833) 206-0598
- Rating
- 38
- Verdict
- REVIEW
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $3,165,218
- Expenses
- $3,099,080
- Assets
- $12,945,365
- Liabilities
- $481,998
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
13 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- CHRISTOPHER GEE OD (PRESIDENT)
- BRIAN PARK OD (PRESIDENT-EL)
Highest reported compensation
- KRISTINE SHULTZ (EXECUTIVE DI): $284,824 total reported compensation
- SARAH HARBIN (ASSOCIATE EX): $282,743 total reported compensation
- JODI HAAS (DEVELOPMENT): $245,715 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
We empower optometrists and students through advocacy, professional development, practice management resources, and more.
What it reported doing in 2024
The California optometric association held multiple extensive continuing education opportunities and trade shows for optometrists for re-licensure and professional development. Optowest held two one day events: an online virtual event in april and august 2024. Monterey symposium was a live event held in person in 2024. There were six online two hour continuing education events held in january, march, may, july, september, and october 2024. Insights industry partner virtual program- june, august, and october. New od boot camps virtual and in-person program- june, july, august, and september.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 77% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- Distribution model
- Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent spending detail to tell whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.
The verdict
REVIEW - Most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 0
- Transparency & Controls: 58
- Accountability: 84
- Sustainability: 53
- Growth: 20
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 0%; rating input score 0
- Program expense ratio: 0%; rating input score 0
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 5th 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: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 80%; rating input score 80; 14th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 2.1%; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.18; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 27.1%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: Limited
- Revenue growth: -0.9% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 2.1% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 0% of revenue deployed · 0% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 8 of 10 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment
- Leadership: top reported pay $285K · 13 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 13 of 15 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes executive pay
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 4 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.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 0/100.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 0/100.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 41/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Functional expense sum did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule R controlled transactions itemized did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 7/100.