The American Optometric Foundation (AOF) was founded in 1947 for the “upholding, broadening, fostering, promoting and aiding of optometric education; the profession of optometry and its practitioners.” The guiding force behind the creation of the organization was William C. Ezell, O.D., of Spartanburg, South Carolina. Based in Rockville, MD, the AOF is a philanthropic organization devoted to the advancement of optometric education and research. AOF is proud to be an affiliate of the American Academy of Optometry (AAO).
Today, sources of support for the AOF include optometrists, corporations, other foundations, state associations, and private citizens interested in vision care. The AOF's record of achievement is a strong history of dedication to the improved visual welfare of the public.
The AOF’s Mission
The AOF is a philanthropic organization that develops and provides financial support for optometric research and education in vision and eye health. The AOF is organized under Section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service Code. The goals of the AOF are:
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To solicit, receive and invest grants, bequests, donations, and other funds for the purpose of upholding, broadening, fostering, and promoting optometric education and research in vision and eye health; |
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To provide fellowships at the graduate level to students planning a teaching and/or research career in vision and eye health; |
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To recognize and honor achievements which further the visual welfare of humanity; and |
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To foster inter-professional and intra-professional relations and representation with organizations and groups that share common goals. |
A Message from Anthony J. Adams, President 2008-present
The Year in Review
We enjoyed another invigorating year filled with accomplishment, celebration, but a little sadness. During a time of almost unprecedented economic challenges the Foundation fared far better than many of our philanthropic peers. A glance at page 25 of the AOF Annual Report will show you that, consistent with the past few years, the Foundation again increased its assets by around half a million dollars in the twelve months up to June 2009. Two factors contributed to this trend.
First, when the markets were tumbling, the Foundation had less than half of its assets in mutual funds with a large amount in cash and around a million dollars in annuities. This was not a textbook strategy, but one that, in retrospect, served us very well.
Second, the Foundation has continued to receive outstanding support from both individual and corporate donors. In late 2008, the Foundation received $200,000 from the estate of Jill Mertz, widow of former Foundation President George Mertz. For the past five years, the Mertz Endowment has supported an Ezell Fellow, but in 2010 the Foundation will announce an exciting new use for the funds. In 2009, the Foundation received a very generous $240,000 commitment from long-time AOF supporter, Michael G. Harris to endow an Ezell Fellowship. In a similar fashion, Essilor continued its support of the Foundation’s mission by endowing an Ezell Fellowship in honor of industry leader Mike Daley. Essilor also sponsored a matching challenge at Academy 2009 Orlando and partnered with the Foundation on three Optical Technology Grants .
The year saw a few milestones for the Foundation. We awarded the first Ezell Fellowship to honor former Academy President and leadership advocate Merton C. Flom . The Primary Care Section completed their goal of raising $80,000 for the Douglas Hopkins Primary Care Fellowship. The Foundation supported twelve more Ezell Fellowships and welcomed the third class of Carl Zeiss Vision Fellows. Finally, for the first time we received over $100,000 in donations at the Annual Meeting in Orlando.
The year was not without some sadness as we remember the loss of some of optometry’s best Elmer Eger, J. Pat Cummings and, just prior to the Annual Meeting, former Academy President, N. Rex Ghormley. Again, thanks to the generosity of Foundation supporters all three will be remembered each year with an annual scholarship or award. See the following pages for details.
The AOF is the Academy’s Foundation, your Foundation, and we can all take great pride in its growth, the outstanding talent we support, and the achievements of those in who we have invested. We encourage you to browse through the website and learn more about the Foundation’s growing portfolio of programs. Finally, we invite you all to invest further in the future of optometry. We would love to celebrate you joining the Presidents Circle in San Francisco this November.
