Funding

Optometry Giving Sight 2024 Grant Guidelines

Our 2024 pre-qualifying period has ended. 

Mission

Optometry Giving Sight (OGS) aims to permanently solve the problem of preventable blindness and vision impairment by training, establishing, and delivering sustainable solutions in underserved communities worldwide.

Grant Guidelines & Deadlines

OGS makes grants available to both domestic and international organizations with a focus on activities with long-term sustainability.

Since 2022, OGS moved to one grant making cycle per calendar year with funding decisions being announced in August/September.

2024 Grant Application Period Information:

March 1 – 20, 2024: All organizations are required to complete a brief pre-qualifying form during this time period. All pre-qualifying forms must be submitted by midnight MST March 20th.

The pre-qualifying form is now closed

April 8, 2024: Organizations whose projects qualify for further consideration will be emailed access to the full application form and will have until April 30th to complete the application. Organizations whose projects do not qualify for consideration will be informed by email.

August 2024: Funding decisions announced in August.

OGS funds organizations that focus on the following:

• Programs involving optometry where there is a clear outline of optometry’s involvement and benefits to the program
• Establish or support optometry schools, eye clinics, vision centers and optical labs
• Deliver eye exams and low-cost or no-cost glasses to underserved/marginalized populations that also contains a strong optometry education and training component
• Integrated, long-term optometry-related programs with a view towards sustainability
• Service delivery tied to optometry education and/or the development of optometry

Organizations that qualify for public charity status under section 501(c)(3), 501(c)(6), Canadian registered charities and international registered charities are eligible for funding. There are no geographic restrictions on the locations of the projects, however priority is given to programs that are in parts of the world where optometry is not a well developed profession.

We are headquartered in North America with offices in Golden, Colorado and in Calgary, Alberta.

Grant Amount

The range of awards is based on the project with a maximum award of $100,000 USD or if headquartered in Canada, CAD. However, our average award amount ranges from $25,000 – $45,000 USD & CAD. Acceptance is contingent upon the amount of funds available, and the number and range of applications submitted. We encourage multi-year projects that support long-term sustainable activities as well as projects that have matching funds.

What We Do Not Fund

We do not provide grants to individuals and to domestic and international charitable organizations that are not registered nonprofits (501(c)(3) or 501(c)(6) in USA)  or registered charities in their region. Organizations must be nonpartisan.

As of 2021, Optometry Giving Sight has decided that potential grantees must meet the following criteria to apply:
• Your organization must be a registered non-profit or charity
• We no longer offer grants covering solely Vision Screenings, Basic Eye Exams & Eyeglass Distribution
• Organizations whose parent company is a large corporation are not eligible.