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Washington, D.C. · Nonprofit

Optical Society of America Inc

Optical Society of America Inc (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 3 organizations whose IRS filings report $155,325 to it, the largest being DONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC ($55,325). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year.

Revenue FY2024
$62M
Funders on record
3
Grants received
$155k
Net assets
$119M
2/3 repeat funderspeak grant-dependency 0%
01What it does

What Optical Society of America Inc does

Mission

To promote the generation application and archiving of knowledge of optics and photonics and to disseminate the knowledge worldwide.

As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.

Programs

  1. Technical production and dissemination of scientific content related to optics.

    $39,587,410 spentof which $228,183 as grants$42,233,558 earned by the program
    74% of program spending
  2. Member Programs - The Organization develops and runs programs designed specifically for members in order to increase their knowledge of public policy career opportunities educational programs and programs designed to promote the global optics and photonics community.

    $10,707,881 spentof which $939,662 as grants$2,955,994 earned by the program
    20% of program spending
  3. Contributions to the Foundation: Optica matches donations to the Foundation on a one-to-one basis as well as contributes management services and funds to support the Foundations programs.

    $3,063,513 spentof which $686,841 as grants
    6% of program spending
  4. Other program services, not described on the e-filed return.

    $0 spent
    0% of program spending

The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $53,358,804.

02The organization over time

The organization over time

Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.

100 = 20172017 Revenue 100 ($45M) Expenses 100 ($41M) Net assets 100 ($89M)2018 Revenue 100 ($45M) Expenses 103 ($42M) Net assets 95 ($84M)2019 Revenue 110 ($50M) Expenses 113 ($46M) Net assets 113 ($101M)2020 Revenue 96 ($43M) Expenses 98 ($40M) Net assets 127 ($114M)2021 Revenue 113 ($51M) Expenses 91 ($37M) Net assets 148 ($132M)2022 Revenue 99 ($44M) Expenses 118 ($48M) Net assets 119 ($107M)2023 Revenue 152 ($68M) Expenses 126 ($52M) Net assets 129 ($115M)2024 Revenue 138 ($62M) Expenses 141 ($58M) Net assets 133 ($119M)
'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24
Revenue (138)Expenses (141)Net assets (133)Peer revenue range

Balance sheet

Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2021 to 2022, from $158M to $133M (−15%).

$112M
$109M
$127M
$140M
$158M
$133M
$145M
$148M
'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24
Total assetsTotal liabilities

How it's funded, over time

Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.

2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
ContributionsProgram revenueInvestmentOther

Government-grant reliance: 2017 0% · 2018 1% · 2019 0% · 2020 0% · 2021 10% · 2022 0% · 2023 0% · 2024 0%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.

1% of Optical Society of America Inc’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (7% for the typical peer).

This organization
Typical peer · 4,743 orgs

Surplus & reserves

Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 1 of the last 8 reported years ran a deficit.

$3.9M
’17
$2.4M
’18
$3.4M
’19
$2.8M
’20
$14M
’21
−$4.1M
’22
$17M
’23
$4.0M
’24
0.4
months of
reserve

Leadership and staff

The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.

Chief executive

Elizabeth Nolan

CEO

As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.

'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24
Listed3026262626242425
Joined·+6+12+7+6+5+7+9
No longer listed·101276778
03Who funds it

Who funds it, year by year

2018 → 2023: the base narrowed from 2 funders to 1 funder, grant income fell $60k → $12k.

Funder
'18
'19
'22
'23
'24*
'25*
total
funders
2
2
2
1
2
1

1 of 3 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 36% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.

From the IRS filings of Optical Society of America Inc’s funders (the co-funder graph). Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.

How concentrated its funding is

Optical Society of America Inc leans on a few funders — its largest provides 36% of grant income and the top three 100%; half comes from just 2 funders.

the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left

68% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund Optical Society of America Inc.

36%
largest funder
100%
top three
~3
effective funders

Largest funder’s share by year: 2018 83% · 2019 56% · 2022 50% · 2023 100% — growing more concentrated.

“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.

Where its funders are

Optical Society of America Inc draws 100% of its grant income from funders outside Washington, D.C., across 2 states in all.

CA
MD

In-state vs out-of-state, by year

’18
’19
’22
Washington, D.C. out of state home

Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $55k arriving through sponsors registered in 1 state is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.

04Its place in the field

Against its field

Optical Society of America Inc runs a healthier operating margin than half of the 4,580 health nonprofits its size.

Operating margin6% · above the median
Months of reserve0.4mo · bottom quartile
Revenue growth (annualized)5% · below the median

this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 4,580 health nonprofits $10M–$100M, FY2024

Government funding Optical Society of America Inc receives

Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $20k on record.

State$20k
13
15
23
By state
  • OK$20k
  • FL$45

Federal grants vs contracts are distinguished; state line items keep their reported category. Matched by name + geography (the BMF), so coverage is partial and precision-first.

Organizations like Optical Society of America Inc

Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.

In Washington, D.C.

Nationally

05Profile & governance

Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.

Where the money goes

92% of spending goes to programs.

Program 92%Management 8%Fundraising 0%

Governance

16
board members
100%
independent
✓Conflict-of-interest policy✓Whistleblower policy✓Document retention✓Board reviewed the 990✓Audited financials

Public support

81%

Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.

Footprint & structure

Files a return copy in 4 states

WA
PA
NJ
CA

Part of a family of 1 related entity

  • Optica Foundation · exempt

Screen this organization

A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for Optical Society of America Inc: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.

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Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf

Questions and answers

Who funds Optical Society of America Inc?
Optical Society of America Inc (Washington, D.C.) receives grants from 3 organizations whose IRS filings report $155,325 to it, the largest being DONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC ($55,325). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year.
How many funders does Optical Society of America Inc have?
IRS filings report 3 organizations giving $155,325 in grants to Optical Society of America Inc, 2 of which have funded it in more than one year.
Who is the largest funder of Optical Society of America Inc?
DONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC is the largest funder on record, with $55,325 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
How can an organization like Optical Society of America Inc find more funders?
Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Washington, D.C.. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.

These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2017–2024), and the filings of 3 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing