Optometry Giving Sight launches new year-round fundraising initiative

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Recently, non-profit organization Optometry Giving Sight (OGS) launched a new program, providing optometry practices with ways to support the organization’s work on a year-round basis by integrating fundraising activities into their everyday business operations.¹ The Together Eyecare Achieves Miracles (TEAM OGS) initiative is now available to all optometry practitioners in the US and Canada, according to a news release.

“Optometrists and optometry practices are very generous and compassionate,” Lois Schoenbrun, OGS executive director, said in the release. “Most practices are quite involved in their local communities, whether they have formal corporate social responsibility programs in place or not. Their support of OGS – and participation in TEAM OGS – demonstrate their concern for people throughout the world who have little to no access to vision care.”

With TEAM OGS, practices can raise funds for OGS in a variety of ways, including donating a day of eye exam fees each month, choosing to give a percentage of eyeglass frames or products sold, promoting vision care rebate and reward programs that benefit OGS, or engaging their patients in ways to give back. Practitioners can raise funds during the normal course of their business day, and there is no cost to join TEAM OGS. Additionally, all materials for the program are provided with no charge.¹

Schoenbrun said in the release that the organization selected these fundraising activities to include in TEAM OGS because of how easy they are for optometry professionals to participate in, both individually and with their patients.

“We know how busy optometrists and their staffs are, and we wanted to make it easy for them to participate in TEAM OGS, so their focus can remain on caring for patients every day,” Schoenbrun said in the release.

OGS has previous fundraising initiatives, such as Optometry’s Charity, which raises funds from optometrists, optometry practices, and optometry-related businesses and corporations to award grants for sustainable, impactful projects that help expand the profession and improve access to vision care in underserved parts of the world.¹

In 2007, the organization introduced its now annual World Sight Day Challenge. According to Schoenbrun, it is OGS’s largest fundraising activity, running only 2 months out of the year. Because of its popularity in the field, TEAM OGS was created to raise more funds for practices throughout the year.¹

Reference:

1. TEAM OGS now available for optometry practices. News release. Optometry Giving Sight. Accessed July 18, 2024. https://givingsight.org/news/team-ogs-now-available/