Society of Photo Optical Instrumentation Engineers
SPIE is a public charity based in Bellingham, Washington. Founded in 1955, it is an international technical society that supports the optics and photonics community through research and education programs, technical events, publications, and grants.
Key facts about Society of Photo Optical Instrumentation Engineers
In short: Society of Photo Optical Instrumentation Engineers gave $880K across 10 grants in 2024 (avg $88K), mostly in Massachusetts. 60% of 2024 grantees were new. Source: 2024 IRS Form 990.
- EIN
- 95-2142678
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990, 2024
- Annual giving (2024)
- $879,985
- Grants made (2024)
- 10
- Average grant
- $87,999
- Median grant
- $35,175
- New grantees (estimate)
- 60% first-time grantees (6 of 10, 2024; small sample)
- Total assets
- $150,848,856
- Primary geography
- Massachusetts (58% of itemized 2024 grant dollars)
Data from IRS Form 990, 2024; updated September 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
Financial Overview
From 2024 IRS Form 990 · View filing
Total Assets
$150.8M
+10.3% YoY
Annual Giving
$880K
+522.2% YoY
Grant Count
10
+100.0% YoY
Avg Grant Size
$88K
+211.1% YoY
Is Society of Photo Optical Instrumentation Engineers open to new grantees?
60%
first-time grantees, 2024
In 2024, 6 of 10 grantees (60%) were first-time recipients. With only 10 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 10 points. First grants averaged $123K; repeat grants $35K. How we count
Medians: $63K first-time, $18K repeat.
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990 filings (2020–2024). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.
Mission & Focus Areas
SPIE’s stated mission is to advance scientific research and engineering applications of optical, photonic, imaging, and optoelectronic technologies through meetings, education programs, and publications. Its website also describes its mission as partnering with researchers, educators, and industry to advance light-based research and technologies for the betterment of the human condition.
In 2024, SPIE reported organizing technical and scientific meetings with approximately 36,000 attendees, including 292 conferences and 113 in-person educational courses. It also reported publishing technical books and journals, awarding 80 education scholarships and 14 grants for outreach and related activities, and supporting student conference attendance and student chapter groups. Its website describes additional support through scholarships, travel grants, endowed gifts, public-policy development, and research and program funding.
Grantmaking
SPIE reported giving 10 grants totaling $879,985 in 2024. Grant amounts ranged from $5,175 to $501,500, with a median grant of $35,175. The largest awards included:
Other 2024 recipients included Michigan Tech University ($20,350), Monroe Community College Foundation ($15,000), UR SPIE Student Chapter ($6,500), Ithaka Harbors Inc. ($6,460), and the Regents of the University of California ($5,175).
SPIE’s website describes several research and program funding opportunities. The SPIE Endowment Matching Program offers matching contributions of up to $500,000 per award to colleges and universities with degree programs in optics and photonics or allied disciplines. The SPIE-Franz Hillenkamp Postdoctoral Fellowship is an annual $75,000 award for work translating biomedical optics and biophotonics technologies to clinical practice. The IBM-SPIE HBCU Faculty Accelerator Award is a $100,000 annual award supporting quantum optics and photonics research and education at member institutions of the IBM-HBCU Quantum Center. Berns-SPIE SPARK Grants support young research scientists working in biophotonics.
The SPIE Outreach Grants Program offers up to $7,500 for optics and photonics outreach activities. Applicants must be current SPIE members, and eligible applicants include qualifying not-for-profit organizations such as universities, science centers, schools, youth clubs, industry associations, and international optical societies. The application requires an endorsement from a staff member or advisor at the applying organization. Proposals are evaluated on their potential impact and awareness-building, project clarity, and timeline and budget. Deadline: The 2026 application cycle closed on December 1, 2025; this is a past cycle.
Ready to take the next step with Society of Photo Optical Instrumentation Engineers?
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
SPIE describes itself as serving a global optics and photonics community. Its 2024 grants went to recipients in multiple states. By share of grant dollars, Massachusetts accounted for 58%, Alabama 11%, Colorado 11%, California 9%, and Texas 6%.
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2024 grant dollars across all 10 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2020 to 2024, annual grant giving ranged from $141K (2023) to $1.2M (2021). In 2024 it made 10 grants totaling $880K.
Grant Insights
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 9 recipients in 2024
The largest 2024 recipient was Trustees of Boston University ($502K). Together the top 9 received $860K.
Organizations only. It also paid 1 grant to individuals ($20,350), which are not listed by name.
Grant Size Distribution
42 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 27 grants of 42 (64%).
Giving History
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Trustees of Boston University Boston, MA | General Support/Student Chapter Activity Grant | $501,500 |
| Tuskegee University Tuskegee, AL | General Support- Award | $100,000 |
| University of Colorado Foundation Denver, CO | General Support | $100,000 |
| California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA | Hillenkamp Fellowship | $75,000 |
| UT Southwestern Medical Ctr Dallas, TX | General Support- Grant | $50,000 |
| 1 grant to individuals Recipients not named | — | $20,350 |
| Monroe Community College Foundation Rochester, NY | General support | $15,000 |
| UR SPIE Student Chapter Rochester, NY | Outreach Grant/Student Chapter Activity Grant | $6,500 |
| Ithaka Harbors Inc Boston, MA | General support | $6,460 |
| The Regents of the University of California Los Angeles, CA | Outreach Grant/Student Chapter Activity Grant | $5,175 |
Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $150,848,856 | $59,735,524 | $53,251,757 | $879,985 (10 grants) |
| 2023 | $136,740,026 | $52,668,388 | $51,312,414 | $141,439 (5 grants) |
| 2022 | $123,692,057 | $36,576,887 | $46,877,020 | $169,090 (6 grants) |
In describing several 2024 grantees, the organizations state their own missions: the University of Colorado Foundation manages philanthropic gifts and endowments for the benefit of the University of Colorado; Tuskegee University provides postsecondary educational opportunities and contributes to society through research and development; and Monroe Community College Foundation seeks philanthropic investment to advance academic achievement, innovation, and the college’s mission.
| Metric | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Assets | $150,848,856 | $136,740,026 | $123,692,057 |
| Revenue | $59,735,524 | $52,668,388 | $36,576,887 |
| Expenses | $53,251,757 | $51,312,414 | $46,877,020 |
| Net Investment Income | $6,888,738 | $5,086,782 | $504,284 |
Data update history
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS August 16, 2021)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS September 7, 2022)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS September 7, 2023)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS September 4, 2024)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS August 25, 2025)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2020–2024
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2024 filing lists Kent Rochford as Chief Executive Officer and Bradley Ferguson as COO & COFO. Other listed officers and directors are Scott C H Ritchey, Sr Director, Information Technology; Andrew Brown, Sr Director, Events & Global Business Development; Jeffrey Nichols, Director, Sales; Allison Romanyshyn, Sr Director, Community Engagement, Chief Inclusion Officer; Patrick Franzen, Director, Publications and Platform; Marilyn Gorsuch, Sr Director, Technical Programs; Robert F Hainsey, Director, Science & Technology; and Lara Miles, Director, Business Services, Systems & Data Governance.
Society of Photo Optical Instrumentation Engineers is led by Kent Rochford, Chief Executive Officer on every filing since 2020; 16 of 31 officers listed in 2024 are compensated.
Officers on the 2024 filing
Kent Rochford
Chief Executive Officer
On filings since 2020
36 hrs/week
$646K (2020) → $746K (2024)
Jennifer Barton
President
Vice President → President-Elect, 2023
President-Elect → President, 2024
On filings since 2022
4 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Allison Romanyshyn
Senior Director, Community Engagement & Chief Inclusion Officer
Senior Director Community Engagement & Chief Inclusion → Senior Director, Community Engagement & Chief Inclusion Officer, 2023
On filings since 2020
36 hrs/week
$148K (2020) → $216K (2024)
Andrew Brown
Senior Director, Events & Global Business Development
Senior Director & Global Business Development → Senior Director, Events & Global Business Development, 2023
On filings since 2020
36 hrs/week
$234K (2020) → $254K (2024)
Marilyn Gorsuch
Senior Director & Technical Programs
Director, Technical Programs & Proceedings → Senior Director & Technical Programs, 2023
On filings since 2020
36 hrs/week
$195K (2020) → $234K (2024)
Patrick Franzen
Director, Publications & Platform
On filings since 2020
36 hrs/week
$168K (2020) → $208K (2024)
Peter Hallett
Director, Marketing & Industry Relations
On filings since 2020
36 hrs/week
$170K (2020) → $199K (2024)
Robert F Hainsey
Director, Science & Technology
Science & Technology Strategist → Director, Science & Technology, 2023
On filings since 2020
36 hrs/week
$196K (2020) → $225K (2024)
Scott C H Ritchey
Senior Director & Information Technology
Director & Information Technology → Senior Director & Information Technology, 2023
On filings since 2020
36 hrs/week
$240K (2020) → $321K (2024)
Lara Miles
Director, Business Services, Systems & Data Governance
Director, Business Services, Systems & Data Governor → Director, Business Services, Systems & Data Governance, 2023
On filings since 2021
36 hrs/week
$159K (2021) → $221K (2024)
Jeffrey Nichols
Director & Sales
On filings since 2022
36 hrs/week
$185K (2022) → $219K (2024)
Jessica DeGroote Nelson
Director
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
$2K (2023) → $2K (2024)
Laura Waller
Director
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
$429 (2024)
Daewook Kim
Director
New on the 2024 filing
1 hr/week
$3K (2024)
Allison Barto
Director
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Audrey Bowden
Director
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Gong-Ru Lin
Director
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Rebecca Fahrig
Director
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
William Roach
Director
On filings since 2022
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
David Hagan
Director
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Miles Padgett
Director
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Paul Montgomery
Director
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Agnes Hubscher
Director
New on the 2024 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Keisuke Goda
Director
New on the 2024 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Michelle Lynn Stock
Director
New on the 2024 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Samuel Achilefu
Director
New on the 2024 filing
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Bernard Kress
Past President
President-Elect → President, 2023
President → Past President, 2024
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
$13K (2021) → $8K (2024)
Bradley Ferguson
COO & Cofo
On filings since 2023
36 hrs/week
$348K (2023) → $372K (2024)
Julie L Bentley
Vice President
New on the 2024 filing
1 hr/week
$9K (2024)
Jim McNally
Secretary & Treasurer
Director → Secretary & Treasurer, 2023
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Peter de Groot
President-Elect
Vice President → President-Elect, 2024
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (29)
- Former: Anita Mahadevan-Jansen (2020–2023) — Past President
- Former: Kyle Myers (2020–2023) — Director
- Former: Cather Simpson (2021–2023) — Director
- Former: Joseph Shaw (2021–2023) — Director
- Former: Ruth Houbertz (2021–2023) — Director
- Former: Donis Flagello (2023) — Director
- Former: Maryellen Giger (2023) — Director
- Former: Scott Bass (2023) — Director
- Former: Brad Ferguson (2020–2022) — Cofo
- Former: Byoungho Lee (2020–2022) — Director
- Former: Cristina Solano (2020–2022) — Director
- Former: David Andrews (2020–2022) — Past President
- Former: Halina Rubinsztein-Dunlop (2020–2022) — Director
- Former: Jason Mulliner (2020–2022) — Secretary & Treasurer
- Former: Katie Schwertz (2020–2022) — Director
- Former: Scott Tyo (2020–2022) — Director
- Former: Elizabeth Krupinski (2021–2022) — Director
- Former: John Greivenkamp (2020–2021) — Past President
- Former: Judy Fennelly (2020–2021) — Director
- Former: Julia Craven (2020–2021) — Director
- Former: Marta de la Fuente (2020–2021) — Director
- Former: Peter DeGroot (2020–2021) — Director
- Former: Stephen Anderson (2020–2021) — Director & Industry Development
- Former: Chris Mack (2020) — Director
- Former: Jill Stanton (2020) — Director & Software Development
- Former: Jim Oschmann (2020) — Past President
- Former: Kazuo Kuroda (2020) — Director
- Former: Kristen Maitland (2020) — Director
- Former: Leonard Chen (2020) — Director
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2020–2024. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Compensation Overview
From 2024 IRS filing
The highest reported compensation on the 2024 filing was $746K, to Kent Rochford (Chief Executive Officer). 16 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.
Contact
Mailing address: PO Box 10, Bellingham, WA 98227-0010
Phone: (360) 676-3290
Website: https://spie.org
Frequently asked questions about Society of Photo Optical Instrumentation Engineers
How much does Society of Photo Optical Instrumentation Engineers give each year?
Society of Photo Optical Instrumentation Engineers gave $880K across 10 grants in 2024, according to its 2024 IRS Form 990. In 2023 it gave $141K across 5 grants.
What is Society of Photo Optical Instrumentation Engineers's typical grant size?
Society of Photo Optical Instrumentation Engineers's median grant in 2024 was $35,175, and its average grant was $87,999, across 10 grants on its 2024 IRS Form 990. Organizations receiving their first grant from Society of Photo Optical Instrumentation Engineers that year got $123K on average.
Where does Society of Photo Optical Instrumentation Engineers give grants?
Society of Photo Optical Instrumentation Engineers gives mostly in Massachusetts: 58% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2024 IRS Form 990 went to recipients there. The next largest states were Alabama (11%) and Colorado (11%). The most frequent recipient cities were Boston, MA (2 grants) and Rochester, NY (2 grants).
Does Society of Photo Optical Instrumentation Engineers give general operating support?
Yes: 70% of Society of Photo Optical Instrumentation Engineers's 2024 grants with a stated purpose (7 of 10) were for general or operating support, per its 2024 IRS Form 990.
Who are Society of Photo Optical Instrumentation Engineers's largest grantees?
Society of Photo Optical Instrumentation Engineers's largest 2024 grantees include Trustees of Boston University ($501,500), Tuskegee University ($100,000) and University of Colorado Foundation ($100,000), according to its 2024 IRS Form 990. It also paid 1 grant to individuals ($20,350), which are not listed by name. Together they received 80% of its itemized 2024 grant dollars.
How large is Society of Photo Optical Instrumentation Engineers?
Society of Photo Optical Instrumentation Engineers reported $150.8M in total assets on its 2024 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $59.7M.
What does Society of Photo Optical Instrumentation Engineers fund?
SPIE’s stated mission is to advance scientific research and engineering applications of optical, photonic, imaging, and optoelectronic technologies through meetings, education programs, and publications. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from Society of Photo Optical Instrumentation Engineers?
Society of Photo Optical Instrumentation Engineers has no public application process in the sources Grantable reviewed. Check spie.org for current guidelines, or contact the foundation directly before submitting a request.
What is Society of Photo Optical Instrumentation Engineers's EIN?
Society of Photo Optical Instrumentation Engineers's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 95-2142678. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2020–2024.
Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.
Here's the math on researching Society of Photo Optical Instrumentation Engineers by hand.
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