The Heed Ophthalmic Foundation logo

The Heed Ophthalmic Foundation

Private foundation · Grantmaker Boston, MA EIN: 36-6012426 Website

The Heed Ophthalmic Foundation is a private foundation located in Boston, Massachusetts. It supports postgraduate education and research in ophthalmology and the ophthalmic sciences, primarily through fellowships for individuals pursuing ophthalmology training.

Key facts about The Heed Ophthalmic Foundation

In short: The Heed Ophthalmic Foundation gave $209K across 42 grants in 2025 (avg $5K), top state California. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

EIN
36-6012426
Latest 990 filing
Form 990-PF, 2025
Annual giving (2025)
$209,334
Grants made (2025)
42
Average grant
$4,984
Median grant
$4,587
Total assets
$4,196,606
Primary geography
California (20% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
How to apply
Applications are submitted online with the required materials. Full details ↓
Deadline
March 1 for fellowships beginning in July of the same year.

Data from IRS Form 990-PF, 2025; updated September 2026. Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.

Financial Overview

From 2025 IRS Form 990-PF · View filing

Total Assets

$4.2M

+0.3% YoY

Annual Giving

$209K

-6.3% YoY

Grant Count

42

-6.7% YoY

Avg Grant Size

$5K

+0.3% YoY

Under IRS private-foundation payout rules, The Heed Ophthalmic Foundation reported a distributable amount of $279K for 2025 — the minimum it must pay out in qualifying distributions.

How The Heed Ophthalmic Foundation gives

  • Giving held roughly steady from 2022 to 2025 (−5%). Method
  • In 2025 it paid out 107% of its IRS minimum distribution (the 5% rule). Method

From the foundation's IRS Form 990-PF filings. Methodology.

Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated September 2026.

Mission & Focus Areas

The foundation’s mission is to encourage and support education and research in ophthalmology and the ophthalmic sciences by providing postgraduate fellowships to individuals of exceptional ability. It supports outstanding ophthalmologists pursuing academic careers in ophthalmic patient care, education, and research.

Grantmaking

In filing year 2025, the foundation reported 42 grants totaling $209,334. The grants ranged from $4,170 to $5,838, with a median of $4,587. The largest listed grants were $5,838 each, for education, to recipients including Amer Alsoudi, Poojitha Balakrishnan, Darius Bordbar, Arthur Brant, Angela Chen, Jimmy Chen, Kelly Donovan, Anupam Garg, Joseph Giacalone, James Harris, Jason Keil, and Emily Levine.

Review Cycle

March 1 for fellowships beginning in July of the same year.

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Geographic Focus

Where this funder awards grants

The foundation’s 2025 grant dollars went to recipients in multiple states. The largest shares were in California (20%), Pennsylvania (11%), Massachusetts (8%), North Carolina (8%), and Florida (7%). These figures describe recipient locations, not stated geographic priorities.

Grant Distribution by State

25states

Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 42 itemized grants.

Cities

BostonAnn ArborDurhamMiamiBaltimoreLos AngelesPortlandCambridgeSalt Lake CityChicagoClevelandNew YorkPhiladelphiaSan DiegoSan FranciscoPalo AltoSaint LouisPlantationIowa CityMadison

Giving Over Time

Total grant dollars and number of grants per year

$0$100K$200K$300K36 grants2019 34 grants2020 37 grants2021 44 grants2022 47 grants2023 45 grants2024 42 grants2025

From 2019 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $168K (2020) to $233K (2023). In 2025 it made 42 grants totaling $209K.

Grant Insights

How this funder distributes its grants

Top Recipients

Top 10 recipients in 2025

Amer Alsoudi: $6KAmer Alsoudi$6KPoojitha Balakrishnan: $6KPoojitha Balakrishnan$6KDarius Bordbar: $6KDarius Bordbar$6KArthur Brant: $6KArthur Brant$6KAngela Chen: $6KAngela Chen$6KJimmy Chen: $6KJimmy Chen$6KKelly Donovan: $6KKelly Donovan$6KAnupam Garg: $6KAnupam Garg$6KJoseph Giacalone: $6KJoseph Giacalone$6KJames Harris: $6KJames Harris$6K

The largest 2025 recipient was Amer Alsoudi ($6K). Together the top 10 received $58K.

Grant Size Distribution

215 grants across all recorded years

215<$50K$50–100K$100–250K$250–500K$500K–1M$1–5M$5M+

The most common grant size was under $50K: 215 grants of 215 (100%).

Giving History

Grant recipients and amounts by year

RecipientPurposeAmount
Amer Alsoudi Houston, TXEducation$5,838
Poojitha Balakrishnan Birmingham, ALEducation$5,838
Darius Bordbar Houston, TXEducation$5,838
Arthur Brant Mountain View, CAEducation$5,838
Angela Chen Los Angeles, CAEducation$5,838
Jimmy Chen San Diego, CAEducation$5,838
Kelly Donovan Durham, NCEducation$5,838
Anupam Garg Baltimore, MDEducation$5,838
Joseph Giacalone Rochester, MNEducation$5,838
James Harris Durham, NCEducation$5,838

Financial History

Multi-year comparison from IRS filings

Filing year Assets Revenue Expenses Grants Grant count
2025 $4,196,606 $346,393 $323,425 $209,334 42
2024 $4,184,705 $339,859 $329,464 $223,512 45
2023 $4,173,262 $243,332 $334,306 $232,686 47
Revenue
Expenses
Qualifying Distributions
Net Investment Income
$0$200K$400K$600K2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Metric202520242023
Total Assets$4,196,606$4,184,705$4,173,262
Revenue$346,393$339,859$243,332
Expenses$323,425$329,464$334,306
Qualifying Distributions$298,198$306,709$315,818
Net Investment Income$232,905$288,103$124,162
Distributable Amount$278,651$260,562$234,145

Data update history

When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable

  1. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS June 10, 2020)
  2. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS April 26, 2021)
  3. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS May 10, 2022)
  4. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS May 4, 2023)
  5. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS May 10, 2024)
  6. Updated Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS October 22, 2025)
  7. Added Form 990-PF for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS June 24, 2026)
  8. IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2019–2024

Leadership & Key People

Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings

The 2025 filing lists CIBC National Trust Company as trustee; David J. Wilson, M.D., and Froncie A. Gutman, M.D., as executive secretaries; Stephen D. McLeod, M.D., Eduardo C. Alfonso, M.D., Joan W. Miller, M.D., Nicholas J. Volpe, M.D., and Julia A. Haller, M.D., as officers; and Lisa Brown SF AMS as administrator.

The Heed Ophthalmic Foundation's 2025 filing lists 9 officers; 2 of 9 officers listed in 2025 are compensated.

Officers on the 2025 filing

  • Cibc National Trust Company

    Trustee

    On filings since 2019

    2 hrs/week

    $32K (2019) → $36K (2025)

  • David J. Wilson MD

    Executive Secretary

    On filings since 2019

    2 hrs/week

    $48K (2020) → $32K (2025)

  • Froncie A. Gutman MD

    Executive Secretary

    On filings since 2019

    2 hrs/week

    $10K (2019) → $0 (2025)

  • Eduardo C. Alfonso MD

    Officer

    On filings since 2019

    2 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Joan W. Miller MD

    Officer

    On filings since 2019

    2 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Julia A. Haller MD

    Officer

    On filings since 2019

    2 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Lisa Brown Sf Ams

    Administrator

    On filings since 2019

    2 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Nicholas J. Volpe MD

    Officer

    On filings since 2019

    2 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

  • Stephen D. McLeod MD

    Officer

    On filings since 2019

    2 hrs/week

    No compensation reported

Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2019–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.

Compensation Overview

From 2025 IRS filing

Cibc National Trust Company — Trustee: $36KCibc National Trust…Trustee$36KDavid J Wilson MD — Executive Secretary: $32KDavid J Wilson MDExecutive Secretary$32K

The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $36K, to Cibc National Trust Company (Trustee). 2 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.

Contact

Application contact: David J Wilson M D
Mailing address: 3375 Sw Terwilliger Blvd, Portland, OR 97239
Phone: (503) 494-3051
Website: https://heed.org

Frequently asked questions about The Heed Ophthalmic Foundation

How much does The Heed Ophthalmic Foundation give each year?

The Heed Ophthalmic Foundation gave $209K across 42 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. In 2024 it gave $224K across 45 grants.

What is The Heed Ophthalmic Foundation's typical grant size?

The Heed Ophthalmic Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $4,587, and its average grant was $4,984, across 42 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF.

Where does The Heed Ophthalmic Foundation give grants?

The Heed Ophthalmic Foundation's top state is California, with 20% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. The next largest states were Pennsylvania (11%) and Massachusetts (8%). The most frequent recipient cities were Philadelphia, PA (4 grants), Portland, OR (3 grants), Houston, TX (2 grants) and Mountain View, CA (2 grants).

Does The Heed Ophthalmic Foundation give general operating support?

Not in 2025: none of the 42 grants with a stated purpose on The Heed Ophthalmic Foundation's 2025 IRS Form 990-PF were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Education" (42 grants).

Who are The Heed Ophthalmic Foundation's largest grantees?

The Heed Ophthalmic Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Amer Alsoudi ($5,838), Poojitha Balakrishnan ($5,838) and Darius Bordbar ($5,838), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. Together they received 8% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.

How large is The Heed Ophthalmic Foundation?

The Heed Ophthalmic Foundation reported $4.2M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990-PF. It paid out $298K in qualifying distributions that year, against a required minimum of $279K (roughly 5% of its investment assets).

What does The Heed Ophthalmic Foundation fund?

The foundation’s mission is to encourage and support education and research in ophthalmology and the ophthalmic sciences by providing postgraduate fellowships to individuals of exceptional ability. See mission & focus areas ↑

How do I apply for a grant from The Heed Ophthalmic Foundation?

Applications are submitted online with the required materials. Eligibility and process details are in the grantmaking section of this profile. See how to apply ↑

What is The Heed Ophthalmic Foundation's EIN?

The Heed Ophthalmic Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 36-6012426. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.

Data last updated September 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990-PF filings. Research dossier generated September 2026.

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