One World Sight Project

What One World Sight Project does

One World Sight Project (OWSP) is a 501(c)(3) and 509(a) tax-exempt public charity headquartered in Newport Beach, California. Founded by ophthalmologist Richard Weiss, MD, the organization exists to eliminate curable blindness, primarily cataract-induced, in developing countries across Africa, Asia, and South America. OWSP does not perform surgeries itself; instead, it channels donations to established partner NGOs such as Seva Foundation, International Eye Foundation, ORBIS International, and (as a model) Aravind Eye Hospital, while aligning its mission with the World Health Organization and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness.

The organization's product surface is fundamentally a fundraising and grant-coordination platform rather than a technology product. Its signature initiatives include the Eyes of Africa multi-hour live webathons (I and II) pairing celebrity performances and real-time surgery feeds with donation appeals, the Video Games for Vision youth tournament program, and a proposed $6.7 million five-year pilot to build five replicable modular eye care training and treatment centers across Africa. Donation tiers are highly structured, ranging from $25 to fund a single cataract surgery up to $10 million to fund a ten-center training network. Celebrity endorsements from Stevie Wonder and Nelson Mandela serve as flagship credibility anchors, and the Program Funding Advisory Council, drawing on former WHO leadership, institutionalizes grant review.

OWSP's business model is pure philanthropic donation-driven revenue, with no product sales, no API or SaaS surface, and no AI components. The core 'technology' is the well-established phacoemulsification cataract procedure with intraocular lens implantation, which the organization funds rather than delivers. With 51-100 employees and marquee events dating primarily to 2007, the organization's current operational scale and recent donation totals are not disclosed in available data.

Name

One World Sight Project

Legal name

One World Sight Project, Inc.

Website

https://owsp.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

One World Sight Project is a Newport Beach-based 501(c)(3) non-profit that raises public donations to fund sight-restoring cataract surgeries and sustainable eye care delivery systems in developing countries through partner NGOs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Eye Care

NAICS

Offices of Optometrists (62132), Offices of Optometrists (621320)

SIC

Ophthalmic Goods (3851)

akta.pro primary industry

Cataract Surgery Systems & IOLs (Phaco Systems, IOLs, Intraoperative Aberrometry, Viscoelastics) (HLAHAJAH)

Keywords

• Cataract surgery funding
• Blindness prevention programs
• Global eye care
• Nonprofit ophthalmology
• Charitable vision care

Headquarters

HQ city

Newport Beach

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Others

Revenue model

1. Charitable Donations: OWSP is a 501(c)(3) non-profit funded entirely by public donations. Donations are directed to partner eye care organizations (Seva Foundation, International Eye Foundation, etc.) for sight-restoring cataract surgeries and the development of sustainable eye care delivery systems.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

One World Sight Project is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that raises charitable donations to fund sight-restoring cataract surgeries performed by partner eye care organizations (Seva Foundation, International Eye Foundation) in developing countries. The organization channels nearly all donations into partner-led surgeries, training, surgical supplies, and the development of sustainable eye care delivery systems in regions such as Africa, India, Nepal, and South America.

Product overview

One World Sight Project is a non-profit organization (501(c)(3) and 509(a)) dedicated to eliminating curable blindness worldwide, particularly cataracts. The organization does not offer a technology product but rather coordinates fundraising campaigns (Eyes of Africa webathons, Video Games for Vision tournaments, music events) to fund sight-restoring cataract surgeries and support the development of sustainable eye care delivery systems. Their core activities include funding cataract surgeries, supporting established eye care organizations like Seva Foundation and International Eye Foundation, and proposing replicable eye care training centers in developing regions. The organization supports WHO and IAPB goals in blindness prevention.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cataract Surgery Funding Coordination Coordinating and funding sight-restoring cataract surgeries for people in developing countries, particularly in Africa and Asia. OWSP raises donations and channels them as grants to partner eye care organizations (Seva Foundation, International Eye Foundation) that perform the surgeries; beneficiaries are cataract-blinded individuals in regions such as sub-Saharan Africa, India, Nepal, and South America.
• Replicable Eye Care Centers Program A proposed 5-year pilot project to establish a network of McDonald's-like cataract surgical training and treatment centers in Africa. Each facility uses standardized equipment (portable surgery suites, operating microscopes, intraocular lenses, disposables) and trains local professional and ancillary eye care staff to enable sustainable eye care delivery in regions where 80% of Africa's blind live in rural areas.

Quantifiable outcome

• 25 million needlessly blind people can be cured for as little as $25 each in 25 minutes
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, major, model, flagship and minor.

• World Health Organization (WHO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOWSP supports the goals of the WHO and its Blindness Prevention Programme. Former head of the WHO Prevention of Blindness Programme (Dr. Bjorn Thylefors) helped shape OWSP's funding strategy, and OWSP's Program Funding Advisory Council works closely with WHO to review grant proposals.
• International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOWSP supports IAPB's global efforts to reverse the blinding of the world. OWSP's Program Funding Advisory Council works closely with IAPB to review funding proposals and coordinate blindness prevention programs.
• Seva FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEstablished international eye care organization with decades of experience. OWSP funds Seva Foundation programs and highlighted their work during the Eyes of Africa I webathon (raised $100,000 for Seva International). OWSP aims to replicate the successful Aravind model developed in part through Seva's work.
• International Eye FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing eye care NGO supported by OWSP. Victoria Sheffield, President of International Eye Foundation, participated in the Eyes of Africa webathon. OWSP helps fund and raise awareness for their blindness prevention programs.
• ORBIS International (Flying Eye Hospital)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOWSP featured ORBIS International founder David Paton, MD (an OWSP advisor) and ORBIS's flying eye hospital in the Eyes of Africa I webathon. Eugene Helvesten, MD, Chief Ophthalmologist for ORBIS, participated in live interviews during the event.
• Aravind Eye Hospital (India)modelStrategic or Co-development PartnerAravind Eye Hospital in southern India performs the highest volume of ophthalmic surgery in the world and has restored sight to over 130,000 people. OWSP's goal is to replicate the successful Aravind model as a demonstration project in Africa or South America.
• Stevie WonderflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerWorld-renowned musician joined OWSP as an inaugural Special Advisor after hearing an appeal from Dr. Bjorn Thylefors of the WHO. Stevie Wonder's involvement provided world-class celebrity endorsement and credibility for OWSP's fundraising mission.
• Nelson MandelaflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerFormer South African President Nelson Mandela joined OWSP as an inaugural Special Advisor and gave his blessing and support. His endorsement provided significant international credibility, particularly in Africa where OWSP focuses much of its work.
• Allergan Inc. (David Pyott, former CEO)majorGTM or Marketing PartnerAllergan CEO David Pyott participated in an exclusive interview with Dr. Weiss as part of the Eyes of Africa I fundraiser. Allergan executive Bob Rhatigan was featured in Eyes of Africa II. Allergan supported OWSP's Botox Cosmetic fundraiser where doctors injected patients to raise funds.
• Ensign Intermediate School and Philadelphia Academy Charter SchoolminorGTM or Marketing PartnerTwo schools that participated in the Video Games for Vision pilot project — a Mario Kart tournament fundraiser that raised over $3,000 to cure over 40 people of blindness in Tanzania. Targeted youth engagement in blindness prevention.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• International Eye Foundation: International Eye Foundation is a long-standing eye-care NGO funded by OWSP. It works on blindness prevention and sustainable eye-care delivery in developing countries, directly overlapping OWSP's mission and beneficiary base.
• Seva Foundation: Seva Foundation is a US-based eye-care nonprofit that funds community-based eye-care programs (notably the Aravind model). It is OWSP's primary implementation partner and operates in the same cataract-cure space in developing countries.
• SightLife: SightLife is a global eye-health nonprofit focused on corneal blindness and eye banking, with programs in underserved regions. It overlaps OWSP's blindness-cure mission, though with a corneal rather than primarily cataract orientation.
• ORBIS International: ORIS operates the Flying Eye Hospital and trains ophthalmologists worldwide in cataract and other eye surgery. It overlaps directly with OWSP's mission of curing preventable blindness and was featured in OWSP's Eyes of Africa webathons.
• Cure Blindness Project: Cure Blindness Project (formerly Himalayan Cataract Project) funds high-volume cataract surgery in Africa and Asia. It is a direct peer with overlapping surgeon-training, infrastructure, and donor-funding models.
• Aravind Eye Care System: Aravind Eye Hospital in India is the world's highest-volume cataract-surgery provider and the explicit operational model OWSP aims to replicate in Africa. Direct mission and operational overlap on affordable cataract surgery at scale.
• Combat Blindness International: Combat Blindness International funds community-based eye-care and cataract surgery in developing countries. It addresses the same curable-blindness market via partner clinicians, similar to OWSP's execution model.

Emerging players

• RestoringVision: RestoringVision provides reading glasses and vision screening in developing countries. It is an adjacent emerging player addressing vision impairment through low-cost optical solutions rather than surgery.

Broad incumbents

• Lions Clubs International Foundation (SightFirst): SightFirst is Lions Clubs International Foundation's multi-hundred-million-dollar blindness-prevention initiative. It is a much larger incumbent in the same global blindness-cure space, funding cataract surgeries and eye-care infrastructure worldwide.
• Helen Keller International: Helen Keller International is a large global nonprofit addressing preventable blindness (including Vitamin A deficiency/xerophthalmia) plus nutrition and health. It is a broader incumbent with significant overlap on childhood blindness work.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/one-world-sight-project

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about One World Sight Project