Your gifts to the Illinois College of Optometry make a difference and support our mission to provide excellence in optometric education.

Annual Fund
The Annual Fund consists of unrestricted donations toward operational support for clinical and classroom instruction, physical plant maintenance and patient care. The College directs Annual Fund gifts to the areas of greatest need. Money raised through the Annual Fund is spent within the year it is received.  As such, it must always be replenished.

Scholarships
One of the College’s highest priorities is to increase the amount of scholarship support available to our students so that deserving applicants can better afford their optometric education.

Gifts of any size can be directed to the general scholarship fund or toward an existing scholarship fund.  New named scholarships can be established either with an expendable gift of at least $500 for a one-time award or through a gift to endowment of at least $10,000 for gifts in perpetuity.

Charitable Services
The Illinois Eye Institute (IEI), the clinical division of the College is one of the largest providers of eye care in the state of Illinois, serving over 90,000 patient visits yearly. Through the participation of its faculty and students, as well as through the donation of materials and services, ICO provides extensive charitable services. Gifts to support the IEI’s charitable services will directly benefit people in need and will advance the College’s commitment to service for its community.

Research
The commitment of faculty to contribute to the body of knowledge through scholarly activity and/or patient care excellence is a core value for the College. With a patent population that is typified by people with complex health issues, the Illinois Eye Institute has a strong base for supporting excellence in clinical education and research.

Philanthropic support is sought to defray research-related capital and equipment costs as well as other associated expenses.

Faculty
The cornerstone of the ICO’s preeminent academic program is its outstanding faculty. ICO’s strategic plan, Focus on our Future, calls for reinvestment in its intellectual capital – including its faculty – to protect and enhance this critical resource.

Gift opportunities in support of faculty include:

• Faculty Development Fund to support faculty development activities including travel, meeting registration, sabbatical related expenses and speaker honorariums and fees.
• Research Funding to provide critical resources for the pursuit of ongoing or new studies.
• Named Professorships to endow a professorship to provide salary and research funds in perpetuity.

Named Facilities
A gift to name a facility within the Illinois College of Optometry or Illinois Eye Institute provides the donor with recognition for their gift or an opportunity to memorialize a family member. Titles for the naming opportunities will be determined based upon the donor’s preference and College policy.

Gifts of Bequests
You may make a gift of cash, securities, real estate or other assets by remembering the College in your will.
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Charitable Remainder Unitrust
A charitable remainder unitrust is a gift plan defined by federal tax law that allows you to provide income to yourself or others while making a gift to the College.
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Charitable Gift Annuity
The charitable gift annuity is a gift with a retained income.  It is an appropriate answer to those donors who wish to make a meaningful contribution to the College while creating, maintaining or enhancing an income stream for their own economic security.
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Gifts-In-Kind
Gifts-in-kind are non-cash donations of materials or long-lived assets.  Such gifts may include equipment, software, or printed materials.  They are a valued way of supporting the College and are tax-deductible.

Gifts of Appreciated Securities
The college welcomes gifts of common stock or other publicly traded securities.
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Life Insurance as a Gift
A gift of life insurance can be an ideal and cost-effective way for you to do something today that can have a tremendous impact tomorrow.
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Gifts of Real Estate
A properly timed charitable real estate gift will allow a donor to enjoy added benefits created by incentives on the tax system.
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Gifts of Tangible Personal Property
A gift of tangible personal property is commonly thought of as an asset that can be touched and moved.  Examples of tangible personal property include artwork, jewelry, collections, automobiles, furniture, rare coins and antiques etc.
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Honorary or Memorial Gifts
Honorary gifts recognize special individuals, anniversaries or events.
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Matching Gifts
Increase the value of your annual gift through your employer’s matching gift program.
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Your Support Makes A Difference!

As you know, the profession of optometry continues to evolve and as a result, the Illinois College of Optometry is making strategic investments in people and resources to capitalize on opportunities and address tomorrow’s challenges. With your support, ICO is able to advance the clinical services, research opportunities and education experience that set our institution apart.

Thank you for considering the Illinois College of Optometry as a recipient of your charitable support. Please note that your gift may qualify you for membership in the Leadership Circle, ICO’s premier giving society, or participation in the Dr. Donovan Crouch Leadership Circle Challenge.

How to make a gift

Online
Use our secure web site to make your gift today

By Mail
Send your gift by check (made payable to the Illinois College of Optometry) or download a gift/pledge form to send your credit card information.  Please mail your gift to:

Illinois College of Optometry
Make A Gift
3241 S. Michigan Ave
Chicago, IL   60616

By Phone
Please call us at (312) 949-7074.

There are also additional options for giving, such as gifts of bequests, gifts-in-kind, and honorary or memorial gifts

Our mission is to provide lifelong learning for optometrists.  We believe that by enhancing your knowledge base, you will be able to improve the efficiency of your office, serve your patients better, become a more successful doctor, and thereby strengthen the profession.

ICO’s Office of Continuing Education offers programs conveniently located on campus.  Certified (Transcript Quality) and regular courses are offered.  Additionally, all courses are submitted for COPE approval.

We pride ourselves in offering high quality, practical, and professional programs to suit all interests.  In fact, we develop our programs based on your suggestions and feedback.  By providing a variety of topics from which to choose, we make it easy for you to complete your licensure requirements. 

Click here to see our upcoming CE Events

Missing some continuing education documentation? Just click on the link below to download a request form and fax to the CE office for the most efficient way to get the materials you need.
CE Documentation Request Form.

Thank you for visiting.  Hope to see you at a future CE course!

Contact info:

The Illinois College of Optometry is now offering alumni e-mail addresses to ICO graduates and graduates of affiliate colleges (NICO, CCO, and MCO).

The purpose of offering alumni e-mail accounts is to provide you with a professional email address to use on your web site, business cards and letterhead.  People will take one look at your e-mail address and know immediately that you are a graduate of ICO, which is something to be very proud of. It also helps us stay connected with you throughout your career and beyond, and it serves as a means to maintain your affiliation with the College.

The format for all alumni e-mail addresses is This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Messages from your new alumni account will automatically be forwarded to your existing (yahoo, hotmail or gmail) account.

Transcripts for ICO alumni are compliments of the Alumni Association. Please note that there is a fee for a duplicate diploma ($50.00 for 13x18 size and $25.00 for 8x12 size).

When requesting a transcript or duplicate diploma, we must receive your request in writing to:

Illinois College of Optometry
Attn: Registrar's Office
3241 South Michigan Avenue
Chicago, IL 60616

Or fax: (312) 949-7680

If you have any questions regarding transcripts or duplicate diplomas, please call the Registrar's Office at (312) 949-7425.

The ICO Library offers a variety of services and is happy to support the needs of
our Alumni.

Library support services available:

• Copies of articles for journals (within copyright laws)
• Loans from the book collection
• Online Library Catalog access at:  http://library.ico.edu
• Literature searches of PubMed (MEDLINE), VisionCite, et al.
• Loansome Doc services
• Reference questions answered

Also available is VisionCite, the library’s specialized index of the vision science literature (formerly VAL):

• http://www.visioncite.com
• 300,500 citations from 1984- covering the optometric and ophthalmic literature
• Indexes over 120 titles, including many not available in PubMed
• 12,000 articles added yearly
• 20% discount for ICO Alumni
• 100% discount for Leadership Circle members

For subscription information, please contact Christine Weber at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Donations to the Library:

The library staff is glad to accept book and journal donations from alumni. All material donated is evaluated. However, College policy prohibits us to place a value on the items. The library reserves the right to add the material to the collection or offer it to other libraries or the students and faculty.

Contacts:

For Interlibrary Loans: Sandra Engram This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

For VisionCite inquiries: Christine Weber This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Whether you want to reconnect with old friends, network with colleagues or refer a patient, the Illinois College of Optometry's Online Alumni Directory can be a great resource for you.

http://alumnidirectory.ico.edu/

How it works

Click on "Register for an Account." After signing-up, you will receive an e-mail confirming your registration and indicating that your account will be reviewed to verify that you are an ICO alumnus. Please note that accounts will be reviewed and approved during business hours: Monday - Friday from 9:00 - 5:00 pm, Central time.
We will send you another e-mail to let you know that your account has been approved. Be sure to remember your log-in ID and your password, as we do not keep a record of them at the College.

When using the online directory, consider searching by last name, last initial, first name, city, state, zip code, or class. We also encourage you to search for yourself, and make sure we have your current contact information. If you would like to change your contact information, just complete the Change of Address form on the web site. Or, you can also call us at 312-949-7080 or send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .