MaRS Discovery District

101 College Street, Suite 100
Toronto, ON M5G 1L7
CEO: Yung Wu
Board Chair: Annette Verschuren

Charitable Reg. #:87668 2717 RR0001

STAR RATING

Ci's Star Rating is calculated based on the following independent metrics:

[Charity Rating: 3/5]

✔+

FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY

Audited financial statements for current and previous years available on the charity’s website.

B+

RESULTS REPORTING

Grade based on the charity's public reporting of the work it does and the results it achieves.

n/r

DEMONSTRATED IMPACT

The demonstrated impact per dollar Ci calculates from available program information.

NEED FOR FUNDING

Charity's cash and investments (funding reserves) relative to how much it spends on programs in most recent year.

82%

CENTS TO THE CAUSE

For a dollar donated, after overhead costs of fundraising and admin/management (excluding surplus) 82 cents are available for programs.



My anchor

OVERVIEW

About MaRS Discovery District:

MaRS Discovery District is a 3-star charity that is financially transparent. The charity has reasonable overhead spending and a B+ results reporting grade.  

 

The most recent results MaRS has reported relate to F2021.

 

Founded in 2005, MaRS Discovery District (MaRS) provides resources to Canadian science and technology start-ups. The company aims to build high-impact companies to create jobs and strengthen the economy. MaRS focuses on four sectors: cleantech (tackling climate change and increasing sustainability), health (improving the healthcare system), fintech (modernizing financial transactions), and enterprise software (optimizing work and employee engagement). MaRS primarily administers grants on behalf of the Ontario Government and Canadian Government by providing flow-through grant funding. 

 

MaRS occupies 1.5 million square feet in downtown Toronto and houses more than 120 tenants. In 2022, MaRS acquired an additional 50,000 square feet of workspace. Related entities hold these properties. MaRS Phase 1 Trust is an Ontario for-profit company, and MaRS is the sole beneficiary. For the Phase 2 trust, MaRS is an 80% beneficiary, with University of Toronto holding the other 20%.

 

MaRS works to expand its ventures' economic, social, ecosystem, and investment impact. In F2021, MaRS' portfolio generated $2.4 billion in capital, $1.5 billion in revenue and 22,800 new jobs. The charity also published 169 media stories estimated to reach 683 million people. 

 

In F2021, MaRS announced its first cohort of champions from its climate initiative called Mission from MaRS: Climate Impact Challenge Champions. The winners included ten Canadian ventures working to improve the carbon-intensive industries of energy, real estate, and transportation. A third-party report projects that adopting these ventures' technologies could reduce 42 megatons of carbon dioxide by the year 2030.

My anchor

Results and Impact

MaRS reports that its portfolio of companies created 22,836 jobs in F2021.

 

In F2021, MaRS reported that ventures under its guidance had an average capital raise 45% higher than the national average. Average year-over-year revenue growth rates were 60% higher than average. 

 

While Ci highlights these key results, they may not be a complete representation of MaRS Discovery District's results and impact.

 

This charity is not yet rated on impact (n/r).

My anchor

Finances

MaRS Discovery District reported donations of $2.5m in F2023. The charity also received $19.5m in government funding, representing 59% of total revenues. 

Administrative costs are 18% of revenues (less investment income). For every dollar donated, 82 cents go to the cause, which is within Ci's reasonable range for overhead spending. 

 

MaRS does not report fundraising costs in its audited financial statements. However, its T3010 CRA filings report fundraising costs of $936k in F2022 and $4.5m in F2021. The F2023 T3010 filing is not available at the time of this report. Ci has not reported these amounts as we could not reconcile the audited financials with the CRA filings.

 

MaRS has $37.3m in reserve funds (cash and investments), which can cover 126% or over one year and three months of annual program costs.

 

This charity report is an update that has been sent to MaRS Discovery District. Comments and edits may be forthcoming.

 

Updated on August 22, 2023, by Sydney Olexa.

Financial Review


Financial Ratios

Fiscal year ending March
202320222021
Administrative costs as % of revenues 18.4%17.5%13.4%
Fundraising costs as % of donations 0.0%0.0%0.0%
Total overhead spending 18.4%17.5%13.4%
Program cost coverage (%) 126.4%134.6%162.5%

Summary Financial Statements

All figures in $000s
202320222021
Donations 2,4724,0963,044
Government funding 19,47519,98026,200
Fees for service 5,4416,091420
Business activities (net) 1,1058844,576
Investment income 3,2591,625921
Other income 1,0752412,246
Total revenues 32,82732,91737,407
Program costs 29,52129,46027,086
Donor-designated donations 007,805
Administrative costs 5,4535,4704,886
Fundraising costs 000
Total spending 34,97434,93039,777
Cash flow from operations (2,147)(2,013)(2,370)
Capital spending 000
Funding reserves 37,30039,66644,028

Salary Information

Full-time staff: 181

Avg. compensation: $120,631

Top 10 staff salary range:

$350k +
1
$300k - $350k
1
$250k - $300k
3
$200k - $250k
5
$160k - $200k
0
$120k - $160k
0
$80k - $120k
0
$40k - $80k
0
< $40k
0

Information from most recent CRA Charities Directorate filings for F2022

My anchor

Comments & Contact

Comments added by the Charity:

No comments have been added by the charity.

Charity Contact

Website: www.marsdd.com
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tel: 416-673-8100

Print  
Image

Charity Intelligence researches Canadian charities for donors to be informed and give intelligently. Our website posts free reports on more than 800 Canadian charities, as well as in-depth primers on philanthropic sectors like Canada’s environment, cancer, and homelessness. Today over 500,000 Canadians use our website as a go-to source for information on Canadian charities reading over 1.6 million charity reports. Through rigorous and independent research, Charity Intelligence aims to assist Canada’s dynamic charitable sector in being more transparent, accountable and focused on results.

 

Be Informed. Give Intelligently. Have Impact

 

Charitable Registration Number: 80340 7956 RR0001