MaRS Discovery District
STAR RATINGCi's Star Rating is calculated based on the following independent metrics: |
✔+
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.
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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.
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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).
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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
Fiscal year ending March
|
2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 StatementsAll figures in $000s |
2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donations | 2,472 | 4,096 | 3,044 |
| Government funding | 19,475 | 19,980 | 26,200 |
| Fees for service | 5,441 | 6,091 | 420 |
| Business activities (net) | 1,105 | 884 | 4,576 |
| Investment income | 3,259 | 1,625 | 921 |
| Other income | 1,075 | 241 | 2,246 |
| Total revenues | 32,827 | 32,917 | 37,407 |
| Program costs | 29,521 | 29,460 | 27,086 |
| Donor-designated donations | 0 | 0 | 7,805 |
| Administrative costs | 5,453 | 5,470 | 4,886 |
| Fundraising costs | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total spending | 34,974 | 34,930 | 39,777 |
| Cash flow from operations | (2,147) | (2,013) | (2,370) |
| Capital spending | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Funding reserves | 37,300 | 39,666 | 44,028 |
Salary Information
$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
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Comments & Contact
Comments added by the Charity:
Charity Contact
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tel: 416-673-8100