Founded in 1980, Terry Fox Foundation (TFF) was formed after Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope. Terry Fox was diagnosed with bone cancer in 1977 and ran 5,373 km across Canada to raise awareness and money for cancer research. He died in 1981 after cancer spread to his lungs. TFF’s mission is to realize Terry’s vision of a world without cancer by funding cancer research.

Terry Fox Research Institute (TFRI) is the research arm of Terry Fox Foundation. It was created in 2007 and is TFF’s primary funding recipient. The Institute funds translational research, which focuses on speeding up the development of new treatments and technologies (based on clinical discoveries) for cancer patients. Translational research is commonly called “lab bench to bedside” research. TFRI also funds basic biomedical research focused on discovering potential cures for different cancers, provides funding to new research investigators, and trains new researchers who are starting their cancer research careers.

Terry Fox Foundation distributed $29.7 million in cash grants for cancer research in F2019 (96% of mission spending). This includes $28.4 million in recognized and deferred grants to TFRI. TFF and TFRI’s joint F2019 annual report states that 47 research projects and 435 researchers received funding. In F2018, 52 projects and 361 researchers received funding. The Institute reported spending $26.8 million on research in F2019: 67% on discovery program grants, 24% on translational cancer research programs, 7% on cancer centres, and 3% on training and program development.

The remaining $1.3 million of grants went to international cancer research projects (4% of mission spending), which funded 31 programs in 28 countries during the year (17 programs in 33 countries in F2018).

Terry Fox Research Institute launched the Marathon of Hope Cancer Centre Network designation program in F2019. The Network is a Canada-wide precision medicine project that connects research institutes with hospitals to improve platforms, harmonize research methods and strengthen infrastructure for precision medicine in the country. TFRI ran two Marathon of Hope pilots in F2018. By 2023, the Institute intends to establish at least 5 Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres across Canada.

Terry Fox Foundation is a Major 100 charity, meaning it is one of Canada’s largest charities in terms of donations. The charity received $23.1m in Canadian donations in F2019. TFF also received $1.5m in international donations.

Administrative costs are 7% of revenues and fundraising costs are 20% of donations. For every dollar donated, 73 cents go the cause. This is within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending. TFF has total funding reserves of $73.4m, which can cover 2.5 years of annual program costs.

The charity’s audited financial statements report grant commitments of $48.9m over the next five years (F2020 to F2024), of which $1.3m is for international cancer research organizations and $47.6m is for Terry Fox Research Institute. A further breakdown of TFRI commitments is as follows: $20.1m in F2020, $14.5m in F2021, $8.1m in F2022, $4.3m in F2023, and $536k in F2024.

TFF holds $65.1m in investments, of which 64% is in bonds, 35% is in Canadian and foreign equities, and 1% is in term deposits and GICs. With total investment income of $3.7m, TFF earned a 5.7% return in F2019 (3.5% in F2018). Including cash and cash equivalents, the Foundation’s ROI comes to 5.4% in F2018 (3.2% in F2018).

The charity spent $181m on capital expenditures in F2019, $273m in F2018, and $12m in F2017. The majority of capital expenditures in F2019 and F2018 relate to software customization.

This charity report is an update that has been sent to Terry Fox Foundation for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on June 26, 2020 by Tenzin Shomar.