Terry Fox Foundation is an average 3-star Canadian charity. It reduced its cancer research in 2021, which may be covid related, resulting in large funding reserves covering more than 5 years of cancer program spending. The charity is financially transparent and has an average grade in results reporting. 

Founded in 1988, Terry Fox Foundation (TFF) raises funds and awareness for cancer research. The charity was founded to honour the legacy of Terry Fox and his 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 Fox’s vision of a cancer-free world by funding cancer research. 

Terry Fox Research Institute (TFRI) is a research funding organization closely related to Terry Fox Foundation. Founded in 2007, it receives and redistributes almost all TFF’s grant spending. TFRI funds translational research, which is research that translates lab discoveries into new treatments and technologies. TFRI also supports research on causes, treatments, and technologies related to various cancers. 

Terry Fox Foundation and TFRI distributed $14.2m in cash grants for cancer research in F2021. $2.2m of this was spent by TFF on international programs and grants. The remainder was distributed in research grants by TFRI. 

TFRI funded 44 research projects at 94 institutions across Canada. TFRI uses an international panel of experts to allocate funds and claims to only fund the top 5% of Canadian researchers and their science. The charity funded 385 researchers in F2021.

TFRI is also co-funding a new cancer research network called the Digital Health and Discovery Platform (DHDP). The research network is a central data platform for hospitals, researchers, and industry partners to share knowledge and resources. The project aims to make precision medicine and personalized clinical care available to all Canadians through artificial intelligence. The Terry Fox Foundation spent $904k on the project in F2021.

In the following financial analysis, Ci consolidated Terry Fox Foundation with Terry Fox Research Institute.

Terry Fox Foundation received $18.4m in Canadian donations and $677k in international donations in F2021. Administrative costs are 16% of revenues, and fundraising costs are 19% of donations. This results in a total overhead cost of 35%. For every dollar donated, 65 cents go to the cause. This is within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.

TFF has total funding reserves of $89.8m, which can cover 5.8 years of annual program costs or 3.7 years based on average program costs over the past three years. These funding reserves cover TFF’s multi-year research grant commitments. TFF reports grant commitments of $46.3m over the next six years (F2022 to F2027), of which $1.5m is for international research organizations and $44.8m is for TFRI. Notably, TFRI’s audited financial statements report grant commitments of $45.3m over the same period, $44.8m of which is listed as supported by TFF.

TFF holds $63.3m in investments, of which 65% is held in bonds, 35% is in Canadian and foreign equities, and 1% is in term deposits and GICs. With a total investment income of $8.9m, TFF earned a 14% return in F2021 compared to a -1% return in F2020.

In addition to reported salary information, TFRI spent $936k and TFF spent $912k on professional and consulting fees. Compensation figures for staff do not include these consulting fees. 

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 10, 2022 by Ann Lei.