Cancer Research Society

402 - 625 President-Kennedy Avenue
Montreal, QC H3A 3S5
Board Chair: Christian Paupe
President & CEO: Manon Pepin

Charitable Reg. #:11915 3229 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.

A-

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.

49%

CENTS TO THE CAUSE

For a dollar donated, after overhead costs of fundraising and admin/management (excluding surplus) 49 cents are available for programs.



My anchor

OVERVIEW

About Cancer Research Society:

Cancer Research Society is a 3-star charity. It has an A- results reporting grade which is above average. For every dollar donated 49 cents are available to go to the cause which is outside of Ci's reasonable range.

Founded in 1945, Cancer Research Society (CRS) funds cancer research. The charity states that there are very few targeted scholarships to support Canadian doctoral students in cancer research. In F2023, CRS awarded $12.7m in cancer research grants. It distributed 225 grants to cancer research projects. The charity runs one program: Cancer Research. 

The Cancer Research program funds Canadian cancer research on diagnosing, preventing, and treating cancer. In F2023, CRS gave operating grants to 90 researchers for research on all types of cancer. Each of the 90 researchers received $130k over two years for their cancer research project. This is an 8% increase from $120k in F2021. The charity states it has a goal of providing $150k to each researcher by 2027. It also gave five scholarships to promising cancer researchers. By sector, treatment is the largest research sector at 74% of program costs. Prevention spending is 19%, and detection is 7%.

In response to a lack of targeted scholarships for Canadian doctoral students, CRS launched the Doctoral Research Award program. This program allows doctoral students to apply for a scholarship worth $70k to conduct their cancer research. In F2023, CRS received 170 applications.

My anchor

Results and Impact

Charity Intelligence did not find any quantified outcomes on Cancer Research Society’s website. This may not be a complete representation of Cancer Research Society’s results and impact. 

Charity Intelligence has not yet rated Cancer Research Society on impact (n/r).

My anchor

Finances

Cancer Research Society is one of Canada’s largest charities in donations, a Major 100. In F2023, it received $31.9m in donations and special events fundraising revenue. Administrative costs are 5% of revenue (excluding investment income). Fundraising costs are 46% of donations. This results in total overhead spending of 51%. For every dollar donated to CRS, 49 cents are available to go to the cause. This falls outside of Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending. CRS has been consistently outside of this range since 2016.

In F2023 CRS spent $13.3m on its programs, which is 36% of its revenue. CRS had a surplus of $7.1m (19%) of total revenue.

CRS has $55.7m in reserve funds. This can cover 420%, or 4.2 years of its annual program spending. CRS has total investments of $46m, with 62% in equities and 38% in bonds. In F2023, the annual return for CRS on investment was 11%. Its five-year annual return is 5%.

CRS reports annual research grant and fellowship commitments in its audited financial statements. The charity has committed to distribute $39.5m (71% of funding reserves) over the next five years: $14.8m in F2024, $13.6m in F2025, $10.7m in F2026, $200k in F2027, $200k in F2028. 

Cancer Research Society uses external fundraisers. This was not reported on its T3010 filings, but is being actively added. In F2023 CSR received $23.6m from external fundraisers.

This charity report is an update that has been sent for review to Cancer Research Society. Changes and edits may be forthcoming. 

Updated on May 27, 2024 by Grady Simpson.

Financial Review


Financial Ratios

Fiscal year ending August
202320222021
Administrative costs as % of revenues 4.7%4.4%3.6%
Fundraising costs as % of donations 46.3%44.9%43.7%
Total overhead spending 51.0%49.3%47.4%
Program cost coverage (%) 419.6%418.1%560.4%

Summary Financial Statements

All figures in $000s
202320222021
Donations 27,82428,02427,548
International donations 777090
Government funding 03401
Special events 4,0422,5021,736
Investment income 4,692(6,013)6,560
Other income 03401
Total revenues 36,63624,59036,735
Program costs 593450368
Grants 12,69012,0129,470
Administrative costs 1,5121,3551,099
Fundraising costs 14,73713,70012,799
Total spending 29,53227,51723,737
Cash flow from operations 7,104(2,927)12,999
Capital spending 201025
Funding reserves 55,73852,10555,137

Note: DEFERRED ADJUSTMENT: CRS uses deferred accounting. To show donors information on a consistent basis, Ci adjusted for these deferred revenues. This affected revenue by ($773k) in F2023, 444k in F2022, and $62k in F2021.  GRANTS: Ci obtained grants to qualified donees and research grants as reported in the T3010 CRA filings.

Salary Information

Full-time staff: 33

Avg. compensation: $80,630

Top 10 staff salary range:

$350k +
0
$300k - $350k
0
$250k - $300k
0
$200k - $250k
1
$160k - $200k
2
$120k - $160k
2
$80k - $120k
5
$40k - $80k
0
< $40k
0

Information from most recent CRA Charities Directorate filings for F2023

My anchor

Comments & Contact

Comments added by the Charity:

The following comment was provided on August 4, 2023: 

Since 1945, the Cancer Research Society (CRS) is one of the only organizations exclusively dedicated to research into all types of cancer, throughout Canada. The CRS plays a pivotal role in the Canadian cancer research ecosystem by funding research initiatives, covering the entire spectrum of scientific research, from fundamental discoveries to translational breakthroughs and clinical advancements, all aimed at outsmarting cancer.

Through annual research grants and scholarships programs, the CRS provides essential support to thousands of scientists at various stages of their careers, ranging from promising graduate students to established researchers, all of whom are dedicated to making significant strides in the prevention, detection, and treatment of cancer.

The CRS is a leader in leveraging strategic partnerships to fund essential cancer research aligned with its mission. By embracing collaboration, CRS significantly enhances the level of funded cancer research, ensuring that every contribution yields a maximum return.

The success of the CRS is made possible through the incredible generosity of its partners and donors, who share its vision that research is the key to outsmart cancer. It is through their continuous support that the CRS can fund devoted researchers, unlock the potential of groundbreaking ideas, and ultimately bring hope to countless individuals and families affected by cancer.

 

 

Learn more: 

Cancer Research Society 2023 Impact Report

Cancer Research Society Problem Discussion

Charity Contact

Website: www.crs-src.ca
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tel: 1 888 766 2262

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