Michael J. Fox Foundation
STAR RATINGCi's Star Rating is calculated based on the following independent metrics: |
✖
FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY
Audited financial statements available only through official request for information from Charities Directorate.
C+
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.
98%
CENTS TO THE CAUSE
For a dollar donated, after overhead costs of fundraising and admin/management (excluding surplus) 98 cents are available for programs.
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OVERVIEW
About Michael J. Fox Foundation:
Michael J. Fox Foundation is a 2-star charity. It has a below average results reporting score and it is not financially transparent. The charity's overhead costs are outside of Ci's reasonable range for overhead spending. Before you give, read Charity Intelligence's report.
Founded in 2009, Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research Canada (MJFF Canada) funds research to improve treatments and find a cure for Parkinson’s disease (PD). PD occurs when brain cells that make dopamine, a chemical that coordinates movement, stop working or die. This can result in symptoms ranging from tremors to balance and mobility issues. Over 100,000 Canadians are living with PD and approximately 6,600 new cases are diagnosed each year. Due to an aging population, researchers project the number of people with Parkinson’s will double by 2040.
Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research USA controls MJFF Canada’s operations and distributes research grants on its behalf. The charities share a common website and report on their granting activities and research outputs collectively. Ci could not determine any specific research areas that MJFF directs Canadian donations toward, based on its audited financials and public reporting.
Michael J. Fox Foundation outlines six key research initiatives. The Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) studies volunteers to measure changes in PD at its earliest stages. The charity states that there are 4,000 on-site participants and 100,000 online participants taking part in the study. The data accumulated from the PPMI study is equal to 47.5 billion typed pages. The Fox Insight project is a remote clinical study involving more than 30,000 people participating in online surveys. The Fox Trial Finder is an online tool that connects volunteers to studies in need of participants. MJFF’s Digital Health project funds researchers to monitor PD using wearable devices and smartphone applications. MJFF’s Specialist Training program offers training and fellowship opportunities for prospective researchers. Finally, the charity offers Edmond J. Safra Core Programs, which are funding opportunities for PD researchers. As of F2023, the Edmond J. Safra Fellowship had 32 graduates.
The charity reports that in F2023 it funded 199 active trials. Of these, 74 are in Phase I of the clinical trial, 88 are in Phase II, and 37 are in Phase III.
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Results and Impact
Michael J. Fox Foundation reports that in F2023 its PPMI research initiative validated a new biomarker for Parkinson’s called alpha-synuclein seeding amplification assay (aSyn-SAA). The charity reports that 93% of people with Parkinson’s were proven to have abnormal levels of aSyn-SAA. This makes it possible to confirm that a patient has Parkinson’s even before symptoms begin.
While Ci highlights these key results, they may not be a complete representation of Michael J. Fox Foundation’s results and impact. This charity has not been rated on impact (n/r)
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Finances
Michael J. Fox Foundation is not financially transparent. Its audited financial statements are not posted on its website nor provided when requested. Charity Intelligence's financial review uses the F2022 audited financial statements. This is the most recent information we have received from the Charities Directorate from our request for information.
MJFF received donations of $1.8m in F2022. Administrative costs are 2% of revenues and fundraising costs are less than 1%. Prior to F2022 the charity did not report any fundraising costs. Total overhead spending is 2%. For every dollar donated to the charity, 98 cents are available for programs. This falls outside of Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.
In F2022 MJFF spent $2.6m on its grants (up 371% from F2021), which is 141% of its revenues. The charity had a deficit of $789k.
MJFF has $2.7m in reserve funds (cash and investments), which can cover one year and one month of annual program and grant costs.
In its annual filing with the Charities Directorate, MJFF Canada does not report any full-time or part-time employees. It paid $20k in professional and consulting fees in F2022.
This charity report is an update that has been sent to Michael J. Fox Foundation for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.
Updated on July 17, 2024 by Alessandra Castino.
Financial Review
Fiscal year ending December
|
2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
---|---|---|---|
Administrative costs as % of revenues | 1.7% | 1.2% | 1.7% |
Fundraising costs as % of donations | 0.5% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Total overhead spending | 2.2% | 1.2% | 1.7% |
Program cost coverage (%) | 106.5% | 647.2% | 766.9% |
Summary Financial StatementsAll figures in $s |
2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
---|---|---|---|
Donations | 1,803,267 | 2,055,525 | 1,293,266 |
Other income | 10,181 | 1,136 | 2,821 |
Total revenues | 1,813,448 | 2,056,661 | 1,296,087 |
Grants | 2,561,056 | 543,593 | 340,555 |
Administrative costs | 30,919 | 23,870 | 21,798 |
Fundraising costs | 8,847 | 0 | 0 |
Other costs | 1,675 | 14,180 | 8,390 |
Total spending | 2,602,497 | 581,643 | 370,743 |
Cash flow from operations | (789,049) | 1,475,018 | 925,344 |
Capital spending | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Funding reserves | 2,727,254 | 3,518,088 | 2,611,549 |
Note: MJFF USA: Ci adjusted for donations received by MJFF USA on behalf of MJFF Canada, affecting total revenues by $21k in F2022, $578k in F2021, and $298k in F2020. Ci adjusted for amounts due to MJFF USA from MJFF Canada, affecting grants and total expenses by $288k in F2022, ($1.5m) in F2021, and ($1.1m) in F2020. Ci adjusted for expenses incurred by MJFF USA on behalf of MJFF Canada, affecting total expenses by $2k in F2022, $14k in F2021, and $8k in F2020. GRANTS PAYABLE: Ci adjusted for changes in grants payable, affecting grants and total expenses by $650k in F2022, $593k in F2021, and $415k in F2020. DEFERRED REVENUE: Ci adjusted for deferred revenue, affecting donations by $130k in F2022, $nil in F2021, and $nil in F2020.
Salary Information
$350k + |
0 |
$300k - $350k |
0 |
$250k - $300k |
0 |
$200k - $250k |
0 |
$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
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