Michael J. Fox Foundation is a 1-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 47,520,000,000 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. 

MJFF received donations of $1.3m in F2020, a 42% decrease from F2019. Administrative costs are 2% of revenues and the charity does not report any fundraising costs. For every dollar donated to the charity, 98 cents go to the cause. This falls outside of Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.  

MJFF has $2.6m in funding reserves, which can cover over 11 months of annual program and grant costs.  

In its annual filing with Charities Directorate, MJFF Canada does not report any full-time or part-time employees. It paid $15k in professional and consulting fees in F2020 (The charity’s F2021 filings are not yet available).  

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 26, 2022 by Emma Saganowich.