The 31st annual runs and other fundraisers for Terry Fox weren't as profitable as previous years for the foundation named after the Port Coquitlam hero.
According to its financial statements released last month, the non-profit group collected $25.8 million for the fiscal year ending on March 31, 2012.
The 2012 revenue - through domestic and international donations as well as investment income, merchandise sales, bequests, government grants and royalties - was a $5.8 million drop over 2011.
Still, the expenses for the 24-year-old foundation were also cut last year - down $135,000 over the previous year, with fundraising taking the biggest chunk at $2.8 million (about the same as last year).
The report also shows distributions declined about $11.4 million this fiscal year for the charities the Terry Fox Foundation supports:
The Canadian Cancer Society took $6.9 million (down from $21.6 million in 2011);
The Terry Fox Research Institute took $5.8 million (down from $6 million);
and international cancer research organizations took $1.15 million (down from $1.19 million).
But the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) received $3.5 million more with $7.6 million versus $4.1 million in 2011.
The annual giving left a $604,000 deficit for the organization, a considerable drop from the $9.2 million handed out last year by the foundation, which boasts more than $91 million in net assets.
Financial controller Amy Brosinski said the foundation recently changed its formula from March 31 to April 1 to time its payments with the research companies' internal systems. As a result, only 75% of the distributions are shown on the 2012 document. "It looks out of whack when you compare it to last year but, next year, it will be back to normal," she said of the accounting procedure.
The Terry Fox Research Institute was set up in 2007 to focus on cancer research programs. The foundation has committed $50 million to TFRI and, to date, has provided more than $20 million to the cause.
In past years, the foundation's cash was directed to the National Cancer Institute of Canada (NCIC) but, three years ago, the NCIC amalgamated with Canadian Cancer Society (CCS). Since then, the foundation has agreed to let CCS administer the multi-year grants to NCIC until 2015. As well, CIHR now administers certain research programs for the foundation.
To date, more than $600 million has been raised worldwide for cancer research in Fox's name through the annual Terry Fox runs.
For every dollar donated, 16% goes to operations for the Chilliwack-based foundation, an extra percentage point over last year due to increase in fundraising costs, Fred Fox said.
The next Terry Fox Run is scheduled for Sept. 15, 2013.
