McManus Family Foundation

Established by the McManus Family · Toronto

Sharing good fortune by giving back to the community.

The McManus Family Foundation supports work across education, health, science, and human rights, with a particular emphasis on underprivileged communities and human services.

Read our mandateSee what we fund
I

Values

Our core values converge around compassion, family, and justice, which are grounded by a belief in effectiveness. There is a shared commitment to strengthening community while advancing human rights. We value knowledge and innovation as essential drivers to effective progress. We recognize that risk-taking is crucial to responsibly affect positive change.

  • Compassion
  • Family
  • Justice
  • Effectiveness
  • Knowledge & Innovation
  • Responsible Risk
II

Why We Give

We have a common desire to meaningfully influence specific issues and see positive impact in our lifetimes. Philanthropy serves as a unifying force, keeping the family together around a shared purpose of sharing good fortune by giving back to the community.

From the foundation mandate

III

Focus

The family's focus spans education, health, science, and human rights, with a strong emphasis on underprivileged communities and human services. Environmental stewardship, public affairs, and economic development complement these priorities. These focus areas balance immediate human needs with long-term systemic changes to build resilient communities and expand opportunities for all.

  • 01Education
  • 02Health
  • 03Science
  • 04Human Rights
  • 05Human Services
  • 06Environmental Stewardship
  • 07Public Affairs
  • 08Economic Development
IV

Trustees

LM

Lane McManus, MSc. (she/her)

Trustee

Lane holds a Master of Science in Pharmacogenomics and serves as a Board Member of The McManus Family Foundation, where she is actively involved in the granting process. Her work is focused on the intersection of addiction, mental health, and precision medicine. Lane works directly with women in addiction recovery, maintaining an active presence across the recovery community in Toronto. She brings this frontline perspective directly into the foundation's funding priorities. She believes pharmacogenomic testing will meaningfully improve treatment outcomes in addiction and mental health care. Since cost remains the primary barrier to its adoption in care settings, her goal is to use the foundation's granting power to change that.

TM

Tracy McManus, LLB. (she/her)

Trustee

Tracy McManus practiced law for several years in Saskatchewan and Ontario before retiring to focus on her family. Tracy is passionate about social justice and equal rights and has been a long standing advocate for refugees. She was a member of the Board of Directors of the Christie Refugee Welcome Centre for 8 plus years as well as a regular volunteer there. She is also a regular volunteer with Haven on the Queensway. Tracy is concerned about the plight of the unhoused and underprivileged and is interested in pursuing solutions for these issues through the McManus Family Foundation.

JM

John McManus (he/him)

Trustee

John is a seasoned construction executive with more than 30 years of experience in trade contracting, industrial property development, and project delivery. His leadership experience as COO of Flynn Group of Companies, a multinational contracting firm with a workforce of approximately 7,000 employees, gave him extensive exposure to complex operations, large-scale workforce management, and international business environments. He also brings significant experience in mergers and acquisitions, supporting strategic growth and business expansion. A strong advocate for sustainable development, John has led several solar power generation initiatives and helped integrate renewable energy solutions across Madelana Holdings' property portfolio. John is also actively involved in philanthropy, with a particular focus on causes that deliver a direct, meaningful, and measurable impact on people's lives and the communities they serve.

AM

Adam McManus, BSc. (he/him)

Trustee

Adam holds a Bachelor of Science in Physics from the University of Waterloo and serves as a Trustee of the McManus Family Foundation. He works alongside John at Madelana Holdings, where he assists with the company's investment and property operations. Adam cares about animal welfare and access to health care, and brings those interests to the foundation's granting discussions as the family weighs where its support can do the most good.

V

Funded Projects

01

Christie Refugee Welcome Centre

Christie Refugee Welcome Centre provides settlement services, practical resources, and community support to newly arrived refugees in Toronto. Their work begins at one of the most disorienting moments in a person's life, meeting people with immediate and practical help. Our foundation funded consulting work to investigate redevelopment of the site for a new refugee centre and transitional housing.

Visit christiestreetrc.com→
02

Haven on the Queensway

Haven on the Queensway has served the Etobicoke community since 2009. Their five main programs include a food bank, clothing donation for newcomers and refugees, support for parents of newborns with essential supplies, and delivery of hot meals and mental health support to people experiencing homelessness. Our grant supports the daily operations that make this breadth of service possible.

Visit havenontheq.org→
03

Daily Bread Food Bank

Daily Bread is Toronto's largest food bank network, distributing food to over 200 member agencies across the city. More than 1 in 10 Torontonians now rely on food banks, double the rate from three years ago, and 1 in 4 clients is a child. Beyond food distribution, Daily Bread publishes annual research on food insecurity and runs active policy advocacy campaigns aimed at systemic change. Our grant supports their general operations, keeping food moving to the people who need it most.

Visit dailybread.ca→
04

Alberta Cancer Foundation

The Alberta Cancer Foundation is the fundraising partner for every cancer centre across the province, investing in research, early detection, and advanced treatment to improve outcomes for Albertans facing cancer. They run clinical trials aimed at reducing cancer risk, detecting it earlier, developing more effective treatments, and improving quality of life for patients throughout their care.

In loving memory of Darren James Torbiak.

Visit albertacancer.ca→
05

Catalyst Philanthropy: Mobile Overdose Response Initiative

In urgent response to the government closures of supervised consumption sites in Toronto and a toxic drug supply crisis, this initiative supports advanced overdose training. Understanding that community members are often the first to respond to overdoses, yet many have access only to basic naloxone education, this initiative recognizes the need for low-barrier training on mixed substance use and novel drug toxicity. The aim of this initiative is to build knowledge, confidence, and response capacity to improve immediate community safety and save lives. This project delivers practical training on mobile overdose response, trauma-informed overdose recognition, breathing support, naloxone use, and post-overdose care, while also distributing specialized overdose response kits.

Visit catalystphilanthropy.ca→
VI

Contact

If you have a question about the foundation, or would like to tell us about your organization, send us a message and we will get back to you.

Toronto, Ontario, Canada