Pitching in: Moez & Marissa Kassam Equity Fund gifts $5-million to TMU’s medical school
The Globe and Mail
PAUL WALDIE (external link) Europe Correspondent
Published January 3, 2025
Updated January 5, 2025
The organizers: Moez and Marissa Kassam
The gift: $5-million
The cause: Toronto Metropolitan University's medical school
As a hedge-fund manager, Moez Kassam spends much of his time analyzing potential investments and looking for decent returns. He and his wife, Marissa, are now taking that same approach to philanthropy by making donations that can deliver specific and measurable returns.
"We're very outcome-oriented," said Mr. Kassam, 44, the founder of Toronto-based Anson Funds. "I just find there's a big gap between people who need funding and people who have an ability to give the funding. If people who have the means to do it are shown the right project, with a particular catalyst, and a specific outcome, that resonates."
The couple have made a series of targeted gifts through their charitable foundation called the Moez & Marissa Kassam Equity Fund.
One of their initiatives was working on a unique data-driven fundraising project called Great to Gold which provided $1-million in assistance to 52 athletes who competed at the Paris Olympics. The athletes won 10 medals in total including golds for hammer throwers Ethan Katzberg and Camryn Rogers; gold and bronze for canoe-kayaker Katie Vincent and a bronze won by Eleanor Harvey in fencing, Canada's first medal in the sport.
The Kassams' latest gift is $5-million to Toronto Metropolitan University to support the university's medical school which is due to open next summer. The money will go toward a building project and several scholarships.
Mr. Kassam said they were drawn to TMU because of the university's innovative approach to education. "They're around really pushing the envelope," he said. "It's no surprise to me that Toronto is getting its first new medical school in 100 years, and it would be TMU that would break that barrier."
Ms. Kassam, 39, former vice-president of philanthropy at Royal Bank of Canada, said TMU's medical school will help address the need for more family doctors and it will take some of the pressure off the hospitals. "It's more than time for a new medical school," she said.
The couple plan to turn their attention to education and look for similar kinds of donations. "We're always looking for things that are really going to level the playing field and make our city more equitable," said Ms. Kassam.
Editor's note: This article has been updated to correct the name of the Moez & Marissa Kassam Equity Fund.
