Canadian Foundation for Dietetic Research

What Canadian Foundation for Dietetic Research does

The Canadian Foundation for Dietetic Research (CFDR) is a Canadian registered charitable foundation established in 1991 by Dietitians of Canada to fund practice-based nutrition and dietetic research. Its core product is the Research Grants Program, which awards grants valued between $10,000 and $20,000 to Canadian dietitians — principal investigators must be registered dietitians affiliated with an institutional sponsor — for projects completed within up to two years. Since inception, CFDR has disbursed over $3 million to approximately 125-150 research teams across Canadian universities and healthcare institutions, supporting work in areas including clinical nutrition, public health, nutrigenomics, pediatric nutrition screening, obesity treatment, Indigenous food-based care, and 2SLGBTQ+ cultural safety curriculum development. Output is disseminated through a Published Research Repository, an Abstracts and Posters Database (2005-2026), and an Annual Research Showcase held during Dietitians of Canada Nutrition Month.

Name

Canadian Foundation for Dietetic Research

Legal name

Canadian Foundation for Dietetic Research

Website

https://cfdr.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Health Research Funding

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

akta.pro primary industry

Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Corporate Foundations & CSR Grantmaking (BPAGAKAC)

Keywords

• Nutrition research funding
• Dietetic research grants
• Charitable research foundation
• Practice-based research
• Health research grants

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Others, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: CFDR relies on donations from individual members of Dietitians of Canada, corporate donors, and partners to fund dietetic research grants. The foundation is a registered charitable organization (BN: 892702150RR0001) and accepts personal donations, tribute gifts, and fundraiser donations.
2. Corporate Partnerships and Sponsorships: Corporate partners and sponsors provide financial support in exchange for visibility, brand association with nutrition research, and customized sponsorship packages including website ad space and event sponsorship opportunities.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

CFDR is a charitable research foundation that awards practice-based nutrition and dietetic research grants to Canadian dietitians (typically $10,000 to $20,000 per project, with up to two years to complete). It also operates an annual Research Showcase event, maintains a published research repository, and curates an abstracts and posters database so grantees and stakeholders can disseminate findings. Funding comes from individual donations, corporate sponsorships, and partner support rather than fees for products or services.

Product overview

The Canadian Foundation for Dietetic Research operates as a research funding organization offering grants and research support services to Canadian dietitians. Its core offerings include a Research Grants Program providing $10,000-$20,000 grants for practice-based dietetic research, an Annual Research Showcase event for presenting completed research, and a Published Research Repository and Abstracts/Posters Database that disseminate CFDR-funded research findings. The organization positions these services as a unified portfolio supporting its mission to cultivate and fund practice-based dietetic research to improve Canadian nutritional health.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Research Grants Program Annual competitive grant program funding practice-based dietetic and nutrition research projects led by Canadian registered dietitians; grants valued at $10,000 to $20,000 with up to two years for completion.
• Annual Research Showcase Annual event providing dietitians and nutrition students a venue to present completed research through keynote, oral, and e-poster sessions; co-sponsored with Dietitians of Canada and corporate partners.
• Practice-Based Research Funding Funding track focused on research conducted within dietitians' professional practice contexts, supporting evidence-based nutrition advice and accessible resources for Canadians.
• Published Research Repository Public collection of peer-reviewed publications resulting from CFDR-funded research, covering nutritional genomics, clinical nutrition, public health, and dietetic practice.
• Abstracts and Posters Database Public database of research abstracts and e-posters from CFDR Research Showcases spanning from 2005 to 2026.

Quantifiable outcome

• More than $3 million invested in nutrition and dietetics research
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and supporting.

• PepsiCo Health & Nutrition SciencesflagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 4 March 2026Lead sponsor for CFDR Research Showcase 2026. PepsiCo Health & Nutrition Sciences interprets the latest nutrition science to support healthier choices across PepsiCo's portfolio, which includes brands such as Bubly, Gatorade, PopCorners, and Quaker.
• Egg Farmers of CanadacoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 4 March 2026Partner for CFDR Showcase 2026. Represents Canada's more than 1,270 regulated egg farmers and develops nutrition resources in partnership with dietitians and physicians.
• Canadian Sugar InstitutecoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 4 March 2026Partner for CFDR Showcase 2026. Manages the Nutrition Information Centre which gathers and shares evidence-based information about sugars, nutrition, and health, managed by registered dietitians and nutrition researchers.
• Dietitians of CanadacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Dietitians of Canada established CFDR in 1991 as its charitable research foundation. DC provides secretariat services for CFDR operations and serves as a key channel for reaching Canadian dietitians. CFDR is dependent on DC's generous support along with corporate donors and individual members.
• HaleonsupportingGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 February 2025Corporate sponsor supporting CFDR webinars, including the 2025 February webinar on Sustainability in Dietetics Education and the September 2025 webinars series.
• Corporate Sponsors and AffiliatessupportingGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2023Various corporate sponsors and affiliate partners supporting CFDR's mission to fund dietetic research. Partners benefit from customized sponsorship agreements, website advertising, and event visibility opportunities aligned with their philanthropic and ROI objectives.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Wellcome Trust: A large global charitable foundation supporting health and biomedical research including nutrition — a broad incumbent peer operating at vastly greater scale but with overlapping research-funding activities.
• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: Major US health-focused philanthropic foundation supporting research on diet, health equity, and population health — a broader incumbent with thematic overlap in nutrition research funding.
• Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR): Canada's primary federal health research funding agency — a much larger incumbent that funds nutrition and health research through grants programs, representing the dominant alternative funder for CFDR applicants.
• National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR): The UK's largest funder of health and care research, including nutrition and dietetics research — a broad incumbent peer with a parallel grantmaking mandate.

Emerging players

• International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI): A global nonprofit that funds and convenes nutrition and food-safety research — a partial-overlap peer with industry-connected research funding similar to CFDR's corporate sponsor model.

Direct peers

• Nestlé Foundation for the Study of Problems of Nutrition in the World: A Swiss-based grantmaking foundation funding human nutrition research with multi-year project grants — a global peer with a similar research-grantmaking model, though with substantially larger grant sizes.
• American Society for Nutrition Foundation: Funds nutrition research through grants and awards and supports early-career investigators — a North American nonprofit peer with a comparable research-grantmaking model in nutrition science.
• Canadian Nutrition Society: A Canadian scientific society that supports nutrition research, scholarships, and grants — directly comparable as a domestic nutrition-focused research-support organization.
• Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation: The US-based charitable foundation of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, providing research grants to registered dietitians — the closest international analogue to CFDR's mission of funding practice-based dietetic research.

Others

• Dietitians of Canada: CFDR's parent organization and Canada's national professional association for dietitians — a closely related but distinct entity that provides secretariat support and channel reach to CFDR.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/cfdrcan
• Facebookfacebook.com/CFDRcan
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cfdrcan
• Instagraminstagram.com/cfdrcan

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Canadian Foundation for Dietetic Research