EPIC Society
STAR RATINGCi's Star Rating is calculated based on the following independent metrics: |
✔+
FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY
Audited financial statements for current and previous years available on the charity’s website.
A
RESULTS REPORTING
Grade based on the charity's public reporting of the work it does and the results it achieves.
High
DEMONSTRATED IMPACT
The demonstrated impact per dollar Ci calculates from available program information.
NEED FOR FUNDING
Charity's cash and investments (funding reserves) relative to how much it spends on programs in most recent year.
94%
CENTS TO THE CAUSE
For a dollar donated, after overhead costs of fundraising and admin/management (excluding surplus) 94 cents are available for programs.
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OVERVIEW
About EPIC Society:
EPIC Society is a 4-star, high-impact charity. It has excellent disclosure, with an A grade for results reporting. Its funding reserves are within Ci’s reasonable range, and can cover just under one year of program costs. For every dollar donated to EPIC, 94 cents are available to go to the cause.
A Charity Intelligence 2025 Top Impact Charity
A Charity Intelligence 2025 Top 100 Charity.
The Educational Program Innovations Charity (EPIC) Society was founded in 1996 by Barry Waldman. It is a small, local charity that operates in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. This area has an average child poverty rate of 32%, which is three times the national average, and an unemployment rate 40% higher than the national average. The charity aims to help youth, ages 8-18, facing academic and social barriers by offering free tutoring, mentorship, and volunteer support. Schools and community agencies refer students who need support. EPIC reports that over 95% of participants have been formally assessed as high-risk, with an average poverty rate of 70%.
EPIC Society’s programs include Youth Peer & Outreach, ADAPT, and Scholarships and Awards. In F2025, EPIC spent $218k on its programs.
Youth Peer and Outreach was EPIC’s largest program in F2025. It cost $214k, representing 98% of its program spending. The program provides free after-school tutoring and mentorship. High school and university students volunteer as tutor-mentors. Each EPIC mentoring session has two parts: the first hour of one-on-one academic tutoring, and the second hour of group activities like games, art, and workshops. The charity says these activities help youth build confidence, relationships, and social skills. In F2025, the program operated in eight Cape Breton communities and served 121 youths. Volunteers delivered 1,751 tutoring sessions across all sites. On average, each youth attended 14 sessions.
ADAPT (Access & Development of Affiliated Peer Tutoring) began in F2025 as part of the Youth Peer & Outreach program. It is a partner-led initiative funded by the Joyce Family Foundation. The program helps other organizations run youth peer-style tutoring programs in underserved communities. EPIC provides staff guidance and financial support. Three ADAPT sites opened in F2025, in Sackville, Iona, and Sydney River. A fourth site in Halifax is expected to open in 2026.
Scholarships and awards represented $3,500 or 2% of total program spending in F2025. The program gives awards to graduating students from underserved communities and volunteers. In F2025, EPIC gave seven awards worth $500 each.
Parents PEACE (Practicing Esteem-building Acceptance Communication & Evaluation), EPIC’s 20-year parenting workshop ended in March 2024. EPIC now contacts parents directly to support the youth in its programs.
In F2025, EPIC supported 121 youths and spent $232k. This comes out to an average cost of $1,913 to support one youth.
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Results and Impact
EPIC measures results using SEGWAY (Social Emotional Growth & Wellness Assessment of Youth). This tool tracks social and emotional growth through staff observation using 20 evidence-based risk indicators. In F2025, EPIC assessed 64 students. EPIC saw an average improvement of 11% in SEGWAY scores across all sites. This is the same improvement percentage reported for F2024 and F2023. Reported improvements included increased confidence, better emotional well-being, and stronger community engagement. Specific site SEGWAY improvements were: Northside 18%, Sydney 13%, Glace Bay 12%, Whitney Pier 10%, and New Waterford 4%.
Charity Intelligence has given EPIC Society an impact rating of High based on demonstrated impact per dollar spent. While Ci highlights these key results, they may not be a complete representation of EPIC’s results and impact.
A Charity Intelligence 2025 Top Impact Charity.
A Charity Intelligence 2025 Top Canadian Impact Charity.
A Charity Intelligence 2025 Top 10 Impact: Canadian Youth Charities.
Impact Rating: High
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Finances
EPIC Society uses line-item costing, which is not a best practice. It does not disclose program spending. In F2025, program spending numbers in the annual report do not match the audited financial statements.
EPIC had a total revenue of $279k in F2025. It received $205k in donations, equal to 74% of its revenue, and $68k in government funding, amounting to 24% of its revenue. The charity spent $218k on its programs, which is 78% of its revenue. Investment income was $36k in F2025, up from $3k in F2024. EPIC recorded a surplus of $47k in F2025, equal to 17% of its revenue.
Administrative costs represented 6% of revenue (excluding investment income), at $14k. EPIC reports no fundraising costs in F2025. It discloses that its Executive Director writes all grant applications as a volunteer. Total overhead spending was 6%. For every dollar donated to EPIC, 94 cents are available to go to the cause. This is within Ci’s reasonable range.
EPIC Society held $213k in reserve funds (cash and investments) in F2025. These reserves can cover almost one year of annual program costs. This is within Ci’s reasonable range.
This is a charity update that has been sent to EPIC Society by Neela Jalilian on May 21, 2026.
Financial Review
Fiscal year ending June
|
2025 | 2024 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Administrative costs as % of revenues | 5.7% | 5.2% | 4.9% |
| Fundraising costs as % of donations | 0.0% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| Total overhead spending | 5.7% | 5.3% | 5.0% |
| Program cost coverage (%) | 97.8% | 64.7% | 71.3% |
Summary Financial StatementsAll figures in $s |
2025 | 2024 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donations | 205,272 | 173,719 | 184,420 |
| Government funding | 67,974 | 59,000 | 59,000 |
| Investment income | 36,274 | 2,756 | (1,073) |
| Other income | (30,974) | 32,998 | 0 |
| Total revenues | 278,546 | 268,473 | 242,347 |
| Program costs | 217,677 | 246,743 | 220,605 |
| Administrative costs | 13,830 | 13,896 | 11,894 |
| Fundraising costs | 0 | 200 | 200 |
| Total spending | 231,507 | 264,339 | 232,699 |
| Cash flow from operations | 47,039 | 4,134 | 9,648 |
| Capital spending | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Funding reserves | 212,832 | 161,964 | 157,321 |
Note: 1. Deferred revenue: Ci included deferred revenue with other revenue. This affected revenue by ($31k) in F2025, $8k in F2024, and $14k in F2023. 2. Investment income: Ci included investment income. This was $36k in F2025, $3k in F2024, and ($1k) in F2023.
Salary Information
$350k + |
0 |
$300k - $350k |
0 |
$250k - $300k |
0 |
$200k - $250k |
0 |
$160k - $200k |
0 |
$120k - $160k |
0 |
$80k - $120k |
0 |
$40k - $80k |
1 |
< $40k |
1 |
Information from most recent CRA Charities Directorate filings for F2025
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Comments & Contact
Comments added by the Charity:
Comment added on November 14, 2024:
Ci’s recognition of EPIC’s place among Canada’s finest charities has been a game-changer for our small charity. We feel honoured to represent Eastern Canada on Ci’s overall Top 10 Impact Charities list, knowing that EPIC has been distinguished among hundreds of great Canadian charities serving home communities and abroad. By introducing our programs and website to a vastly wider audience with correspondingly elevated donations, Charity Intelligence has ensured EPIC’s transformative impact on 60+ high-risk youth in the daily Youth Peer Program and 40+ marginalized youth in weekly Outreach to 4 under-served communities. Clearly, while Ci reviews are extremely helpful to Canadian donors to achieve heightened social impact, they are also of immense value to the charities highlighted. EPIC is very grateful.
Charity Contact
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tel: 902-794-7225