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.
95%
CENTS TO THE CAUSE
For a dollar donated, after overhead costs of fundraising and admin/management (excluding surplus) 95 cents are available for programs.
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OVERVIEW
About EPIC Society:
EPIC Society is a 5-star charity with High Demonstrated Impact. It has an A+ Results Reporting grade, which is well above average. It holds reserves within Ci's reasonable range. For every dollar donated to EPIC, 95 cents are available to go to the cause.
Founded in 1996, the Educational Program Innovations Charity (EPIC) Society runs educational programs for at-risk youth. It operates in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. The charity has three programs: Youth Peer & Outreach, Parents PEACE, and Scholarships and Awards. EPIC spent $250k on its programs in F2024.
A Charity Intelligence 2024 Top Impact Charity. and a Charity Intelligence 2024 Top 100 Charity.
Youth Peer and Outreach represented 98% ($245k) of program costs in F2024. EPIC runs after-school tutoring and mentoring to at-risk youth ages 8-18. The program ran at seven sites in F2024. Schools and other partner agencies, like Mental Health and Community Services, refer at-risk youth. High school and university students act as volunteer tutor-mentors for youth participants. Programming consists of an hour of one-on-one tutoring. After, there is an hour of social mentoring, art, music, and games. In F2024, EPIC reported 124 active youth participants and 2,204 tutor-mentor matches. Each match averages 2.5 hours of social and academic activity per week, for a total of 5,510 hours per week. In F2024, EPIC extended its outreach programs to three new locations: Whitney Pier, Iona, and Sackville. The charity is transferring these programs to new program leads as EPIC reported it over-extended itself while operating in seven locations.
Scholarships and awards represented 1% ($4k) of program spending in F2024. Scholarships are for graduating high school students from Eskasoni, Membertou, and African-Nova Scotia communities. Volunteerism awards recognize graduating post-secondary student volunteers in Youth Peer & Outreach. The humanity award recognizes graduating high school students who show community giving. In F2024, EPIC sent out seven scholarships and awards, each worth $500.
Parents PEACE represented 1% ($2k) of program spending in F2024. It aims to support caregivers who want to improve their relationships with their children. Caregivers meet Monday nights to discuss parenting issues with a facilitator. In F2024, an average of five parents participated in weekly evening sessions.
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Results and Impact
EPIC Society reached 124 youth and spent $264k in F2024. In F2024, it cost EPIC $2,132 to mentor an at-risk youth.
EPIC used SEGWAY (Social Emotional Growth & Wellness Assessment of Youth) to assess school-year changes in 124 youth participants. SEGWAY is based on staff observations of 20 evidence-based risk indicators. In F2024, EPIC reported an average improvement of 11% in protective factors to counteract risk (11% in Sydney, 4% in Northside, 17% in New Waterford, 17% in Glace Bay, 6% in Whitney Pier, 12% in Iona, and 18% in Sackville).
While Ci highlights these key results, they may not be a complete representation of EPIC Society’s results and impact.
Charity Intelligence has given the Educational Program Innovations Charity Society an impact rating of High based on demonstrated impact per dollar spent.
Impact Rating: High
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Finances
EPIC Society uses line-item costing, which is not a best practice. Ci matched the line items to each cost bucket as it best fit.
EPIC received $174k in donations and $59k in government funding. The charity spent $250k on its programs, which is 93% of revenue. It recorded a surplus of $4k, which is 2% of revenue.
EPIC spent $200 on fundraising, which is less than 1% of donations, and $14k on administration, which is 5% of revenue (excluding investment income). Total overhead spending is 5%. For every dollar donated to EPIC, 95 cents are available to go to the cause, which is within Ci’s reasonable range.
EPIC Society has $162k in reserve funds (cash and investments). These reserves can cover just under eight months of its annual program costs. This is within Ci’s reasonable range.
This charity report is an update that has been sent to EPIC Society.
Updated on June 9, 2025 by Liam Chapleau.
Financial Review
Fiscal year ending June
|
2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Administrative costs as % of revenues | 5.2% | 4.7% | 4.7% |
| Fundraising costs as % of donations | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.8% |
| Total overhead spending | 5.3% | 4.9% | 5.5% |
| Program cost coverage (%) | 64.7% | 71.1% | 88.8% |
Summary Financial StatementsAll figures in $s |
2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donations | 173,719 | 160,376 | 157,497 |
| Government funding | 59,000 | 59,000 | 59,000 |
| Investment income | 2,756 | (1,073) | (20,684) |
| Other income | 32,998 | 24,044 | 8,500 |
| Total revenues | 268,473 | 242,347 | 204,313 |
| Program costs | 246,743 | 217,165 | 163,377 |
| Grants | 3,500 | 4,000 | 3,500 |
| Administrative costs | 13,896 | 11,534 | 10,623 |
| Fundraising costs | 200 | 200 | 1,200 |
| Total spending | 264,339 | 232,899 | 178,700 |
| Cash flow from operations | 4,134 | 9,448 | 25,613 |
| Capital spending | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Funding reserves | 161,964 | 157,321 | 148,263 |
Note: 1. Deferred revenue: Ci included deferred revenue with other revenue. This was $8k in F2024, $14k in F2023, and ($2k) in F2022. 2. Investment Income: Ci included investment income, reported below the line. This was $3k in F2024, ($1k) in F2023, and ($21k) in F2022.
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 F2024
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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