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 an above-average results reporting score and high impact. Its overhead costs are within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending and it has reserve funds to cover program costs for nine months. For every dollar donated to the charity, 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. Ci calculates that EPIC Society spent $221k on its programs in fiscal year 2023 (F2023). This differs from the $232k reported in the charity's Annual Report because Ci removed administration and fundraising costs.
A Charity Intelligence 2023 Top 100 Rated Charity
Youth Peer & Outreach was 96% of program spending in F2023. It offers after-school tutoring and mentoring to at-risk youth ages 8-18. The program ran at seven sites in F2023. 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 F2023, EPIC reported 136 active youth participants and 134 active tutor-mentor volunteers. EPIC also reported 8,496 hours of academic and social activities in F2023.
Parents PEACE was 2% of program spending in F2023. 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 F2023, an average of five caregivers attended each session. In F2023, five EPIC partner agencies sent guest speakers. Guest speakers led discussions on anxiety reduction, substance issue services, gender identity well-being, school services, and employment support for out-of-school youth.
Scholarships and awards was 2% of program spending in F2023. 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 F2023, EPIC awarded three $500 scholarships, two $500 volunteerism awards, and one $500 humanity award.
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Results and Impact
Educational Program Innovations Charity (EPIC) Society reported that over 95% of youth participants in F2023 were formally assessed as socially and academically at high risk.
EPIC used SEGWAY (Social Emotional Growth & Wellness Assessment of Youth) to assess school-year changes in 129 youth participants. SEGWAY is based on staff observations of 20 evidence-based risk indicators. In F2023, EPIC reported an average improvement of 11% in protective factors to counteract risk (10% in Sydney and online, 11% in Northside, 12% in New Waterford, 15% in Glace Bay, 9% in Whitney Pier, 16% in Iona, 12% in Sackville). For every 2.5 hours students attended Youth Peer, EPIC reported a 1% average improvement in protective factors.
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 (EPIC) Society an impact rating of High based on demonstrated impact per dollar spent.
Impact Rating: High
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Finances
Ci used EPIC Society's T3010 filing with the CRA to allocate program, administrative, and fundraising costs.
EPIC Society is a small charity. It received $184k in donations in F2023. It also received $59k in funding from the government of Nova Scotia, accounting for 32% of total revenue. Administrative costs are 5% of revenue (excluding investment income) and fundraising costs are less than 1% of donations. For every dollar donated to EPIC, 95 cents are available to go to the cause. In F2023, EPIC spent $221k on its programs, which is 91% of its revenue.
In F2023, EPIC had a surplus of $9.6k (4% of total revenue) and reported no spending on capital expenditures.
At the end of F2023, EPIC had $157k in reserve funds, which can cover 71% or around nine months of its annual program costs.
In F2023, EPIC Society changed auditors to Hunston Kachafanas (F2022 and F2021: MNP LLP).
Regarding compensation, EPIC Society’s Audited Financial Statements do not reconcile with the CRA T3010. EPIC reported $150k in compensation spending to the CRA. EPIC’s audited financial statements report $179k in compensation spending ($29k difference).
This charity report is an update that was sent for review to Educational Program Innovations Charity (EPIC) Society. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.
Profile created on May 22, 2024 by Thea Clark.
Financial Review
Fiscal year ending June
|
2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Administrative costs as % of revenues | 4.9% | 5.3% | 5.6% |
| Fundraising costs as % of donations | 0.1% | 0.7% | 0.0% |
| Total overhead spending | 5.0% | 6.0% | 5.6% |
| Program cost coverage (%) | 71.3% | 90.2% | 71.8% |
Summary Financial StatementsAll figures in $s |
2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donations | 184,420 | 165,997 | 108,984 |
| Government funding | 59,000 | 59,000 | 61,475 |
| Investment income | (1,073) | (20,684) | 17,488 |
| Total revenues | 242,347 | 204,313 | 187,947 |
| Program costs | 220,605 | 164,327 | 181,477 |
| Administrative costs | 11,894 | 11,973 | 9,598 |
| Fundraising costs | 200 | 1,200 | 0 |
| Total spending | 232,699 | 177,500 | 191,075 |
| Cash flow from operations | 9,648 | 26,813 | (3,128) |
| Capital spending | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Funding reserves | 157,321 | 148,263 | 130,282 |
Note: DEFERRED ADJUSTMENT: EPIC uses deferred accounting. To show donors this information on a consistent basis, Ci adjusts for these deferreds. This affected revenue by $14k in F2023, ($1.5k) in F2022, and ($975) in F2021. These deferred adjustments are not material. LINE-ITEM COSTING: EPIC uses line-item costing without allocating expenses by activity. Ci referred to the charity’s T3010 filing with the CRA for program, administrative, and fundraising expenses in F2023, F2022, and F2021.
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 F2023
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Comments & Contact
Comments added by the Charity:
These comments were provided for a previous version of this profile.
Ci’s recognition of EPIC’s place among Canada’s top charities has been a game-changer for our small award-winning charity. By introducing our programs and website to a vastly wider audience and thus elevating donations, Charity Intelligence has enabled EPIC to expand its transformative impact on marginalized youth by serving a 5th community and enhancing Youth Peer’s cultural diversity. Increased donations have also allowed EPIC to boost the modest wages of our amazing staff with fair cost-of-living increases. 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