PO Box 1897
North Sydney, NS B2A 3S9
Executive Director: Barry Waldman
Board Chair: Janet Robinson

Charitable Reg. #:89214 9964 RR0001

STAR RATING

Ci's Star Rating is calculated based on the following independent metrics:

[Charity Rating: 5/5]

✔+

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 a high results reporting score. It has high impact and is one of Ci's top 10 Canadian impact charities. Its overhead costs are within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending, and it has reserve funds to cover program costs for ten and a half months.

Founded in 1996, the Educational Program Innovations Charity (EPIC) Society aims to “advance marginalized learners through innovation, empathy, volunteerism, diversity, and partnership.” The charity’s head office is in North Sydney, Nova Scotia. EPIC focuses on the learning needs of Aboriginal, African-Canadian, and other Nova Scotia youth who lack the resources or support system needed for academic and social development. Its programs include the Youth Peer and Outreach program, Parents PEACE program, and scholarships and volunteerism awards. 

A Charity Intelligence 2023 Top 100 Rated Charity

EPIC’s Youth Peer & Outreach program is an after-school one-on-one mentoring and tutoring program for youth ages 8 to 18. Mentors help youth overcome personal obstacles, guiding them through social activities and academic achievements. Youth Peer runs five days a week in Sydney and three days a week online. Outreach runs one session per week in Glace Bay, Northside, and New Waterford, NS. 

The four locations collectively engaged 93 youth in 6,564 total hours of positive social and academic activities in F2022. The total number of tutor-mentor interactions over the 2021-2022 school year was 1,641.

EPIC Society’s Parents PEACE program is a weekly parenting workshop for caregivers with school-aged children. In F2022, an average of five caregivers attended sessions each week. During the year, guest speakers covered topics such as anxiety, mental health services, and gender identity. 

The charity also helps underprivileged youth by providing scholarships and volunteer awards. In F2022, EPIC Society awarded four graduating high school students $500 each. The charity also provided two volunteerism awards worth $500 each to graduating post-secondary students. In F2022, EPIC Society also awarded one student its $500 Humanity Award.

 

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Results and Impact

EPIC society reports that over 90% of the youth it served in F2022 were socially and academically at high risk.  

EPIC Society assessed 91 marginalized youth using SEGWAY (Social Emotional Growth & Wellness Assessment of Youth) which tracks behavioural changes across 20 risk indicators. It reported an average improvement in prosocial behaviours of 14% in F2022 (Sydney & online – 14%, Glace Bay – 16%, New Waterford – 13%, Northside – 11%). For every 2.5 hours students attended Youth Peer, there was a 1% average improvement in protective factors.

While Ci highlights these key results, they may not be a complete representation of Educational Program Innovations Charity Society's results and impact.  

Charity Intelligence has given EPIC Society an impact rating of High based on demonstrated impact per dollar spent. 

A Charity Intelligence 2022 Top 10 Canadian Impact Charity

Impact Rating: High

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Finances

EPIC Society is a Small charity with donations of $167k in F2022. It also received $59k of funding from the Province of Nova Scotia in F2022, representing 29% of total revenues.

Administrative costs are 5% of total revenues (less investment income). The charity does not report any fundraising costs, saying that its primary fundraising task is filling out grant applications, which is done by its unpaid executive director. Therefore, the total overhead spending is 5%. For every dollar donated to the charity, 95 cents go to the cause. This is within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending. 

EPIC Society’s funding reserves of $148k can cover ten and a half months of annual program costs. 

This charity report is an update that has been sent to the Educational Program Innovations Charity Society for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming. 

Updated on June 2, 2022 by Kiara Andrade.

Financial Review


Financial Ratios

Fiscal year ending June
202220212020
Administrative costs as % of revenues 5.3%4.9%4.6%
Fundraising costs as % of donations 0.0%0.0%0.0%
Total overhead spending 5.3%4.8%4.6%
Program cost coverage (%) 88.9%71.8%68.7%

Summary Financial Statements

All figures in $s
202220212020
Donations 167,497136,616118,317
Government funding 59,00061,47561,475
Special events 001,057
Investment income (20,684)17,488(9,570)
Total revenues 205,813215,579171,279
Program costs 163,227178,478145,609
Grants 3,5003,0004,000
Administrative costs 11,9739,5988,386
Fundraising costs 000
Total spending 178,700191,076157,995
Cash flow from operations 27,11324,50313,284
Capital spending 000
Funding reserves 148,263130,282102,747

Note: EPIC Society had deferred contributions of ($2k) in F2022, ($975) in F2021 and ($18k) in F2020. Ci could not break out changes in government vs. non-government deferred contributions and therefore could not adjust for deferred donations. Ci included unrealized gains (losses) on investments in investment income, affecting total revenues by ($19k) in F2022, $44k in F2021, and ($13k) in F2020. Ci reported program and administration costs from the charity's T3010 filings with the CRA.

Salary Information

Full-time staff: 2

Avg. compensation: $26,920

Top 10 staff salary range:

$350k +
0
$300k - $350k
0
$250k - $300k
0
$200k - $250k
0
$160k - $200k
0
$120k - $160k
0
$80k - $120k
0
$40k - $80k
0
< $40k
2

Information from most recent CRA Charities Directorate filings for F2022

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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

Website: www.epiccharity.com
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tel: 902-794-7225

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Charitable Registration Number: 80340 7956 RR0001