Epic Foundation

What Epic Foundation does

Epic Foundation, founded in 2015 by serial entrepreneur Alexandre Mars, is a 501(c)(3) philanthropic intermediary headquartered in New York with operational entities in the UK, France, and Switzerland. The organization selects and rigorously vets high-impact nonprofits serving disadvantaged children, youth, and environmental causes, drawing from a pipeline of 4,500 candidates to build portfolios that have backed 57 organizations across 11 countries and 4 continents, mobilizing $100 million and transforming 1.7 million+ lives since inception.

The foundation operates four core product lines: Epic Pledge (commitments from founders, entrepreneurs, and investors pledging a percentage of liquidity event proceeds or carried interest), Epic Give (direct donations from individuals and families via a multi-currency donation portal powered by iRaiser), Epic Lab (corporate giving solutions including Impact Giving, Payroll/Bonus Giving, and Check-Out Giving with clients such as Ardian, L'Oréal, and Big Mamma), and the School of Philanthropy (educational program for philanthropists, advisors, and institutions). All offerings funnel into a rigorously monitored portfolio of nonprofits receiving multi-year unrestricted funding, with impact assessed via a proprietary iLi (Impacted Lives Indicator) methodology and independently verified by Koreis.

The business model is a 100% pro bono structure where all donations flow directly to nonprofit portfolios and operational costs are covered by the board, advisory board, and strategic partners. Distribution is ambassador-driven across 8 global cities and supported by PR coverage (Forbes, Business Insider, Le Parisien), Harvard Business School case study validation, immersive VR experiences, and site visits. Donor acquisition spans four segments: individual philanthropists and families (primary), corporate partners, founders/investors, and advisors/private banks, with no disclosed equity, debt, or external funding — the organization is privately governed as a charitable foundation.

Name

Epic Foundation

Legal name

Epic Foundation, Inc.

Website

https://epic.foundation

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Epic Foundation is a 501(c)(3) philanthropic intermediary founded in 2015 that vets nonprofits serving disadvantaged youth and the planet, mobilizing $100M across 57 grantees in 11 countries via 100% pro bono donor programs including Epic Pledge, Epic Give, and Epic Lab.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Donations: Epic Foundation generates revenue entirely through donations from individuals, families, corporations, and institutions. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in the US, Registered Charity #1163753 in the UK, Endowment Fund in France, and tax-exempt foundation in Switzerland, all donations are tax-deductible in respective jurisdictions. The foundation commits that 100% of donations received go directly to nonprofit portfolios, with operational costs covered by the board, advisory board, and strategic partners.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Epic Foundation is a strategic grantmaking nonprofit that builds, backs, and monitors rigorously vetted portfolios of high-impact nonprofits serving disadvantaged children, youth, and the planet. It connects donors (individuals, families, founders, and corporations) to its nonprofit portfolios through programs including Epic Pledge, Epic Give, Epic Lab corporate solutions, and the School of Philanthropy. The foundation operates on a 100% pro bono model where the board covers all operational costs, ensuring 100% of donations flow directly to portfolio organizations as multi-year unrestricted funding.

Product overview

Epic Foundation operates as a strategic grantmaking organization offering a unified platform of philanthropy solutions. The core offerings include Epic Pledge (for founders and investors committing future profits), Epic Give (for individual donors), and Epic Lab (corporate giving solutions including payroll giving and checkout giving). All offerings funnel into Epic's rigorously vetted nonprofit portfolio, which is monitored for impact and provides donors with transparency. The organization also offers a School of Philanthropy for education and an IFI Calculator for French tax optimization. Epic operates a 100% pro bono model where all donations go directly to nonprofits.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Epic Pledge: A commitment program for founders, entrepreneurs, shareholders, VCs, and investors to pledge a percentage of their future profits to high-impact nonprofits.
• Epic Give
• Epic Lab
• School of Philanthropy

Products and services

• Epic Pledge A commitment program for founders, entrepreneurs, investors, and shareholders to pledge a percentage of their future profits, carried interest, or management fees to high-impact nonprofits through Epic's rigorously vetted portfolio. Electronic pledge signing is supported via SignNow for US, UK, France, and Belgium.
• Epic Give A giving solution for individuals, families, and family offices to donate to Epic's rigorously vetted portfolio of nonprofits with full impact monitoring and transparent reporting. Supports one-time and recurring donations with suggested tiers and tax-deductible receipts in multiple jurisdictions.
• Epic Lab A suite of plug-and-play corporate giving solutions including Impact Giving (Foundation as a Service), Bonus/Payroll Giving, and Check-Out Giving, enabling companies to embed purpose into their business operations with vetted nonprofits. Validated clients include Ardian, L'Oréal, Big Mamma, Société Générale, and Dior.
• School of Philanthropy An educational program designed to help philanthropists, families, corporate teams, and advisors learn strategic giving practices through hands-on modules, real-world case studies, and field-tested tools. Sessions serve as lead generation for Epic's giving programs.
• Epic Portfolio Rigorously vetted portfolios of high-impact nonprofits focused on children, youth, and environmental protection, providing multi-year unrestricted funding to drive systemic change. Selected from a 4,500+ nonprofit pipeline and monitored for impact.
• Donation Platform Online donation platform (donate.epic.foundation) supporting multiple countries with tax receipt capabilities, powered by iRaiser with secure payment processing compliant with PCI-DSS standards and GDPR/CCPA requirements.
• IFI Donation Calculator A tax optimization tool for French taxpayers subject to the Impôt sur la Fortune Immobilière (IFI) to calculate and simulate donations that can reduce their wealth tax liability.

Quantifiable outcome

• 87% of donors reported strengthened confidence in nonprofits
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Big MammacoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2019Restaurant chain Big Mamma partnered with Epic since 2019 to implement checkout giving across their three London restaurants. Customers add £1 to every bill, raising nearly half a million pounds. This aligns Big Mamma's brand with positive social impact.
• L'OréalmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerL'Oréal partnered with Epic to launch a payroll giving initiative offering 11,000+ employees the opportunity to round their salary to the nearest Euro and donate the difference to nonprofits. Epic provides the giving platform and nonprofit selection.
• Société GénéraleminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSociété Générale promoted 'Hedge to Pledge' — a variation of checkout giving where ForEx clients could donate the Pip (percentage in point) on every transaction to Epic portfolio organizations.
• DiorminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFor International Women's Day, Dior partnered with Epic to donate 10% of profits from one product line in a single day, branded as 'The Epic Day'.
• French Professional Football LeagueminorGTM or Marketing PartnerThe Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 applied the checkout giving concept to generate €100 donations every time a goal was scored during matches.
• Harvard Business SchoolcoreOthersHarvard Business School and Harvard Kennedy School published a comprehensive case study on Epic Foundation (Alexandre Mars and Epic, Case No. KS1291), recognizing the foundation's innovative approach to philanthropy and impact measurement.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Tides Foundation: San Francisco-based philanthropy intermediary that operates advised funds, manages project grants, and channels donor capital to nonprofits—directly comparable to Epic's role as a grantmaking intermediary aggregating multiple donor sources into vetted nonprofit portfolios.
• GlobalGiving: Global crowdfunding marketplace connecting vetted nonprofits with individual and corporate donors. Directly comparable as a digital philanthropy intermediary with rigorous vetting, multi-country reach, and corporate partnership programs akin to Epic Give and Epic Lab.
• Charities Aid Foundation: UK-based philanthropy services organization offering donor-advised funds, giving accounts, and corporate giving solutions. Directly comparable to Epic's tax-efficient multi-jurisdiction giving infrastructure (UK Registered Charity, France, Switzerland presence) and corporate giving products.
• New Venture Fund: Charitable organization that incubates, manages, and provides operational support to projects and donor collaboratives. Directly comparable as a fiscal sponsor/philanthropy intermediary channeling multi-donor capital into vetted programs with shared operational infrastructure.

Emerging players

• GiveDirectly: Nonprofit that delivers cash transfers directly to extremely low-income households, operating in East Africa and beyond. Comparable as a tech-enabled, evidence-driven giving organization focused on rigorous impact measurement and direct donor-to-beneficiary transparency—similar methodological DNA to Epic.
• Acumen: Global nonprofit that uses entrepreneurial approaches (venture philanthropy, patient capital) to tackle poverty. Comparable as a methodology-driven, 'VC-inspired' philanthropic organization focused on systemic change with rigorous impact measurement—overlapping philosophically with Epic's VC-inspired model.

Broad incumbents

• Schwab Charitable: Large-scale donor-advised fund (DAF) sponsor with significant assets under management. Comparable as a tax-efficient giving infrastructure for HNW donors, though broader in scope and less focused on Epic's targeted nonprofit vetting and active monitoring model.

Others

• Kiva: Nonprofit crowdfunding platform enabling individual lenders to support entrepreneurs and small businesses globally. Comparable as a tech-enabled giving platform with rigorous vetting, global geographic reach, and donor impact reporting—though Kiva's model is lending rather than grantmaking.
• RSF Social Finance: Financial services organization focused on social enterprise and philanthropy, offering donor-advised funds, loans, and impact investing. Comparable as a values-aligned financial intermediary serving HNW philanthropists with integrated giving solutions.

Regional players

• Give.org / BBB Wise Giving Alliance: US-focused charity evaluation organization producing donor reports on nonprofit effectiveness. Adjacent peer providing independent nonprofit vetting and donor confidence infrastructure that complements Epic's own iLi methodology and monitoring framework.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCjMoLxue7t60
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/epic-foundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/epicfoundation
• Xx.com/epic_foundation

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Epic Foundation