The Ovation Society is Epic’s premier membership program
Epic is one of the leanest, most efficient organizations you’ll ever support. Every $500 an Ovation Society member gives provides up to 8 individualized, one-on-one sessions between a HS senior in Epic’s program and one of our Mentors who are trained in college counseling. Combined with overnight trips to colleges, SAT prep support, in-class work with College and Career Prep classes at our partner schools, and weekend sessions with parents on financial aid, these sessions provide the tools necessary for our seniors, most of whom are first-in-family and all of whom come from under-resourced communities and schools, to choose a college that is right for them and make it affordable.
The Ovation Society is composed of supporters with a passionate commitment to our bold, collaborative, and transformational programs.
Ovation Society Levels
Applause Circle: $500-999
Accolade Circle: $1,000-2,499
Encore Circle: $2,500-4,999
Patron Circle: $5,000-9,999
Producer Circle: $10,000 and above
There are also leadership levels of $25,000 and $50,000 which have major additional benefits, from employee engagement opportunities to special tables at events; please contact RonRussell@EpicTheatreEnsemble.org for more information and to find out how to make a leadership contribution.
In return, every $500 given gets a Ovation Society one VIP ticket to “Epic Duets,” our exciting Annual Benefit featuring Broadway stars performing beside our students. All Ovation levels receive:
- Recognition in printed and digital materials;
- Monthly newsletter with information on special performances;
- Ovation-only invites to Opening Nights and VIP events, including a meet-n-greet reception with Susan Kelechi Watson of NBC’s THIS IS US in June 2020; and,
- Advance offers for auction items like set visits to THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL – yes, in the Ovation Society, you’d join member Amy Sherman Palladino in supporting Epic.
Members of Epic’s new Ovation Society (formerly “Architects”) have helped us reach over 3,500 young people and 33,000 new audiences in 2 years, both Off-Broadway and on tour with professional productions – Nilaja Sun’s PIKE ST., which recently headlined the Dublin Theatre Festival – and Epic NEXT’s touring shows, 4 brilliant student-devised and performed pieces of theatre that tackle issues facing our public schools like fiscal inequity and gender discrimination. The Ovation Society is also our key source of funding for our college access programs for the students we serve.
Of the average 200 seniors Epic works with each year in our partner schools, 93% applied to at least 4 colleges and 88% matriculated the next year, a rate almost twice that of their peers. Of those students who participate in our after-school and Epic NEXT programs for more than one year, 100% have gone on to college, and we maintain a 93% graduation or persistence rate at present. Of the almost $2.1 million in costs our Epic NEXT grads would currently be paying at schools like Wesleyan, Smith, SUNY-Geneseo, Muhlenberg, and City College, they are earning $1.89 million in scholarships and grants, or 89%.
