Harlem Grown

Legal name: Harlem Grown Inc

Overview

Mission

Harlem Grown inspires youth to lead healthy and ambitious lives through mentorship and hands-on education in urban farming, sustainability, and nutrition.

What it reported doing in 2024

Transform abandoned lots into urban farms and greenhouses, and use urban agriculture as a platform for in-school, out-of-school time, workforce development, and community engagement programming.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 81% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 96% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
274250636
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
New York, NY, United States
Phone
(212) 870 0113
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Botanical, Horticultural, and Landscape Services

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$5,143,885
Expenses
$6,259,852
Assets
$5,799,854
Liabilities
$163,388

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 67
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 25
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 81.4%; rating input score 81
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.78 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 91.6%; rating input score 92; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 83.3%; rating input score 83; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -21.7%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.93; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.4%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 28.7% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 23.1% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 27.8% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 11 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 81.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 12 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $5.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $305K · 13 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 36 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 5 annual filings from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 18 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 15 filed related-organization links
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 29/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 6/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 34/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 23/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • HOWARD A HILLERY (CEO/FOUNDER): $305,461 total reported compensation
  • NICOLE ENGEL (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $270,400 total reported compensation
  • CHARLES MAHER (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $201,563 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024.