Groundup Music Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
465515528
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2020, Form 990-N 2019
Location
Miami, FL, USA
Phone
3053386257
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts, Culture, and Humanities

Reported finances

Revenue
$427,392
Expenses
$651,944
Assets
$96,739
Liabilities
$290,871

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

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

People named in this filing

  • PAUL LEHR (OFFICER)
  • JUAN PABLO DIAZ (OFFICER)
  • LENA KOORSE (OFFICER)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The GroundUP Music Foundation supports up-and-coming as well as established musicians through performance and other opportunities, and provides educational opportunities and resources including masterclasses and workshops, mentorships, clinics, and side by side teaching and performance and training opportunities to underserved and other students and supporters, through its annual GroundUP Music Festivals and other in-person and online programs.

What it reported doing in 2024

The GroundUP Music Foundation curates and assembles exceptional musicians at all career stages, with great cultural diversity from all over the globe, and provides them with funding, time, and opportunities to experiment, take risks, and work with each other and with students to create collaborations that take on a life of their own, resulting in continued creative partnerships. The Foundation was born out of the annual GroundUP Music Festival, a music & education festival that produces the highest level music programs while creating free opportunities for local underserved students as well as other musicians and students with these diverse renowned artists.In addition to supporting the artists and students/attendees, the annual GroundUP Music Festival has a major annual economic impact for its local South Florida home, garnering hundreds of millions of media impressions, generating in excess of $4 Million of economic impact, attracting thousands of hotel room nights, and supporting more than 1000 local jobs.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% 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.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 88
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 58
  • Sustainability: 13
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 97.5%; rating input score 97
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 0 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Fail
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -52.5%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.15; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 3.01; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12.7% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 29.2% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.3% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 97.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 0 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $636K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 3 people listed
  • Consistency: 21 of 21 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 5/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 9/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 1/100.