Harper House Music Foundation
Legal name: Harper House Music Foundation Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 991693511
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2024–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- New York, NY, US
- Phone
- 9179927548
- Rating
- 56
- Verdict
- MIXED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Fund Raising and/or Fund Distribution
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $20,605,512
- Expenses
- $566,792
- Assets
- $20,064,434
- Liabilities
- $19,114
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
3 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- STEPHEN SULLENS (FOUNDER, PRESIDENT, DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- MICHELE AUGIS (MANAGING DIRECTOR): $48,000 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Rooted in the belief that music is a vital and universal source of connection, joy, and meaning, Harper House Music Foundation (HHMF) seeks to be an agent of change by facilitating efforts that help artists share their work, lead stable and healthy lives, and preserve their unique legacies.
What it reported doing in 2024
Hhmf's approach is centered around grantmaking to organizations serving musicians, and investments that address "need gaps" where infrastructure and funding are lacking. In 2024, we delivered 10 grants to 9 grantees totaling $352,750.00. This activity featured sponsoring efforts in line with our mission such as: a fellowship for a music industry mental health and wellness nonprofit; a wellness initiative at an established music festival; contributing to projects inspiring people to continue supporting musicians' legacies; backing a first-time music & black culture festival in durham, nc; providing seed funding to revive a legacy music festival that had been discontinued for several years, and was brought back in 2025.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 85% of its reported program spending out as grants.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 26
- Transparency & Controls: 90
- Accountability: 70
- Sustainability: 90
- Growth: NotEnoughData
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 2%; rating input score 2
- Program expense ratio: 74.3%; rating input score 74
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 14th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 98.9%; rating input score 99; 31st percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 66.7%; rating input score 67; 11th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- 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: 97.2%; rating input score 99; 99th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 35.4; rating input score 99; 99th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 8.5%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: Limited
- Revenue growth: Limited
- Asset growth: Limited
Details
- What they do: 5 programs and campaigns described on the official site
- Where the money goes: 2% of revenue deployed · 74.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 2 of 3 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $421K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $48K · 3 people listed
- Consistency: 22 of 23 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 10 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 9 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 2/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 27/100.