Head Strong Project Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
455261907
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Flushing, NY, USA
Phone
8609654088
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Mental Health Treatment F31 Psychiatric, Mental Health Hospital

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$13,636,826
Expenses
$13,963,947
Assets
$11,336,424
Liabilities
$1,115,974

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

28 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DANIEL KAEPERNIK (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)
  • RANDY M BAKER VICE (PRESIDENT CORPORATE PARTNERSHIPS)
  • ERIN M MINTMIER (VICE PRESIDENT MAJOR GIFTS)

Highest reported compensation

  • DANIEL KAEPERNIK (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $325,024 total reported compensation
  • EDWARD G LORD (CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER): $266,462 total reported compensation
  • AMY M WILLIAMS PHD (CHIEF CLINICAL OFFICER): $235,408 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The head strong project (headstrong) is a non-profit organization founded in 2012 that provides barrier-free, stigma-free ptsd treatment to veterans, transitioning service members, and family members connected to their care.

What it reported doing in 2025

The headstrong project is delivering measurable, life-changing results for veterans, service members, and their families. In 2025, headstrong provided over 52,000 individual therapy sessions to more than 2,900 unique clients 70% of which were delivered via telehealth, ensuring accessibility for clients in rural, remote, and underserved communities across all 50 states. Headstrong's goal is to help our clients "triumph over trauma" by providing them with effective mental health treatment.see continuation on schedule o.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 89% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 23
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 87.7%; rating input score 88
  • Program expense ratio: 85.5%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: $9.92 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -2.4%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.81; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.1; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 13.5%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 21.4% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 18.2% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 19.3% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 87.7% of revenue deployed · 85.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 16 of 16 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $11.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $325K · 28 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $787K reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 36 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2012 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 9 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 32/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 14/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 23/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 15/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.