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What we believe
It shapes culture, drives local economies, and gives people a way to tell the truth about their lives. Helping Music Foundation exists so the people who make it can build sustainable careers.
What we're doing
The support system that once developed artists has largely disappeared. The modern independent artist is expected to be an entire music company: writer, producer, label, publisher, marketer, and small business owner, all at once, and to finance the whole operation alone. Ownership without infrastructure becomes another kind of burden.
The Music Sustainability Movement is a new model for supporting the people who create a community's music. Its purpose is not to rescue artists from hard work. It is to stop requiring every artist to rebuild the same infrastructure alone.
We believe artists should not have to choose between making the music that gives a city its identity and earning enough to keep living in that city. So we connect charitable support to shared, affordable infrastructure: studios, education, mentorship, and a community of working creators.
Founding story
Helping Music Foundation began with a simple observation: Nashville is full of talented creators, but talent alone does not create sustainability.
As the old support structure faded, the modern independent artist was left to become an entire music company: writer, producer, label, publisher, marketer, publicist, booking agent, and small business owner, all at once. Ownership without infrastructure becomes another kind of burden.
Musicians need education. They need mentorship. They need access to trusted industry relationships. They need places to learn, collaborate, record, perform, receive feedback, and grow. They need support systems that meet them before they are famous, not only after the market has already validated them.
That is why HMF was created. Our work is rooted in a simple belief: when music creators are supported, the whole community benefits.
Our mission
To support, educate, and elevate the musicians in your community.
Why our model works
HMF does not believe in building support systems from scratch when strong community infrastructure already exists. Instead, we collaborate with mission-aligned partners who can help us deliver high-quality programs efficiently and meaningfully.
One of those partners is HOME, Helping Our Music Evolve, Nashville's music industry support hub. HOME provides a powerful ecosystem of studios, creative space, programming, equipment, and community. HMF works alongside HOME and other partners to expand access to charitable programs that serve eligible music creators and advance HMF's public-benefit mission.
This partnership allows donor support to go further. Rather than spending years and millions of dollars recreating infrastructure that already exists, HMF can focus charitable resources on the things creators need most: education, mentorship, funding opportunities, industry access, professional development, and creative support.
Because that infrastructure already exists, a gift converts directly into creative time. A month of studio payments becomes a finished release. A restaurant shift becomes a recording session. An isolated artist becomes a supported member of a working community.
How your gift helps
When you give to HMF, you are not just helping someone make a song. You are helping a creator build the foundation for a sustainable life in music.
Nashville's music does not happen by accident. It is built by songwriters, artists, producers, engineers, players, managers, entrepreneurs, and creative workers who often carry the risk long before the industry sees the reward.
Communities already fund the infrastructure that lets people learn, gather, and build: libraries, parks, and small-business centers. Music deserves the same commitment. In an era when anyone can generate endless content, protecting the conditions for real human creativity becomes an act of cultural preservation.
Helping Music Foundation exists to stand in that gap. We help creators access the support, education, mentorship, and opportunities that can turn isolated talent into sustainable creative lives. Your gift helps make that possible.
Executive team
Logan Crowell
Executive Director
Juliana Lee
Program Director
Banks Camak III
Head of Partnerships
Robert Vanderwerf
Head of Philanthropy
Board of Directors
Brian Bauer
Chairman
Femke Weidema
Board of Directors
A&R Program team
Ian Osborne
A&R Director
Pal Sheldon
A&R Administrator
Lord Goldie
A&R Coordinator
Industry mentors and development pros who guide the program's artists toward commercial-quality records.
Shalom “J.Storm” Miller
Grammy-winning, multi-platinum producer
DQ (David Quiñones)
Performance & Vocal Coach
Kenny Mullins
Artist & Sync Writer
Kipp Williams
Sonic Identity & Songwriting
Financial transparency
Charitable contributions support HMF's exempt mission and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. Donors should consult their own tax advisors regarding the deductibility of any contribution.