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About
Helping Music Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit supporting working music creators through education, mentorship, career development, artist support, and access to professional resources.
What we believe
It shapes culture, strengthens communities, creates economic opportunity, and gives people a way to tell the truth about their lives. But the people who make that music often face the hardest path to sustainability.
HMF exists to change that. We help music creators build more stable, supported, and sustainable careers by connecting them with the knowledge, relationships, tools, and opportunities they need to keep creating.
Founding story
Helping Music Foundation began with a simple observation: Nashville is full of talented creators, but talent alone does not create sustainability.
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 working music creators by providing access to mentorship, professional development, charitable support, and career-building opportunities.
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.
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.
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.