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Harmony Labs Inc

EIN 26-2506162 · New York, NY

Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthGood75 out of 100GovernanceStrong100 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

HARMONY LABS AIMS TO PROMOTE AND ADVANCE RESEARCH AND UNDERSTANDING OF HOW MEDIA INFLUENCE WORKS WITHIN SOCIETY AND PARTNERS WITH RELEVANT STAKEHOLDERS, INCLUDING RESEARCH, INDUSTRY AND MEDIA PRACTICIONERS TO ADDRESS KNOWLEDGE GAPS AND TO EXPERIMENT WITH AND DEVELOP SOLUTIONS THAT HAVE POSITIVE SOCIAL OUTCOMES.

Income
$17.2 million
Spending
$4.8 million
Spent on programs
75%
Reserves
1 months of spending
Largest source of income
donations and private grants, 91%
Employees
19
Volunteers
7
Highest pay
$527,217, executive director

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Financial health

Good: 75 out of 100. Higher than 50% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $10m to $100m).

  • Reserves

    10 of 35

    Spendable reserves would cover 1.0 months of spending.

  • Debt

    20 of 20

    It owes 1% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    15 of 15

    Income exceeded spending by 72% of income.

  • Income trend

    15 of 15

    Income rose 407% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    15 of 15

    75% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 4 cents.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Governance

Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 34% of charities in its peer group (arts and culture, $10m to $100m).

  • Independent board

    25 of 25

    7 of 8 voting board members are independent.

  • Conflict of interest policy

    15 of 15

    Has a written conflict of interest policy.

  • Whistleblower policy

    8 of 8

    Has a written whistleblower policy.

  • Record keeping policy

    7 of 7

    Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.

  • Board minutes

    5 of 5

    Keeps minutes of board meetings.

  • Board sees the tax return

    10 of 10

    Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.

  • Pay set independently

    5 of 5

    Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.

  • Independent check of accounts

    15 of 15

    Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.

  • No reported misuse

    10 of 10

    Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Impact evidence

Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.

Programs described in its return (1)
  1. $3.5 million spent. HARMONY LABS IS A MEDIA RESEARCH LAB, USING SCIENCE, DATA, AND CREATIVITY TO RESEARCH AND RESHAPE OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH MEDIA. OUR UNIQUE APPROACH RESTS ON A COMMITMENT TO RIGOROUS PARTICIPATORY PUBLIC RESEARCH, AN UNRIVALED DATA PLATFORM, WITH TRANSPARENT, PRINCIPLED DATA PRACTICES, AND ONGOING INVESTMENT IN EXPLORATION, INVENTION, AND CREATIVITY.WE'RE BUILDING A COMMUNITY OF PRIVATE MEDIA COMPANIES THAT DONATE THE DATA WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT'S GOING ON IN OUR MEDIA SYSTEMS, AND HOW THEY AFFECT PEOPLE, COMMUNITIES, AND SOCIETY AS A WHOLE. OUR DATA PHILANTHROPY COMMUNITY INCLUDES BIG COMPANIES, LIKE NIELSEN AND COMSCORE, AND SMALLER STARTUPS, LIKE PEAKMETRICS, THAT ARE SCRAPING DIFFERENT CORNERS OF THE WEB, NEWS, TELEVISION, RADIO, AND OTHER KINDS OF MEDIA. THIS DATA PHILANTHROPY SUPPORTS OUR RESEARCH EFFORTS INCLUDING, FOR EXAMPLE, AN ADJACENT COMMUNITY OF ACADEMIC RESEARCHERS (HARMONY LABS RESEARCH NETWORK) WHO ARE USING THESE DATA TO STUDY AND IMPROVE MEDIA SYSTEMS.IN ADDITION, WE HARNESS THESE INDUSTRY AND RESEARCH RELATIONSHIPS FOR OUR NARRATIVE OBSERVATORY, A FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND DATA TOOL THAT EMPOWERS CONTENT CREATORS, ADVOCATES, AND FUNDERS TO FIND, REACH, AND RESONATE WITH THE RIGHT AUDIENCE IN TODAY'S MEDIA MINEFIELD. THE NARRATIVE OBSERVATORY DELIVERS AUDIENCE-BASED INSIGHTS, NARRATIVE AND NETWORK ANALYSIS, AND EMPIRICAL VALIDATION OF CULTURAL STRATEGY AND CONTENT TO OUR PARTNERS.WE WORK WITH A WIDE RANGE OF PARTNERS ON ISSUES OF EXISTENTIAL IMPORTANCE, LIKE CLIMATE, GUN VIOLENCE, POLITICAL CORRUPTION, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, AND MORE, USING AN APPROACH TO RESEARCH THAT IS RIGOROUS, PARTICIPATORY, AND 100% PUBLIC. ONE OF THE FIRST PAPERS WE CO-AUTHORED LOOKED AT FRACKING NARRATIVES IN DOCUMENTARY FILM. THE OUTPUTS WE'VE CREATED WITH OUR PARTNERS INCLUDE WEBSITES, PRESENTATIONS, PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS, TOOLKITS, CURRICULUM, INTERACTIVES, WHITE PAPERS, AND MEDIA. AND OUR WORK HAS BEEN COVERED IN THE PRESS, INCLUDING THE NEW YORK TIME, WIRED AND MORE.FOUNDED BY JOHN S. JOHNSON IN 2008, HARMONY LABS IS A 501(C)3 INCORPORATED IN NEW YORK STATE. FUNDERS INCLUDE ATLANTIC FOUNDATION, BILL & MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION, ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON FOUNDATION, JOHN D. AND CATHERINE T. MACARTHUR FOUNDATION, OPEN SOCIETY FOUNDATIONS, NATHAN CUMMINGS FOUNDATION, GOOGLE, AND MORE.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Legitimacy checks

  1. Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.

    Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  2. Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.

    Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.

    Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated November 6, 2026.

  3. Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.

    On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.

    Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  4. Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.

    Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2024.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  5. How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.

    Recognized by the IRS since February 2009.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  6. Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.

    Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.

    Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated November 4, 2026.

Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.