SILVER2022

PEARL FOUNDATION

aka The Pearl Foundation of Nashville, TN   |   Nashville, TN   |  https://thepearlfoundation.org
This organization has not appeared on the IRS Business Master File in a number of months. It may have merged with another organization or ceased operations.

Mission

We believe that knowledge is the greatest gift you can offer, people are essentially good, and those who have extra resources through talent or birth should help others not so fortunate. Through education, we change people's lives and make the world a better place. Janis Ian's mother Pearl, suffering from MS, got a new lease on life through Goddard's program for returning students . In its 24 years, The Pearl Foundation provided that "new lease" to more than 100 students. Our only annual expenses were tax preparation and filing; everything else was donated. "Returning students" often need financial help more than younger students who don't have obligations of family, mortgage, etc. Scholarships were provided without regard to gender, race, nationality, or sexual orientation.

Ruling year info

1999

CEO

Janis Ian

Main address

Post Office Box 121228

Nashville, TN 37212 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

38-3477884

NTEE code info

Public Foundations (T30)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990-N.

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Communication

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

We believe education is the gateway to success and a better citizenry. Too many times, older students ("returning students" or "mature students") are unable to obtain college scholarships because of their age, amount of time spent away from the education system, or other factors . The Pearl Foundation is dedicated to assisting these students in matriculating at any level of education.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Pearl Foundation Scholarship at Warren Wilson College

Warren Wilson is the country's only liberal arts college with a national student body and integrated work and service programs. Our scholarship this year has gone for Environmental Studies: Sustainable Agriculture; two students have benefited from this.

Population(s) Served
Adults

A scholarship geared toward the needs of returning students who have been out of school and require financial assistance. Goddard College chooses the recipient; we do not insist that they report back to us. The program generally serves older students. We measure their success by their happiness in their new careers and lives.

Population(s) Served
Adults

A scholarship geared toward the needs of returning students who have been out of school and/or require financial assistance. Berea College chooses the recipient; we do not insist that they report back to us. The program generally serves older students. We measure their success by their happiness in their new careers and lives.

Population(s) Served
Adults

A scholarship geared toward the needs of returning students who have been out of school and require financial assistance. Berea College chooses the recipient; we do not insist that they report back to us. The program generally serves older students. We measure their success by their happiness in their new careers and lives.

Population(s) Served
Adults

A scholarship privately endowed by Janis Ian and her wife, Patricia Snyder, geared toward older students wishing to enter or return to law school.

Population(s) Served
Adults

Where we work

Videos

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Number of program participants who receive a secondary school diploma or GED

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Older adults, Seniors

Type of Metric

Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

All students given Pearl Foundation scholarships have graduated from college.

Number of clients for whom the transition plan is fully implemented (including receipt of all services as planned)

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Adults

Type of Metric

Context - describing the issue we work on

Direction of Success

Increasing

Number of graduates enrolled in higher learning, university, or technical/vocational training

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Adults

Type of Metric

Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues

Direction of Success

Holding steady

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

The betterment of individuals by providing funding for continuing education, and through that betterment, a more informed and more able citizenry that will continue to contribute positively to the country and the world at large.

Talking about the Pearl Foundation during Janis Ian shows, press conferences, interviews. Holding bi-annual sales stressing the Pearl Foundation and donating all monies (not all profits, but all monies) to the Foundation during those sales. Keeping an active social media profile, including 500,000 dedicated Facebook followers, and stressing the Pearl Foundation to them on a regular basis. Collecting and auctioning rare goods for the Foundation, such as handmade jewelry by author Mercedes Lackey, personally signed print books by authors such as the late Pat Conroy, Anne McCaffrey, Stephen King, personal contributions from other performers such as Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin. Private "living room concerts" and "lunches with Janis", 100% of same going directly to the Foundation. Sales of Janis Ian merchandise via live shows and websites.

A lot of hard work and time put in by Janis Ian, and her dedicated fan base. To date we have endowed more than one million dollars in scholarship funding, solely through these methods.

We have created a dedicated base of supporters via websites (both of Janis Ian and of other performers), as well as successful yearly sales, a social media presence, a dedicated website at https://www.thepearlfoundation.org . We have established yearly scholarships at Berea College KY, Goddard College VT, Warren Wilson College NC, and these scholarships graduate students regularly. We have given over one million dollars in scholarship funding to these endowed scholarships.

Financials

PEARL FOUNDATION
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

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PEARL FOUNDATION

Board of directors
as of 09/15/2022
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Janis Ian

Janis Ian

The Pearl Foundation

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • Board orientation and education
    Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? No
  • CEO oversight
    Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? No
  • Ethics and transparency
    Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? No
  • Board composition
    Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? No
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 11/13/2020
info Candid has made improvements to the race and ethnicity options.

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Female, Not transgender (cisgender)
Sexual orientation
Gay, lesbian, bisexual, or other sexual orientations in the LGBTQIA+ community
Disability status
Decline to state

Race & ethnicity

No data

Gender identity

No data

 

No data

Sexual orientation

No data

Disability

No data

Equity strategies

Last updated: 11/13/2020

GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more

Data
  • We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
  • We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
  • We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
  • We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
  • We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
  • We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
  • We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
Policies and processes
  • We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
  • We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
  • We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
  • We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
  • We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
  • We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
  • We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.