Ella Fitzgerald Scholarship
Dubbed “The First Lady of Song,” Ella Fitzgerald was the most popular female jazz singer in the United States for more than half a century. In her lifetime, she won 13 Grammy awards and sold over 40 million albums. Her voice was flexible, wide-ranging, accurate and ageless. She could sing sultry ballads, sweet jazz and imitate every instrument in an orchestra. She worked with all the jazz greats, from Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Nat King Cole, to Frank Sinatra, Dizzy Gillespie and Benny Goodman. (Or rather, some might say all the jazz greats had the pleasure of working with Ella.) She performed at top venues all over the world, and packed them to the hilt. Her audiences were as diverse as her vocal range. In fact, many of them had just one binding factor in common – they all loved her.
The Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation was created and funded in 1993 by Ella Fitzgerald, in order to fulfill her desires to use the fruits of her success to help people of all races, cultures and beliefs. Ella hoped to make their lives more rewarding, and she wanted to foster a love of reading, as well as a love of music. In addition, she hoped to provide assistance to the at-risk and disadvantaged members of our communities – assistance that would enable them to achieve a better quality of life. The Board of Directors of the Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation seeks to continue Ella Fitzgerald’s goals by making charitable grants to help the disadvantaged, the at-risk and the needy, whether these conditions arise because of financial, medical or other circumstances.
Established in 2023, the Ella Fitzgerald Foundation’s partnership with the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music provides support for an in-state undergraduate jazz student.
The Board of Directors strives to fulfill the charitable goals established by the beloved First Lady of Song, Miss Ella Fitzgerald, such as providing music education for children and young adults, exposure to the joys and beauty of music, and promoting a love of music.
Ella Fitzgerald visits the Indiana University campus