The Pearl Foundation (named after Janis Ian's mother, Pearl) is an IRS-approved (501[c][3]) non-profit organization. It was formed after the Janis Ian Online Auction , through which Janis and her fans raised over $73,000 to fund college scholarships for returning students. With these monies we immediately funded a perpetual scholarship at Goddard College, Pearl's alma mater. Since that time, we have funded 2 additional scholarships at Berea College , Kentucky, one at Warren Wilson College , North Carolina, and one (privately funded by Janis and her partner, Pat) at the University of Tennessee College of Law .

The Pearl Foundation was formed in order to continue the spirit of hope and charity that imbued the online auction, and we are proud that it's funded solely through the contributions of fans and friends.

We believe in education; we believe that everyone should have the opportunity to turn their lives around. We also believe that people are essentially good, and those who have extra resources through talent or birth are often moved to help others not so fortunate. Between 2009 and 2010, we donated $150,000 to fund scholarships in Pearl's honor! To date, we have raised over half a million dollars - without advertising, without grants, without a fundraiser or staff.

We have spent the last few years building up our base capital and making small donations, and now find ourselves in the wonderful position of being able to create a scholarship every two to three years. Our goal is to do what we originally did with Goddard on an annual basis - to create perpetual scholarships at various educational institutions for people who've been out of school or in the work force more than five years. The scholarship money is used to provide everything from tuition to day-care for these students. Scholarships are provided without regard to gender, race, creed, religion, nationality, sexual preference, or other limiting factors.

We do not provide scholarships ourselves, so please don't write to us asking for money! As we are able to fund more scholarships, we hope to add lists of the institutions providing them to these pages.

All of the net profits on Janis Ian merchandise are donated to The Pearl Foundation by Janis. This means that for every item you buy, some percentage is going back to scholarship funding. 100% of money going into the "tip jar" at shows is donated to the Foundation.

Additionally, we offer special merchandise items through the Janis Ian website and Rude Girl Express mail orders. 100% of sales on these items are donated directly to the Pearl Foundation, and checks should be made out accordingly. These monies are deductible for you to the extent allowable by the IRS.

Website originally designed by Tina Abato