Customer Success Story: The Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation

September 6, 2017

Customer: The Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation

Business: Nonprofit Organization

Website: ellafitzgeraldfoundation.org

The Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation is able to successfully sustain the “A Book Just for Me!” program through Book Depot’s unbeatable, low prices.

The Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation

The Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation, established in 1993 by the late American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, assists at-risk and disadvantaged individuals and families in communities located predominantly in Los Angeles, California, and the surrounding area. One of the foundation’s aims is to help provide educational opportunities for children, which they do in part through their “A Book Just for Me!” book give-away program. The foundation supplies books to 100 nonprofit organizations each year through this program, which was created in memory of Fitzgerald following her passing in 1996. As of 2016, the foundation has given books to hundreds of thousands of children, ranging in age from birth through to college.

In order to keep the “A Book Just for Me!” program viable, the Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation requires a dependable source for new, unread, low-cost book product that is suitable for a broad spectrum of ages and interests, as well as flexible, affordable shipping options to service all of the nonprofit organizations they are partnered with.

Solution

Book Depot’s large inventory of children’s and young adult titles provides the Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation with the selection and quantities they want at the unbeatable, low prices they need to sustain the “A Book Just for Me!” program. Additionally, Book Depot’s ability to ship directly to the foundation’s nonprofit partners using the most economical shipping method for each location helps save the foundation time and money. While the foundation prefers to place their orders online via Book Depot’s comprehensive, user-friendly website, they are also partnered with a sales representative for personalized service.

Results

Since the Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation first began purchasing from Book Depot just over 10 years ago in 2006, we have supplied them with 965,122 units to date at a fantastic average per-unit cost of $0.99 cents, which helps ensure that as many children as possible are able to receive books and benefit from this excellent program.

“There is just no way we could run this program without Book Depot and your amazing selection and even more amazing low prices. We are very, very grateful. (Plus, you are ALL so nice and helpful, what a pleasure!) And you ship wherever we want, which makes my job so much easier. Your website is a pleasure to use.” – Fran Morris-Rosman, Executive Director and Chief Literacy Officer