Ellen Browning Scripps was an American journalist and philanthropist who was the founding donor of several major institutions in Southern California. She and her half-brother E. W. Scripps created the E. W. Scripps Company, America's largest chain of newspapers and patron of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, linking Midwestern industrial cities with booming towns in the West. By the 1920s, Ellen Browning Scripps was worth an estimated $30 million, most of which she gave away.

The Bishop's School is an independent college preparatory Episcopal day school located in La Jolla, California. Bishop's is known for its reputation in academics, arts, and athletics as well as its sizable endowment. The school offers courses for students in the sixth through twelfth grades and has an 8:1 student-teacher ratio.