Ball Brothers Foundation Approves $1.7 Million in First Round of Annual Grants

Last month, Ball Brothers Foundation’s Board of Directors approved $1.7 million in its first round of grants for the year. Overall, the funding provides support to local efforts in arts, culture, and humanities; education; environment; human services; and public society benefit. These grants come in addition to the more than $300,000 in emergency grants the foundation has provided in the past three months in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

While the most recent round of grants do not directly support COVID-19 needs, they do fund initiatives that contribute to the long-term quality of life in Muncie and Delaware County.

“Throughout our 90 years, Ball Brothers Foundation has been dedicated to supporting efforts that build a better future for our community,” said Jud Fisher, president and chief operating officer of Ball Brothers Foundation. “By continuing to fund ongoing and long-term projects that are important to our city and region, we are ensuring that Muncie is equipped to not just bounce back from any disaster, but to continue to thrive.”

Founded in 1926, the foundation has provided funding to the Muncie area through many major events, including World War II, polio outbreaks, 9/11, the Great Recession and now COVID-19. As Fisher explained, “we provide funding in good times and in bad.”

Fisher said the foundation will continue to monitor the needs of local nonprofits and provide additional emergency funding as needed as the pandemic continues. But for now, he said, the first round of annual grants are a sign of the positive future that lies ahead for East Central Indiana.

“We are fortunate to have a great number of local nonprofits and organizations who are dedicated to the betterment of our society,” Fisher said. “From our foundation’s earliest days, we have worked together with partners across the community to improve healthcare, to support education and to advance quality of life efforts. We are proud to support other entities who share this passion, and it is clear that the future of our community is in good hands.”

Ball Brothers Foundation’s $1.7 million in first-round grants will be distributed as follows:

Arts, Culture, & Humanities

• Ball State University’s Book Arts Collaborative, $60,000 total over multiple years: funding will provide operations support to allow Ball State students to continue to run the bookbindery and letterpress shop, make products for retail shops, host community workshops and work collaboratively as key tenants of MadJax’s maker community
• Ball State University’s David Owsley Museum of Art, $10,000/year for two years: funding will allow Muncie Community School fourth-graders to visit the museum and benefit from pre/post-trip activities that tie to Indiana state academic standards
• Music for All, $19,000: funding will support music programs in schools across the region

Education

• Boys & Girls Clubs of Muncie, $160,000: funding will support operations for out-of- school programs
• Destiny Christian Center International, $25,000: funding to support purchase of former Kidz Korner childcare center in the heart of the McKinley Live-Learn Neighborhood
• Indiana Youth Institute, $50,000: funding to provide consulting support for 2 local youth-serving organizations
• Muncie Children’s Museum, $150,000: funding to revamp an exhibit and hire a fundraiser
• Motivate Our Minds, $35,000: funding will support operations for out-of-school programs
• Muncie P3, $104,000: funding will support operations for MP3’s out-of-school program at Longfellow Elementary as well as an expansion of family engagement programming at Grissom and South View Elementary Schools

Environment

• Delaware County Soil & Water Conservation District and Grant County Soil & Water Conservation District, $25,000 per organization: funding will be used for multi-county watershed planning efforts, assisting farmers with conservation practices and planning for new recreational access along the White River and Mississinewa River
• Red-Tail Land Conservancy, $50,000: funding will support operations to preserve and protect land
• Human Services
• Hillcroft Services Inc, $15,000: funding will allow purchase of equipment for recreational therapy program for individuals with disabilities
• Project Leadership, $50,000: funding will allow the hiring of a new position dedicated to helping eight county schools navigate new “Graduation Pathways” graduation requirements
• Shafer Leadership Academy, $35,000/year for two years: funding will support operations, including professional development and coaching for area business and nonprofit employees
• Sustainable Muncie, $150,000: funding will provide operations support, including programmatic support at MadJax, which is currently developing new K-12 career exploration programming, a public-access makers lab, and apprenticeship training programs in cooperation with local manufacturers and higher education institutions
• TeenWorks, $40,000/year for two years: multi-year funding will ensure that local teens have jobs this summer and next
• United Way of Delaware, Henry and Randolph Counties, $75,000: funding will be used to match contributions to upcoming 2020 campaign
• Urban Light Community Development, $10,000: funding will support expanded marketing and fundraising capabilities to continue to provide women’s addiction recovery services and housing
• Youth Opportunity Center, $15,000: funding will allow hiring of an “after-care” coordinator to support youth and their families once they are released from residential care
• YWCA of Central Indiana, $30,000: funding will support operations to continue providing shelter for homeless women and children

Public Society Benefit

• Ball State University and IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital, $15,000 per institution: funding will allow continuation of Next Muncie leadership initiatives, including large scale, community-engaged planning efforts
• Delaware Advancement Corporation, $25,000: funding will support the purchase of trees to line the new Riverside-Jackson trail on the city’s westside
• Muncie Action Plan, $17,500: funding will support general operations, neighborhood projects, and resident trainings
• Muncie Downtown Development Partnership, $40,000: funding will support a new branding campaign to help build on past downtown momentum and support ongoing revitalization efforts
• Project Leadership, $40,000/year for two years: funding will support two seasons of the Inner-City Education Basketball League
• Ross Community Center, $215,000: funding will support baseball/softball field build- out and maintenance for the sports complex at the Community Center
• St. Mary’s Parish, $140,000: funding will support gym renovations, which will potentially allow the Parish to further expand partnerships with Burris Laboratory School

Preliminary applications for the foundation’s next round of grants are due July 15. The foundation also regularly accepts applications for Rapid Grants from February through November of each year. For more information on Ball Brothers Foundation grants, visit ballfdn.org/grants.