This month, we've been on the road here in our hometown (and beyond) to see what's "springing up." 

For many years, BBF has supported disaster response efforts across the state following major tornadoes and other natural disasters. Through our Emergency Management grantmaking initiative, the foundation has also worked to provide specialized training and equipment to local agencies to prepare for large scale disasters.

On March 14, the response needs hit close to home with a tornado impacting both Delaware and Randolph counties.

As the foundation prepares to commemorate its 100th year of grantmaking in 2026, we are excited to announce the appointment of two community members, Laura Hill and Dennis Trammell, Jr., to our Board of Directors.

In our latest Q&A, we feature Delaware County Prosecutor Eric M. Hoffman who provides insight on the prevalence of cybercrime in East Central Indiana, his office's role in expediting digital evidence processing, collaboration with other agencies, and plans for future growth.

On behalf of the entire BBF team, we wish you and your family a wonderful holiday season!

Many of our staff members will be out of the office from December 25-January 1. If you'd like to reach a member of our team, feel free to send an email and we'll get back to you as quickly as we can.

This fall, our board approved 36 grants totaling $5 million in funding in our second and final round of grants for 2023. The grants are closely aligned with the foundation’s commitment to place-based grantmaking. Read about some of the grantees and their initiatives:

Get to know Trevor Friedeberg, President/CEO of East Central Indiana Regional Partnership, in our latest grantee Q&A.Trevor is helping to lead East Central Indiana’s pursuit of up to $75 million in state funding through the READI program. The program is designed to infuse regions with funding that will help to attract and retain talent.

Over the next several years, five new canoe and kayak launches are scheduled to be constructed along the White River in Muncie, allowing for canoeing, kayaking, and tubing from the city's east to west gateways. The addition of these launches comes on the heels of five decades of work by individuals and organizations to improve the water quality in the White River, one of East Central Indiana's most important natural assets.

Throughout this year, Ball Brothers Foundation has been working to ramp up communications with our stakeholders: grantees, community and regional leaders, extended Ball family members, and others.

A key part of our new strategic plan calls for us to serve as a vocal advocate for Muncie and East Central Indiana. This month's e-newsletter highlights several grants that make our community shine

As we strive to continuously improve our communication and outreach efforts, we'd love for you to take a 2 minute survey. Your anonymous feedback is instrumental in helping us understand your preferences and content interests to ensure that our newsletters are valuable and engaging. 

Catch Our Team Behind the Scenes...

As summer gets into full swing, our calendars are packed with grantee meetings, site visits, and more. 

On May 23, Ball Brothers Foundation hosted a reception to honor local teachers recognized with the foundation's Excellence in Teaching Award. The reception celebrated 2023 award winner, Kira Zick, finalists, Rob Jones and Heather Rogers, as well as past award nominees. Indiana Secretary of Education Dr. Katie Jenner was the guest speaker for the evening. 

Change doesn't happen overnight.

At Ball Brothers Foundation, we are laser-focused on localized grantmaking. Our recently updated strategic plan reaffirms our long-standing commitment to Muncie, Delaware County, and East Central Indiana—the place where the Ball brothers lived, worked, and raised their families when they moved to Muncie over a century ago.

BBF Announces New Strategic Plan

Over the course of the past year, many stakeholders have provided input to Ball Brothers Foundation about our grantmaking, leadership, communications, and impact. This feedback was collected as part of a robust strategic planning process undertaken by our staff and board of directors.    

The foundation is pleased to welcome Susan Brumley as the new Executive Assistant & Convenings Coordinator beginning March 1. Brumley brings with her 20 years of experience in customer service and management. 

As 2022 draws to a close, we're reflecting on a busy year filled with site visits to see grantees' work in action, the launch of transformational projects, and deep reflection about where we have been and where we are going.

School Counseling, Outdoor Learning Awarded Funding as Part of $5 Million in New Grants

This fall, our board approved over $5 million in new grants, including support to boost school counseling and outdoor learning. 

A few weeks ago, BBF staff teamed up with The Nature Conservancy to host a rafting trip on the White River through the heart of Muncie. We were joined by Muncie Mayor Dan Ridenour as well as several other members of Next Muncie, along with friends from Red-tail Land Conservancy, the Bureau of Water Quality, and Muncie Community Schools.

While many local and state grant programs provide support to childcare providers at Levels 3 & 4 on the “Paths to QUALITY” rating scale, BBF has awarded special funding for the past two years for childcare programs at Levels 0-2.

Our board met last month and approved over $2.4 million in funding in our first round of general grants for 2022. Take a look at some of this round's highlights:

We're in the process of rethinking our e-newsletters, and we'd greatly value your input. What content interests you most? How often would you prefer to hear from us? Please take our brief, 2-minute survey to let us know these and other things so we can best tailor future newsletters. Thank you in advance!

We know that with continuous advancements in technology, work will soon look very different. Local and state leaders predict nearly every job will eventually be impacted in some way by technology, automation, advanced cloud computing, or artificial intelligence.

Ball Brothers Foundation is just a few short years away from celebrating our 100th year of grantmaking. As we approach this milestone, we are embarking on our “New Century" strategic planning process.

We’ll be collecting feedback in the months ahead from grantees, peer foundations, community leaders, board members, next generation Ball family members, and others.

As we strive to continually improve our grant application process, we launched our new online application platform, GoApply, on January 1. The new system will be more user-friendly and allow for expanded functionality for both applicants and foundation staff.

As we wrap up our 95th year of grantmaking, we are honored to continue to carry on the stewardship legacy of the Ball brothers and their families. This year, organizations throughout Muncie and Delaware County have done outstanding work and have undertaken incredible initiatives, and we look forward to seeing how the community will continue to flourish in the years ahead.

More than $6.5 million awarded to healthcare, education, and more in second round of 2021 grants

Currently, “one issue that Muncie faces is our inability to develop the skilled workforce that is needed to meet the staffing requirements of our local employers,” shared Jane Ellery, chairman of the board for Sustainable Muncie in a recent grant request to BBF. But now, new efforts are underway to tackle that challenge head-on. 

In its first round of grants for 2021, Ball Brothers Foundation’s Board of Directors approved more than $3.3 million in funding. The grants included COVID-19 vaccine distribution and messaging support to local health organizations, recovery and rebuilding support to Delaware County schools, and support to many of Muncie’s steadfast, long-term organizations as they recover from the pandemic.

Coming off of 2020, we are optimistic about seeing light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel: local hospitalizations are down significantly from their peak, vaccines are now readily available to Hoosier adults, and our healthcare partners can see hope with every vaccine shot they give.

2020 was a momentous year—for Muncie, Delaware County, East Central Indiana, and the rest of the world. Marked largely by unprecedented events and hardship, the year forced us all to rethink the way we do things.