Ball Brothers grants to support big projects
Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
The Muncie-based Ball Brothers Foundation is awarding $3 million in grants in support of more than two dozen projects. Among the biggest grants is $500,000 toward the new YMCA of Muncie facility planned for the campus of Muncie Central High School.
In April, the YMCA kicked off the public phase of $28.5 million capital campaign for the new facility, which is being built in partnership with Muncie Community Schools, IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital and Ball State University, among others.
The $500,000 grant is in addition to $1.5 million the foundation awarded for the project in 2021. The total commitment is one of the largest grants for a single project in the foundation’s history.
YMCA of Muncie CEO Chad Zaucha said the foundation provided the lead gift for the project, which served as a catalyst to build momentum for the fundraising effort.
“We are in the final stages of securing the support needed to create a world class social gathering hub for whole person health…in the heart of our city,” Zaucha said in a news release. “The impact of this vision coming to fruition has the potential to drastically impact quality of life and quality of place initiatives, while enhancing economic development and improving health and educational outcomes for our community.”
Jud Fisher, president and CEO of the Ball Brothers Foundation, said the Ball family’s connection to the YMCA of Muncie dates back to the organization’s first campaign for a downtown building in 1911.
“Many YMCAs are establishing on the periphery of cities and suburbs, so the decision to stay downtown is a great vote of confidence in the downtown area,” Fisher said. “The neighborhood where the new YMCA will be located is undergoing a fundamental transformation, and the Y will make a big impact in revitalizing this up-and-coming area.”
If the YMCA hits its goal, construction could begin this summer and take about 18 months to complete.
The foundation also awarded a $100,000 grant for the final phase of remodeling of the Muncie Civic Theatre. The grant will support upgrades to the venue’s technical and backstage elements, including a new rigging system set to be installed this summer.
“The antique rigging which was suspended by ropes, pulleys, and the weight of sandbags required a person to have incredible strength in order to raise or lower anything onto the stage,” said Laura Williamson, artistic & executive director of Muncie Civic Theatre. “The antiquated rigging will be replaced by an electrical system that uses motors that can be operated with the touch of an iPad by anyone.”
The theater is still fundraising for the rigging project. You can find more information by clicking here.
The full list of grant recipients is below, and includes organizations and projects focusing on arts and culture, public/society benefit, health, education, environment, and human services.
Arts & Culture
- Music for All: $30,000 for support of the 2023 Music for All Summer Symposium.
Public Society Benefit
- Ball State University: $25,000 for equipment and training to assist BSU’s Police Department in fighting cybercrime.
- Cardinal Greenways: two-year funding totaling $400,000 to supplement the Cardinal Greenways’ operating budget including staffing support, routine trail maintenance, trail amenity support, equipment needs, and other basic operational items.
- Delaware County Prosecutor’s Office: $50,000 for the purchase of newer and more expansive digital forensic tools for Delaware County’s High-Tech Crimes Unit.
- Delaware County Sheriff’s Office: $25,000 to establish a forensic workstation and purchase hardware for cybercrime investigations.
- Muncie Police Department: $25,000 to advance training and purchase equipment to conduct digital forensics investigations.
- Ross Community Center: $95,000 for salaries of core staff and utilities, security, and field maintenance.
Health
- City of Muncie: $45,000 to bolster recreational programming through the purchase of equipment and hiring of certified instructors/referees; supporting the Muncie Youth Summer Employment Program; supporting the hiring of a community peace officer to provide security at Tuhey Pool during peak summer hours.
- James Whitcomb Riley Memorial Association: $100,000 toprovide physicians, scientists, and lab technicians with a state-of-the-art microscope to discover new pathways that influence type 1 diabetes.
- Muncie Sports Commission, Inc.: $75,000 for program support of the ICE League (a basketball league that emphasizes academics) and to support operations.
Education
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Muncie: two-year funding totaling $350,000 to help offset operational expenses and provide expansion opportunities in Muncie and Delaware County.
- Daleville Community Schools: $51,500 to build restrooms for the district’s outdoor learning laboratory.
- Ivy Tech Foundation: $50,000 to be used for the planning, investigation, feasibility, and implementation of the early stages of an early childhood learning center to be located at the Cowan Road campus.
- Project Leadership: two-year funding totaling $380,000 to support middle/high school students and their families as they prepare to transition to college and careers.
- Vision Corner, Inc.: $10,000 for the installation of an HVAC system at the new Vision Corner Learning Center in Union City.
- Wes-Del Community Schools: $25,000 for furniture and equipment for the district’s newly established STEM lab.
- Youth Opportunity Center: $75,000 to support the salary and benefits for a behavior specialist for a new therapeutic day treatment in collaboration with Muncie Community Schools.
Environment
- Delaware County Soil & Water Conservation District: $25,000 to assist in the next phase of a watershed management plan for the Upper White River Watershed through report writing, outreach, and development of partnerships.
- The White River Alliance: $20,000 to communicate the results of the first White River Report Card to increase public awareness and improve the health of the watershed.
Human Services
- Greater Muncie, IN Habitat for Humanity Inc.: two-year funding totaling $400,000 to support general operations and home construction/repairs.
- Heart of Indiana United Way: $75,000 to strengthen United Way’s annual campaign by providing a match to incentivize giving by new and previous donors.
- Indiana Youth Institute: $50,000 to support a total of 200 consulting hours for up to three East Central Indiana youth-serving organizations to enhance organizational capacity.
- Inside Out Community Development Corporation: $50,000 to launch the new Fresh Market program, a walk-in style food pantry operating as a small grocery store.
- Muncie Delaware County Senior Citizens Center: $20,000 for urgent building repairs.
- YWCA: $40,000 to aid with expenses associated with the emergency shelter and C.O.T.S Stay programs.