By Muncie Children’s Museum—
MUNCIE, Ind. — The George and Frances Ball Foundation awarded $400,000 to the Muncie Children’s Museum More to Explore Campaign in 2020, designed to re-imagine and re-invigorate one of the community’s greatest treasures.
Historically, Education and Youth have been the primary focus for the George and Frances Ball Foundation. In 2020, the Foundation awarded more than $2.9 million across 28 organizations focused on children, young adults, and educational attainment. The Muncie Children’s Museum was one of them.
“We couldn’t be more grateful to the George and Frances Ball Foundation for its generosity and laser focus on providing resources to our community’s youngest generation,” said Director of Development, Ashlee Anderson.
The George and Frances Ball Foundation’s proactive approach, focused on educational attainment, is a natural fit for the museum’s target audience. The Cradle to Career Muncie Initiative focuses on specific goals and a clear measure of progress. The Foundation has mobilized community strengths around areas of health, education, and quality of life assets.
A primary objective of Cradle to Career Muncie was to get all community organizations moving towards a singular focus – utilizing “collective impact” to support children and families with a roadmap that provides a continuum of care, while also nurturing their ability to go from pre-K to elementary school, middle school, high school, and a post-secondary training that prepares young adults for a prosperous career.
The Muncie Children’s Museum’s first capital campaign in over 25 years will expand some of its long-standing exhibits, while building its endowment and ensuring a future for the next generation.
The $3 million “More to Explore” fundraising initiative will support intentionally designed spaces for children, ten and under, that combine fun with hands-on learning. The campaign already has secured more than $2.3 million and is now into its public phase, asking some of the museum’s biggest supporters – its families and museum members and corporate friends – to help close the gap.
“The Muncie Children’s Museum, as with children’s museums throughout the country, understands that through play and fun, they can teach, stimulate, and prepare children for their future,” Anderson said. The museum supports Kindergarten Readiness and Third Grade Reading, which are the first two academic markers along the Cradle to Career Muncie framework.
“This award from the George and Frances Ball Foundation extends our ability to improve the learning experience at the Muncie Children’s Museum,” Anderson said. “It is invaluable.”
