By Jud Fisher—
MUNCIE, Ind. — Ball Brothers Foundation announced funding to 33 projects in its first round of grants for 2022, totaling over $2.4 million. The grants included approximately $220,000 in funding for projects related to the foundation’s Project Blueways initiative, which supports efforts related to local soil and water quality, watershed planning, and water recreation.
The largest of the Project Blueways grants is a $90,000 grant to Muncie Sanitary District for the construction of up to four canoe/kayak launches along the White River from the Prairie Creek Reservoir area through downtown Muncie. The launch sites will be strategically placed with the intention of improving public access to the river.
“Our community has spent decades improving the White River’s water quality and building trails and parks alongside the river. The removal of dams over the past several years has not only improved safety but now allows people to canoe, kayak and tube from the eastside of Muncie through downtown and points west,” stated Jud Fisher, president and CEO of Ball Brothers Foundation. “This grant from BBF for new canoe and kayak launches marks an exciting turning point as we seek to help Muncie and Delaware County further build a reputation as a destination for water recreation and river access.”
The Sanitary District’s Bureau of Water Quality (BWQ) received another Project Blueways grant from Ball Brothers Foundation, supporting a new project designed to breed and populate freshwater mussels in the White River. Freshwater mussels are one of the most endangered groups of organisms in North America.
Mussels play a critical role in cycling essential nutrients through the river as each individual mussel can filter up to 15 gallons of water per day. They stabilize and oxygenate the water, provide food and habitats for aquatic organisms and are important indicators of water quality. Last year, the BWQ conducted a pilot program to breed freshwater mussels, one of the only programs of its kind across the state. The BWQ has plans to greatly expand this effort moving forward, and a$25,000 grant from Ball Brothers Foundation will help build a new conservation and education facility adjacent to the White River and across from the BWQ office. This conservation and education center—adjacent to a new mussel propagation facility—will allow biologists to provide tours for visiting school groups to teach students and other visitors about both water quality and freshwater mussels.
“The White River travels 1,000 miles on its journey from Muncie, Indiana to the Gulf of Mexico. The quality of water it carries influences every person in every town and city it passes on the way. Being at the headwaters of the White River means we have a special responsibility to do everything we can to be good stewards,” Fisher shared. “This center will play a key role in educating the next generation about how to care for the river and will also help further establish Muncie as being at the forefront of water quality management.”
Additional Project Blueways grants this round include:
- Delaware County Soil and Water Conservation District: $30,000 to assist in the development of a watershed management plan for the Upper White River Watershed. A portion of the grant will also allow regional representatives to engage in the White River Report Card project, spearheaded by the White River Alliance.
- The Nature Conservancy in Indiana: $50,000 to produce a video that highlights the impact of agriculture on the White River’s water quality and the importance of native species to the river, to host two on-river raft excursions that will showcase the river’s unique species and characteristics to area leaders and landowners, and to host an Upper White River community water monitoring day.
- Red-tail Land Conservancy: $25,000 to develop and begin implementing a master site plan for restoration, public use and historical preservation of Hidden Canal Nature Preserve, the organization’s newest land acquisition, located along the White River in Madison County.
This grant round also supported a number of other focus areas and funding initiatives, including Future of Work, a collaborative effort that strategically connects schools with employers and workforce development programs to prepare students for 21st century workforce needs, and Project Sybertooth, a funding effort and community network designed to support local cybercrime investigations and enhance training initiatives.
“Our board approved a diverse mix of local and regional projects that all share a common goal of bettering our community—whether that’s through health and safety or through arts and education,” Fisher said. “We’re really fortunate to have so many local organizations dedicated to strengthening Muncie and East Central Indiana.”
In addition to the Project Blueways grants listed previously, this round of grants included:
Arts, Culture, & Humanities
- Ball State University: $75,000 for the production of Thriving ECI, a series of short-form video and audio stories that establish a sense of identity for East Central Indiana and promote revitalization efforts in the area, with a focus on projects that demonstrate regional partnerships.
- Cornerstone Center for the Arts: $100,000 for general operating support and strategic and building planning efforts.
- Muncie Arts and Culture Council: $100,000 for the local match of Phase 1 of the Muncie Arts and Culture Trail designed to span from the Village to downtown Muncie.
- Muncie Civic Theatre: $30,000 for operating support.
- Music for All: $30,000 to support the Music for All Summer Symposium, which is returning this year to Ball State University after a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19.
- YMCA of Muncie: $250,000 for renovations and upgrades to the hilltop cabins at Camp Crosley.
Education
- Ball State University: three-year funding totaling $150,000 to maintain the College of Architecture and Planning’s footprint at Madjax, which allows for student and faculty collaboration with community initiatives, people and ideas; the expansion of design and “maker” educational programs for both adults and youth; and an enhanced “maker” culture in Muncie.
- Motivate Our Minds: $40,000 for out-of-school programming.
- Precious Hearts Development Center: $25,000 for upgrades to kitchen and laundry facilities.
- Shafer Leadership Academy: two-year funding totaling $70,000 for operating support.
- United Day Care Center of Delaware County, Inc: $25,000 for building repairs, the purchase of computers to be used with a newly adopted curriculum, and a new phone system.
Environment
- Red-tail Land Conservancy: three-year funding totaling $200,000 for operating support.
Health
- James Whitcomb Riley Memorial Association: $100,000 for the purchase of an ExoView R200 Automated Imager from Nanoview Biosciences, which will accelerate the discovery of novel disease-related biomarkers and disease signatures in children with diabetes.
- Muncie Sports Commission, Inc: $75,000 of general operating support and funding for the upcoming ICE League season.
Human Services
- Heart of Indiana United Way: $100,000 matching grant to incentivize giving to the annual United Way campaign and to improve communication and engagement with donors and volunteers.
- Indiana Department of Natural Resources: $60,000 for the purchase of a Marine Sonic Sea Scan Arc Explorer Mark II Side Scan Sonar and nine thermal imaging monocular units to allow the team to continue carrying out underwater detection of missing persons, vehicles, sunken vessels and evidentiary items.
- Indiana Youth Institute: $45,000 for Organizational Capacity Grants that provide consulting services to youth-serving organizations in East Central Indiana.
- Muncie Delaware County Senior Citizen Center: $16,000 for kitchen renovations.
- Muncie Mission Ministries: $50,000 for Project Greathouse, a campaign to expand the organization’s growing recovery village that promotes both successful recovery and neighborhood revitalization.
- Youth Opportunity Center: $30,000 to fund the first year of a new Child and Family Psychological Fellowship position.
- YWCA Central Indiana: $40,000 of operating support for the organization’s emergency shelter and C.O.T.S (complimentary, overnight, temporary shelter) program.
Public Society Benefit
- Ball State University Police Department: $25,000 to support the purchase of a dedicated forensic computer, video enhancement software and storage for cybercrime investigations.
- Community Enhancement Projects, Inc: $30,000 for the creation of a “Rainbow Garden” light installation at Canan Commons.
- Community Enhancements Projects, Inc: $15,000 for the completion of the Muncie Memory Spiral project at Heekin Park.
- Delaware County Prosecutor’s Office: $50,000 to support a new “High Tech Crime Unit” that will serve a 10-county regional area and will engage college student interns.
- Delaware County Sheriff’s Office: $25,000 for hardware and software to create a mobile forensics lab for cybercrime investigations.
- Muncie Downtown Development Partnership: $60,000 of operating support for staffing, expanded marketing for business and residential recruitment, and event development.
- Muncie Police Department: $25,000 to upgrade software and allow for cloud analysis for cybercrime investigations.
- Sustainable Muncie/MadJax: two-year funding totaling $375,000 for the expansion of the Future of Work initiative, development of Maker Labs, increased marketing and media coverage, and additional operating support.
Preliminary applications for the foundation’s next round of grants are due July 15. The foundation also regularly accepts applications for Rapid Grants of up to $5,000 from February through November of each year. For more information on Ball Brothers Foundation grants, visit ballfdn.org/grants.
About Ball Brothers Foundation
Ball Brothers Foundation is one of the state’s oldest and largest family foundations. Annually, the foundation makes approximately $8 million in grants to support arts and culture, education, the environment, health, human services, and public affairs. The Muncie-based private foundation gives priority to projects and programs that improve the quality of life in the foundation’s home city, county and state.
