By Kelsey Harrington—
MUNCIE, IN—The George and Frances Ball Foundation awarded more than $300,000 to a variety of community organizations and initiatives across Muncie and Delaware County during the first quarter competitive grantmaking cycle. Many of these grants had one thing in common: they represent strategic investments in the future of important organizations in the community.
As the backbone organization of Cradle to Career Muncie, the George and Frances Ball Foundation has spent six years convening cross-sector partners aligned to common goals like increasing high school graduation rates and ensuring that young people graduate high school prepared for college and careers that pay living wages.
In January, the Foundation announced nearly $215,000 in awards to both Project Leadership and the Greater Muncie Chamber of Commerce to advance critical work aimed at improving these outcomes. Multi-year funding to Project Leadership will help sustain career coaching and support at Muncie Central High School, partnering with students from the new Freshman Academy through seniors nearing graduation.
The grant to the Greater Muncie Chamber of Commerce continues investments made in their Talent Development work and leadership. Together, these partners and others are strategically collaborating to ensure that local talent pipelines are aligned to both student interest and workforce demand. This collaboration will also ensure that Muncie Central High School meets new and more rigorous state graduation requirements which will result in young people and employers being meaningfully connected earlier.
Another important strategy for advancing student outcomes is providing ample out-of-school time activities that resonate with students’ passions and interests. A $15,000 award to Fellowship of Christian Athletes is the latest example of the George and Frances Ball Foundation’s commitment to sustaining and expanding valuable extracurricular offerings for local students. This grant, which comes at a time of record participation for Fellowship of Christian Athletes, will help support local operations and the Carl and Betty Erskine All Abilities Camp, which is a program designed to promote inclusivity, confidence building, and greater access to a variety of athletic activities.
In addition to leading local collective impact efforts to eradicate generational poverty, the Foundation also honors the G.A. Ball family’s legacy in key interest areas including natural preservation and conservation. Rounding out this quarter’s grants, the Foundation made a $175,000 investment in Red-tail Land Conservancy for the next two years to help support operations, fund development, and leadership.
About the George and Frances Ball Foundation
To learn more about the Foundation or to find information about 2026 grant opportunities, please visit www.gfballfdn.org or find the George and Frances Ball Foundation page on Facebook.
Founded in 1937, George and Frances Ball Foundation was organized exclusively to promote charitable, scientific and educational purposes, with a strong commitment to the needs of East Central Indiana. The family is well known for their philanthropy and for numerous other accomplishments including championing education, collecting items such as rare children’s literature, and creating the Ball Jar Blue Book.
Honoring the family’s interests and legacy, the Foundation reviews and funds grants across 5 different focus areas including education and youth, civic enhancement, arts and culture, wrap-around services, and nature and historic preservation. The Foundation adopted a new place-based proactive grantmaking strategy in 2018, which carries forward the education-focused legacy of George and Frances Ball with efforts to increase educational attainment through a community Cradle to Career Muncie initiative.
