Non-Profit

By: Jud Fisher— MUNCIE, In—Over twenty local organizations have benefitted from Ball Brothers Foundation Rapid Grants during the second half of the year. A number of these Rapid Grants have been specifically designated to support visioning, marketing, and branding efforts that will help nonprofits plan for the future and better tell their stories of impact in the community. “The importance of strategic planning cannot be overstated,” stated BBF’s President and COO Jud Fisher upon reflecting on the recent grants. “Organizations that aspire to greatness will not get there without having a solid, actionable plan in place. BBF recognizes the importance…

By: We’re Trying Collective— From Friday through Sunday, December 16-18,  We’re Trying Collective will host a pop-up shop featuring a curated collection of handmade artwork and home goods. We’re Trying, a group of Muncie-based artists whose mission is to collaboratively build community through creative expression, have set up a temporary shop in the Rose Court Building located at 125 E. Charles Street in downtown Muncie to feature one-of-a-kind gifts from local artists and makers. All sales will be cash or check only. Community members are invited to drop in for a quick shopping trip or stick around for a number…

By: Lieutenant Jonathan Taube — MUNCIE, IN  – Last year, an anonymous donor offered up a $5,000 matching gift to benefit The Salvation Army and spur their neighbors on in giving generously during the Christmas season. The inaugural Muncie Match was an overwhelming success with more than 100 individual donors giving over $10,000 during the match week. The Salvation Army is pleased to announce that last year’s donor has once again come forward, along with the support of others in the Muncie community, to pledge another $5,000 matching gift for 2016. This year’s Muncie Match will trek place Monday, December 12 through…

By: Michelle Kinsey— MUNCIE – Indiana Public Radio will present the classic holiday tale, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” as an authentic live radio drama on Friday, Dec. 16, at Sursa Performance Hall. “It’s a Wonderful Life” tells the story of George Bailey, a man who has given up his dreams in order to help others, and whose imminent suicide on Christmas Eve brings about the intervention of his guardian angel, Clarence. Clarence shows George all the lives he has touched and how different life in his community of Bedford Falls would be had he never been born. The Radio Drama is directed by…

By: Chris Flook— In the year 2000, the You and Year 2000 committee buried two time capsules along the newly founded Cardinal Greenway. The first time capsule was to be opened on Indiana Day, December 11, 2016 and the second is to be opened on January 1, 2100. On Sunday, December 11, 2016 at 2:00pm at Minnetrista, retired Muncie architect and You and Year 2000 committee member Jim Gooden and Karen Vincent, director of collections at Ball State University, opened the time capsule in front of about a dozen local community members. Four individuals or community organizations placed contents in…

Muncie, IN—With the help of a generous grant from the George and Frances Ball Foundation, Whitely Community Council has announced that they are accepting applications for an Executive Director, to start in the new year. The Whitely Community Council is a neighborhood association representing the Whitely Community located on the east side of Muncie. It values shared information and opportunities to improve lives.  Their goal is to build an integrated education cycle for all ages that aligns schools, home, and the community, as well as to promote neighborhood pride, employment opportunities, business growth, and neighborhood beautification. In 2016 alone they…

By: Mary Dollison— Last month, I was honored to receive the WIBU Lifetime Achievement Award at the Athena/Catalyst event. Receiving the award filled me with gratitude, but it also made me reflect on “lifetime achievement” and on what I still hope to achieve in my life. Over the years, Cornelius and I have worked very hard with the hope that we will leave the community better, happier, and healthier than we found it. As I reflect on the past- I have so much gratitude in my heart for all that the community has done. From Motivate Our Minds (1987) to…

By: Jessie Fisher— Muncie, In—On Thursday, December 1, Cornerstone Center for the Arts hosted its Annual Donor & Community Reception. This is the second year for the event which recognizes the founders of the organization with awards named in their honor. This year, the event specifically recognized the efforts of the members of the Masonic Community Building Foundation which transitioned into the Community Arts and Building Foundation from 2001 to 2003 prior to the creation of Cornerstone Center for the Arts. These individuals were instrumental in the merger of the arts programming and building utilization efforts housed within the facility….

By Erin Moore, Ball State Office of Community Engagement— Muncie, IN—The local non-profit organization Edible Muncie of Delaware County has unveiled a new video, Stop Gap, to document the transportation challenges faced by residents who live in one of the Muncie’s food deserts. Food deserts are defined by the USDA as places where at least 500 people reside more than one mile from a supermarket or large grocery store. Edible Muncie is working to eliminate food insecurity and food deserts in Delaware County and was one of the key organizers of the 2016 Local Food Summit on October 26th at the…