Non-Profit

By Matt Howell, President, Rotary Club of Muncie— MUNCIE, IN — Chris Poland, member of the Muncie Noon Rotary Club and Financial Literacy and Community Engagement Manager at Ball State Financial, received the Merrill Greene Award for 2023.  The award honors Merrill Greene, CPA, long-time Muncie Rotarian and volunteer who served as Club treasurer for over two decades.  The award recognizes a member for their outstanding volunteer efforts for the Club and the community. Club President, Matt Howell, added, “Chris Poland shows up. Period. I’ve seen him at about every Rotary-related volunteer event this past year.” Previous Merrill Greene Award…

By Will Isaacs, Board President, Muncie Downtown Development— MUNCIE, IN – The Muncie Downtown Development Partnership (MDDP) Board of Directors has announced Angie Hibner as their new Executive Director effective June 19th, 2023. Hibner had been President/Owner of Respire Strategy, responsible for building a company by providing strategy solutions to the top communication challenges facing small business. For the past 8 years she has played a key role in bringing communication strategy and tools to over 600 entrepreneurs throughout the state of Indiana. Her biggest passion is building relationships to help businesses and communities come together, grow, and make an impact…

By Jama Kehoe Bigger— MUNCIE, Ind. – Since 1973, Midwest Writers Workshop (MWW) has offered a summer conference to help writers improve their craft and become published authors. This year’s 50th conference is July 19-22 and offers two registration options. Participants can register to attend in-person at the Ball State Alumni Center, Muncie, IN, or they can register for a virtual option via Zoom technology. This hybrid version of MWW provides plenty of instruction, networking, and the sense of community that makes MWW so special. “The vision behind our mission statement and our passion is to help writers. MWW is…

By Eliza Guion—  MUNCIE, IND — Ball Brothers Foundation approved 28 grants totaling $3 million in its first round of grants for 2023. The grants reflect the foundation’s long-standing commitment to place-based grantmaking. Two of the largest grants approved in this round were to boost facility capital projects in downtown Muncie—YMCA of Muncie and Muncie Civic Theatre.   A $500,000 grant awarded to the YMCA of Muncie will be used to support construction of its new state-of-the-art facility on the campus of Muncie Community Schools. The YMCA’s commitment to this location will further enhance the vibrancy of downtown and the surrounding…

By Ro Selvey— MUNCIE, Ind. – Growing Remarkable Opportunities with Women (G.R.O.W.) is seeking to “grow” more members as it fulfills an important role of helping women entrepreneurs within the Muncie community thrive. The organization aims to help local small business owners find resources and connections to grow their businesses. Starting out of an Impact Economics class sponsored by the City of Muncie and hosted at Ball State University in 2022, two of the students in the class, Brittany Scott and River Lin, launched G.R.O.W. in January of this year. “Being an entrepreneur can be lonely,” Scott explained. “And we…

By Barbara Schafer— MUNCIE, IN—The 8twelve Coalition and MuncieArts are proud to announce a public arts project in south Muncie—a mural to be painted on the Future Choices building located at 905 S. Walnut St. The project is the result of the collaboration between the Coalition, Muncie Arts and Culture Council (MuncieArts), South Central Neighborhood Association, and Future Choices. Through resident engagement in the South Central Neighborhood, the mural “MORE LOVE” was created by Chris Silva. Chris Silva’s creative pursuits are firmly rooted in Chicago’s urban culture. Chris was an innovative figure in Chicago’s early graffiti and skateboarding scenes. Today, Chris…

By Kallie Sulanke— MUNCIE, IN – The Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County awarded $340,000 in Community Grants this month. Beginning in 2023, The Community Foundation shifted to a Community Grants program. Nonprofit organizations have a wide-open door for applications instead of separate applications for multiple grants programs through the Foundation. Organizations interested in applying for funding are encouraged to connect with Foundation staff. The flexibility of Community Grants allows the Foundation’s Program and Nonprofit Relations team to develop a deeper understanding of the needs within the community. That knowledge enables Foundation staff and volunteers to connect nonprofits to…

By Kelsey Harrington, Program Officer— MUNCIE, IN—On May 11th, George and Frances Ball Foundation’s Board of Directors met to review quarterly competitive grant requests. More than $600,000 was awarded to 11 area nonprofit organizations and educational institutions. The Foundation’s proactive grantmaking strategy is focused on educational attainment from cradle to career. The collective impact initiative that helps to carry out this work, Cradle to Career Muncie, is focused not only on academic markers such as kindergarten readiness and third grade reading, but also foundational supports such as social emotional learning and family and community engagement. This quarter, multiple grants were…