Non-Profit

By: Heather Williams & Megan Orbin, Muncie Action Plan— Muncie, IN—Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb enacted a “stay at home” order on March 25th, 2020 and that presented neighborhood associations with difficult questions. While most monthly meetings for March had already been cancelled or postponed due to social distancing concerns, how can associations help their residents if physical meetings cannot happen? What is the best way to keep spirits high without gathering? Facebook and NextDoor have become information hubs and leading…

By: Muncie Downtown Development Partnership— Muncie, IN – Muncie Downtown Development Partnership (MDDP), Muncie’s nationally-accredited Main Street organization and the face behind DWNTWN The Original Muncie, unveiled a new campaign this week. The campaign, DWNTWN United & Ignited, is a crowdgranting campaign designed to generate $25,000 in funding to be offered in the form of grants to qualifying downtown businesses.  Local businesses need your help now. United & Ignited offers a way to contribute what you can to preserve all…

By: Lindsey Arthur— Muncie, IN—We hope you and your loved ones are doing as well as can be expected in this unprecedented time. As neighbors, we are called to our collective responsibility to stand in solidarity to do all we can to ensure the health and well-being of our staff, volunteers, supporters and community. We are actively monitoring the COVID-19 situation and taking steps to help keep our office, ReStore and construction sites safe. Per the Executive Order on April…

By: Ryan Remington, Bridges Community Services—  Muncie, IN—This morning a joint effort was announced to open an emergency, isolation quarantine facility for all individuals experiencing homelessness who have tested positive, or are presumed positive, for COVID-19. Partners in this project include Bridges Community Services, Inc., Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA), Muncie Community Development Office, the City of Muncie, the Delaware County Health Department, Delaware County Emergency Management, IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital, Open Door Health Services, Second Harvest Food…

By: Juli Metzger— Muncie, IN – The George and Frances Ball Foundation has awarded $200,000 to area non-profits for COVID-19 related causes, and notes funding may be available to non-profits for technical support in the preparation of applications for federal CARES Act dollars. “It’s in times like these it becomes clear this is a very special community with everyone pulling together,” said foundation President and Chief Executive Officer Tom Kinghorn. Organizations that need funding to help pay associated expenses of filing for…

By: Heather Williams, Muncie Action Plan Task Force 2 Leader— Muncie, IN—On March 7th, over 150 community members, political leaders, and facilitators gathered for the 5th Annual IDEA Conference. Hosted at the Ivy Tech Fisher Building, Ball State University’s Office of Community Engagement and Building Better Neighborhoods, Muncie Action Plan and Shafer Leadership Academy brought speakers in to discuss topics relevant to our city’s neighborhoods, including MCS: The Future is Bright, Making Democracy Work, and a demonstration of Web of Support: How Everybody…

By: Mike Rhodes— Muncie, IN—An extra free food tailgate by Second Harvest Food Bank was held in the parking lot outside Ball State’s Scheumann Stadium on April 8th from 10 am to 12 pm. Food items were handed out by members of the Indiana National Guard to 607 cars filled with appreciative families. “John” and his cousin from Muncie were first in line to obtain food, after arriving at the parking lot at 3am in the morning—a seven hour wait….

By: Kallie Sulanke—  Muncie, IN—The Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County, Inc. awarded an additional $14,000 to 11 non-profit organizations to support response efforts to the COVID-19 crisis.   Community Foundation staff continue to connect with and listen to the plans, challenges, and needs of a variety of vital community organizations across Delaware County. Decisions for this second round of response funding were made to come along side these vital community organizations with identified immediate needs related to the Coronavirus Pandemic. This round of support follows an initial $20,000 of community support to 12 organizations.    Emergency Response Grants in the amounts of $1,000 or $2,000…

By: Susan Fisher— Muncie, IN—All Muncie Public Library branches are closed and all events, programs, and meeting room events are cancelled until further notice due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Customers are urged to use the online resources available at the MPL website. Online resources include hoopla and overdrive, two services that provide ebooks, movies, and music. These services require a library card but people can “try out” hoopla without a library card and download up to 3 items. Other databases…