Grounded in Place

As Ball Brothers Foundation approaches its 100th year, we find ourselves reflecting on the impact of a nearly century-long commitment to our community, including the natural landscapes, people, and cherished traditions that have sustained that impact through generations.  

In 2019 our Foundation’s growing endowment enabled us to make grants totaling $8 million, a record payout. Among the organizations that received support were those working at the neighborhood level to meet residents’ basic needs, create vibrant public spaces, improve housing, and build community and a ‘sense of place.’

We continue to explore innovative ways to accomplish the Foundation’s historic goals. This year we celebrated several achievements:

This year’s annual report focuses on four projects that celebrate Indiana’s important milestone and promote an understanding and appreciation of the legacy that all Hoosiers share.

In the pages that follow, we offer updates on three multi-faceted initiatives, some still unfolding, that demonstrate the power of partnerships.

Because a high quality school system is a major factor in attracting and sustaining economic development, we’ve assisted Muncie Community Schools as it goes about the emotional business of merging two high schools. Second, we’ve invested in a cluster of grants to continue the revitalization of Muncie’s downtown. Third, because a vibrant community must offer broad educational and recreational opportunities, we’ve dedicated funds for improvements at Camp Adventure and Minnetrista.

At Ball Brothers Foundation we believe that a ripple can become a groundswell and over time can touch off a wave of change. This concept was passed down by our founders and influenced our board’s decision to focus part of its recent grant-making activity on what we call our “Quality of Place” initiative. Simply put, we believe that if we support stabilization and renewal within downtown Muncie and its adjacent neighborhoods, positive growth will spread from the city’s core to the community at large. Like a ripple, one success will lead to another and create a groundswell of commercial, educational, recreational and residential opportunities.

As Ball Brothers Foundation prepares to mark another anniversary, we have a heightened awareness of our unfinished business. BBF’s founders wisely set an ambitious goal back in 1926—to improve the quality of life in their service area through philanthropy and leadership. They generously provided both, and consequently accomplished much. Today, 85 years later, their mission is more relevant than ever, and their work goes on. The foundation they created with a gift from Edmund Ball’s estate is now among Indiana’s oldest philanthropies run by the family whose name it bears. That’s a distinction we’re proud to claim and plan to keep.

The research is compelling. Too many children are entering school without the preparation they need to succeed. Experts call it a “readiness gap” and warn that it can lead to an achievement gap that widens in middle school and causes students to drop out short of graduation. Two years ago Ball Brothers Foundation made a strategic decision to support efforts to narrow the readiness gap in Delaware County. In this year’s annual report we offer an update on five programs—recipients of BBF grants—that are making progress toward establishing East Central Indiana as a center of excellence for early childhood education.

This year’s annual report demonstrates that efforts on behalf of the environment are as important today as they were 80 years ago.On these pages you will read feature stories that focus on current initiatives that will conserve energy, educate students about Indiana’s natural resources, update agricultural practices, and provide families with green spaces where they can relax and rejuvenate. All of these projects are part of a strategy that dates back to the Foundation’s beginning—to promote an understanding of the tangible benefits of caring for the environment and immersing oneself in nature.

This year we have made grant awards to organizations that report positive results as they prepare students to succeed in school at every level. Our expectation is that grantees will use our funds as leverage to grow their programs and expand their financial base. Because of the enormity of the challenge, we are identifying partners who share our vision to make education more accessible and success more attainable for Indiana students. In this 2007 annual report you’ll read about five diverse BBF grantees whose efforts are having an impact on Hoosier youth. Similar to last year, we’ve packaged the report as a poster to highlight resources and information that we hope you’ll find useful.

Community wellness has been a priority of Ball Brothers Foundation since its founding in November 1926.Within a year of its launch, the Foundation—no doubt encouraged by board member Lucius Ball, M.D.—was making grants to Riley Memorial Hospital in Indianapolis and making plans for Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie. Support for projects such as these continues today…with one obvious change. The term“wellness” now encompasses much more than the treatment of illness. It is about choices that people make across their social, emotional, physical, intellectual, spiritual, vocational and environmental dimensions to enhance and improve the status of their health and well-being. In doing so, not only is individual health improved, but community health is improved as well.