June 2022: Round 1 Grantees Announced
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Round 1 Grants:
Learn more about the grantees and their initiatives
Our board met last month and approved over $2.4 million in funding in our first round of general grants for 2022. Take a look at some of this round's highlights:
Project Blueways
A total of $220,000 was awarded to various organizations for efforts pertaining to Project Blueways, a funding initiative with the aim of improving local water and soil quality and promoting East Central Indiana as a destination for water recreation. These grants will help fund, among other things:
New canoe/kayak launches along the White River, stretching from the Prairie Creek Reservoir area to downtown Muncie.
A conservation and education center, adjacent to a new mussel propagation facility, to be used by the Muncie Sanitary District's Bureau of Water Quality for learning opportunities for local students related to water quality and freshwater mussels.
The development of a watershed management plan for the Upper White River Watershed.
Rafting tours of the White River to help local leaders and community members learn more about the river's challenges and opportunities for continued improvement.
A master site plan for the restoration, public use, and historical preservation of Hidden Canal Nature Preserve, located along the White River in Madison County.
Project Sybertooth
Several grants were awarded to support Project Sybertooth, a funding effort and community network designed to aid in local cybercrime investigations and enhance cybercrime training. These grants will help fund, among other things:
Support for a new High Tech Crime Unit that will serve a 10-county regional area.
Hardware and software to create a mobile forensics lab for cybercrime investigations.
Upgraded software that will allow for cloud analysis for digital devices.
Education and Workforce Development
Several grants were awarded for local education and workforce development initiatives to support the next generation of community leaders, workers, and change-makers. These grants will help fund, among other things:
Ball State University's continued presence in MadJax, downtown Muncie's maker space. The grant will promote student and faculty collaboration with community initiatives and an enhanced "maker" culture in Muncie.
Out-of-school programming for students in grades K–8.
The expansion of the Future of Work initiative, a collaborative effort that connects schools with employers and workforce development programs to prepare students for 21st century workforce needs.
Additional grants awarded support projects in the following focus areas: arts, culture, and humanities; education; environment; health; human services; and public society benefit.
Read the press release to see a full list of grants awarded.
Thinking of applying for funding?
Preliminary applications for our next round of General Grants (to be awarded in the fall) are now open; deadline for submission is 4 p.m. on July 15. We are currently accepting Rapid Grants (funding up to $5,000) as well. Applicants are encouraged to reach out to a Ball Brothers Foundation staff member prior to submission.
Our calendars are filling up quickly! Please reach out to Michelle Stephenson as soon as possible if you'd like to talk with a BBF staff member.
In case you missed it:
Nominations for the 2022 Fisher Governance Award close at 4 p.m. August 15. The annual award recognizes an outstanding Delaware County nonprofit board member. Learn more and submit a nomination here.
We've switched to GoApply for funding requests and reports. Learn more here.