George and Frances Ball Foundation
Muncie, IN · EIN 35-6033917. Reported 147 grants totalling $18.2M to 44 recipients across tax years 2021-2024. This foundation did not tell the IRS it funds only preselected organizations.
Does this foundation accept applications?
Yes -- on its own tax return. Form 990-PF asks every private foundation whether it makes grants only to organizations it selects itself. Of the 91,758 foundations in our data that made a grant and answered, 78% said yes -- and applying to those is wasted effort. George and Frances Ball Foundation did not check that box on its most recent filing, which puts it in the minority that is at least open to being approached.
How big are its grants?
The median grant is $43,000. Half of everything it gave fell between $11,000 and $92,950; the smallest was $2,000 and the largest $1,120,000. If you are asking for materially more than the top of that range, you are asking the wrong foundation.
Every organization it funded
This is the complete list from its filings, largest first. Recipients are grouped by name and state as they were written on the returns, so an organization entered under two different names appears twice. Years funded is the number of separate tax years in which that name received money.
| Organization | Location | Total received | Grants | Years funded | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnetrista Cultural Foundation Inc | Muncie, IN | $4,455,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Ball State University Foundation | Muncie, IN | $2,805,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| YMCA of Muncie | Muncie, IN | $2,290,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Heart of Indiana United Way | Muncie, IN | $1,026,500 | 5 | 4 | 2024 |
| Ivy Tech Foundation | Muncie, IN | $896,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Boys & Girls Club of Muncie | Muncie, IN | $706,600 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Muncie Civic Theatre | Muncie, IN | $493,185 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Whitely Community Council | Muncie, IN | $454,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Muncie Innovation Connector Inc | Muncie, IN | $448,477 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Cornerstone Center for the Arts | Muncie, IN | $385,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Delaware Advancement Corporation | Muncie, IN | $377,000 | 5 | 4 | 2024 |
| Greater Muncie in Habitat for Humanity | Muncie, IN | $355,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Ball State University | Muncie, IN | $330,644 | 3 | 2 | 2022 |
| Eci Regional Partnership | Muncie, IN | $255,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Red-Tail Conservancy Inc | Muncie, IN | $245,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Riley Childrens Foundation | Indianapolis, IN | $200,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Teen Works | Indianapolis, IN | $200,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| BY5 Early Learning Initiative | Muncie, IN | $189,300 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Youth for Christ Muncie Area | Muncie, IN | $185,188 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| YWCA of Central Indiana | Muncie, IN | $160,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Second Harvest Food Bank | Muncie, IN | $155,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Cardinal Greenways | Muncie, IN | $135,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Inside Out Community Development | Muncie, IN | $129,750 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Motivate Our Minds | Muncie, IN | $115,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Christian Ministries of Delaware County | Muncie, IN | $109,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Youth Opportunity Center Foundation | Muncie, IN | $108,000 | 3 | 3 | 2023 |
| Ross Community Center | Muncie, IN | $104,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Delaware Co BY5 Early Childhood Ed Init | Muncie, IN | $102,000 | 2 | 1 | 2021 |
| Boy Scouts of America-Crossroads Council | Indianapolis, IN | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2021 |
| Muncie Arts & Culture Council | Muncie, IN | $100,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Community Enhancement Projects | Muncie, IN | $99,000 | 2 | 2 | 2022 |
| Ivy Tech Community College Muncie | Muncie, IN | $92,950 | 1 | 1 | 2024 |
| Music for All | Indianapolis, IN | $65,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| College Mentors for Kids | Indianapolis, IN | $50,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Fellowship of Christian Athletes | Muncie, IN | $40,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Youth Symphony Orchestras | Muncie, IN | $37,000 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| Indiana Philanthropy Alliance | Indianapolis, IN | $34,920 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Hillcroft Services | Muncie, IN | $30,000 | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Muncie Downtown Development Partnership | Muncie, IN | $30,000 | 4 | 4 | 2024 |
| Muncie Childrens Museum | Muncie, IN | $25,000 | 1 | 1 | 2022 |
| Community Foundation of Muncie & De Co | Muncie, IN | $22,500 | 5 | 4 | 2024 |
| Masterworks Chorale | Muncie, IN | $10,500 | 3 | 3 | 2024 |
| American Red Cross Indiana Region | Indianapolis, IN | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
| Shafer Leadership Academy | Muncie, IN | $10,000 | 2 | 2 | 2024 |
38 of 44 (86%) received money in more than one year over the 4 years we hold.
Measured the way we measure every foundation -- what share of one year's grantees are funded again the next -- this one retains 91%, across 3 year-to-year transitions. The median foundation retains about 67%, so this one is unusually consistent. This measures how often it paid the same organizations again. It says nothing about whether it would consider a new one.
What the money was for
Taken verbatim from the purpose field of its filings. This is the closest thing to a statement of what this foundation cares about, in its own words.
- Minnetrista Cultural Foundation Inc
OPERATIONS/ CAPITAL PROJECTS & KAREN VINCENT FUND-COLLECTIONS & PRESERVATION - YMCA of Muncie
CAPITAL CAMPAIGN & SUMMER DAY CAMP PROGRAM - Ball State University Foundation
ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM; ARCHITECTURE & PLANNING COLLEGE PROJECT - COWAN INFRASTRUCTURE PLANNING - Ivy Tech Foundation
CAPITAL CAMPAIGN - MUNCIE CAMPUS & WORKMATTERS PROGRAM - Heart of Indiana United Way
ADMINISTRATIVE OVERHEAD COSTS; THIRD GRADE READING CAN;DIRECTOR OF LEARNING-3RD GRADE READING; CAN SUPPORT & RECOGNITION; GOOD ATTENDANCE CAMPAIGN - Whitely Community Council
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SALARY; CAPITAL CAMPAIGN/OPERATING SUPPORT; STUDENTS TO WASHINGTON DC
What kind of organizations it funds
By the activity category the IRS assigns each recipient, for the 65 grants where we could match the recipient to a registered organization. The categories are the IRS's. The match, made from the name and address on the return, is ours.
Giving by year
| Tax year | Grants | Total | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 40 | $5,234,543 | $44,000 |
| 2022 | 37 | $4,345,936 | $48,750 |
| 2023 | 35 | $5,110,959 | $41,350 |
| 2024 | 35 | $3,480,076 | $40,000 |
Tax years, not calendar years, and the most recent year is usually incomplete -- filings arrive about a year late, so a low final year means late paperwork rather than a foundation winding down.
Already committed for future years
Form 990-PF has a separate schedule for grants approved but not yet paid. George and Frances Ball Foundation has 13 of them, worth $7,032,500. This is the one part of the filing that looks forward rather than back.
| Organization | Location | Approved |
|---|---|---|
| Ball State University Foundation | Muncie, IN | $2,500,000 |
| Minnetrista Cultural Foundation | Muncie, IN | $1,110,000 |
| Minnetrista Cultural Foundation | Muncie, IN | $1,110,000 |
| Minnetrista Cultural Foundation | Muncie, IN | $1,110,000 |
| Minnetrista Cultural Foundation | Muncie, IN | $1,110,000 |
| Cardinal Greenways | Muncie, IN | $50,000 |
| Heart of Indiana United Way | Muncie, IN | $10,000 |
| Heart of Indiana United Way | Muncie, IN | $7,500 |
| BY5 Early Learning Initiative | Muncie, IN | $5,000 |
| Ivy Tech Community College Muncie | Muncie, IN | $5,000 |
| Heart of Indiana United Way | Muncie, IN | $5,000 |
| Delaware Co BY5 Early Childhood Ed Init | Muncie, IN | $5,000 |
| Ivy Tech Community College Muncie | Muncie, IN | $5,000 |
Where its money goes
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Funders that support the same organizations
These funders gave to organizations this one also funded -- some private foundations, some community foundations and other grantmaking charities. Shared grantees are a sign of overlapping priorities and nothing more: they do not show that any of these funders would consider a new organization. Each page says what its filings show.
How to approach this foundation
- Check you are its size. The median grant is $43,000. A request many times that size asks for something it has rarely or never given.
- Check you are in its geography. Its giving is concentrated in Indiana.
- Read the recipient list above for organizations like yours. If nothing on it resembles your work, that is a real answer, and a cheap one to get.
- Look up the current filing before writing. The 990-PF names the foundation's officers and, where one exists, its application procedure. We link it below.
Where these numbers come from
Everything above is taken from George and Frances Ball Foundation's own Form 990-PF filings, which the IRS publishes in bulk. We used 4 returns (tax years 2021-2024). Grant figures are from its returns. Matching recipients to registered organizations, their IRS classifications, the retention rate and the funders that support the same organizations are our own calculations, described in how we build this.
Address of record on the latest return: P O Box 1408, Muncie, IN, 47308. This is the address the foundation gave the IRS; many small foundations file through an accountant or a bank trust department, so it may not be where post to a programme officer should go.
EIN 35-6033917 · See the original filings on ProPublica · How we build this
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