Nonprofit organizations play a vital role in sustaining the Muncie and Delaware County community in ways that extend far beyond the services and programs they provide. We collected data from nearly 400 nonprofits using publicly available information — including IRS Form 990 filings — and analyzed the financial stability of the 66 organizations with paid employees.
The good news? Six out of 10 are strongly stable or stable. But here’s what the numbers alone can’t tell you: the others aren’t failing — they’re filling gaps the market never will. The chronic underfunding many nonprofits face is a feature of the sector, not evidence of dysfunction.
What they generate is community capital: the trust, cohesion, and civic infrastructure essential to quality of place. This presentation makes the case that financial struggle and social value are not the same thing — and that Muncie is richer for these organizations than any balance sheet can show.
Cost: This is a free program.
Facilitator
Juli Metzger is owner of The JMetzger Group, a boutique strategic communications company, specializing in writing. She’s worked with clients like the George & Frances Ball Foundation, Greater Muncie Habitat for Humanity, the 8twelve Coalition, Heart of Indiana United Way, Meridian Health Services and YWCA Central Indiana, on executive leadership, marketing, fund development and strategy. She writes for Forbes.com on topics of higher education, college access and workforce on behalf of Lumina Foundation. Juli previously was Associate Lecturer for the School Journalism and Strategic Communication at Ball State University. Juli, who holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a master’s degree in information and communication sciences, was inducted into the journalism school’s Hall of Fame in 2024. Over a 30-year career as a journalist, she was editor of three newspapers and president and publisher of three others including as Executive Editor for Digital at the Indianapolis Star. A Muncie native, she worked in newsrooms in Indiana, Ohio, Vermont and Louisiana before returning to her hometown in 2005. Juli is board president of Project Leadership, whose mission is to move students to and through college or another post-secondary experience. She is Chair of the Indiana Youth Institute Board of Directors. Juli lives in Yorktown with her husband, John. They have two adult children, both Yorktown High School and Ball State University graduates.