Minnetrista Cultural Foundation Inc.

“Tom bracken (see below) stefan anderson (see below) trustee trustee george & frances ball foundation george & frances ball foundation funding agency for minnetrista james fisher carey fisher trustee trustee family relationship”

“Minnetrista's articles of incorporation provide for 13 supported organizations within our 7-county primary service area. Each of the supported organizations appoints a trustee to serve on minnetrista's board of trustees, and these appointed trustees make up a majority of the board. Supported organizations include 7 community foundations, 3 universities, 1 chamber of commerce, 1 community school corporation, and 1 not-for-profit children's museum.”

“Irs form 990 was prepared with significant input by the museum's leadership team, consisting of division/department heads. The final document was prepared by the museum's auditing firm, the chief financial officer, and the president & ceo. Each appointed committee of the board of trustees reviewedand approved sections of the irs form 990 that related to their content areas. Three committees - finance & investment, trusteeship, and executive had overarching review of the entire forms 990 and 990-t. After committee review, the entire document was presented to every trustee for review.”

“All trustees, officers, key employees, and members of committees with board-designated powers are required to complete a conflict of interest statement at the beginning of the fiscal year or at the beginning of their service and annually thereafter. Individuals are provided with a list of key companies with which the museum regularly conducts business, including financial, accounting, and legal services. Disclosure statements are reviewed by the trusteeship committee. If a potential conflict is identified at the time of filing or anytime thereafter, there is a discussion with the interested person to obtain all material facts. If required, a non-interested person or committee will be appointed to investigate the potential conflict. The interested person is asked to leave the meeting during final discussions by the board or relevant committee and is not permitted to vote on the final outcome, including determination that the transaction or arrangement is in the best interest of minnetrista. Any interested person who violates the conflict of interest policy shall be subject to appropriate discipline, including removal from office. The minutes of all board and committee meetings shall include: (1) the names of persons who disclose financial interests, the nature of the financial interests and whether the board or committee determined that there was a conflict of interest; (2) the names of the persons who were present for discussions and votes relating to the transactions or arrangement; the content of these discussions, including any alternatives to the proposed transaction or arrangement; and a record of the vote.”

“The compensation of the president & ceo was established by the executive committee of the board of trustees in consultation with an executive search firm and benchmarked against the same references as for all paid staff. An annual review is conducted by the board chair; merit increases are awarded within the same parameters as described for all paid staff.”

“All paid positions at minnetrista are evaluated, using written job descriptions, against a factor evaluation system. The fes was developed with a human resources professor at ball state university and places each position into a salary grade. All positions are reviewed with a human resources professor at ball state university every three years to ensure a fair and competitive compensation package is offered to staff. Salary ranges are benchmarked against compdata published by the muncie-delaware county chamber of commerce, the annually published wage & salary survey of midwest museums, and the annual compensation and benefit study of the american public gardens association. Annual and quarterly reviews are conducted for each paid staff position and merit raises of 0% to 4% may be awarded.”

“All governing documents, policy documents, and financial statements are available for public inspection upon written request to the chief financial officer or the president & ceo. In addition, an annual report that includes the audited statement of financial position is mailed to all staff members and donors. The irs forms 990 and 990-t are also provided to guidestar for online posting.”

“Minnetrista presented a 5,000 square foot original exhibition, weird and wonderful - celebrating the 25th anniversary of minnetrista by connecting twenty-five weird and wonderful destinations in east central indiana. This was a wonderful collaboration with our eci destinations; they provided great objects and interactives for the exhibit as well as incentives for guests to visit all locations. The minnetrista heritage gallery was introduced in 2013. Visible storage exhibits in this gallery feature artifacts from the minnetrista heritage collection that are generally not available for public viewing. The inaugural exhibit included ball jars and company memorabilia. The minnetrista heritage collection includes artifacts, art and archival material that document the people, places, organizations, events, businesses, and industries of east central indiana. A major component of the collection is ball family materials and ball corporation business records. Several items acquired in 2013 enhanced the existing ball family and business collection including: ball canning jars, 2 of which are quite rare - there are only two known examples of one variety; other products and related archival materials; ball recipe books; archival materials concerning camp crosley (a ball legacy program with the ymca); and ball company and family photographs. Other additions to collections included materials that document regional organizations (monday afternoon club, community foundation of muncie and delaware county, sinai temple in marion); individuals and families of east central indiana; and regional schools (center school, northside high school, emerson elementary school). New additions to the art collection included a painting by david dale, a well-known regional and indiana artist who frequently finds inspiration on the grounds of minnetrista; and a historic fountain that once sat in front of the original delaware county courthouse. Most significantly, work was completed in 2013 on a revised collections plan that will guide future collecting, in alignment with our institutional interpretive framework. The minnetrista heritage collection, both on-site and on-line, is also a destination for researchers. In 2013, there were more than 190 research requests and 110 requests for information about canning jars. Researchers doing long-term projects include a ph.d. Candidate from purdue university who began working with us in 2012. By the end of the year, there were more than 11,000 artifacts and photographs from the minnetrista heritage collection hosted on the minnetrista web site.”

“As the home of the ball jar, minnetrista continues to serve as a legacy site and gathering place for east central indiana. The name "minnetrista" translates to "gathering place by the water." visitors come to explore, recharge, and connect. In 2013, more than 102,700 visitors gathered for a wide range of educational and entertaining programs and events. Children experienced minnetrista through school tours, summer camps, and workshops. Families attended themed family programs, participated in workshops, events, and immersive exhibit experiences. Regularly scheduled family fun days were offered in 2013. These saturday events utilized the spaces, exhibits, and resources at minnetrista to provide exceptional experiences for families. In 2013, minnetrista theatre preserves continued its outreach to the community by offering valuable educational and interactive theater programs at host schools and libraries. The outreach program performed more than 50 times serving more than 6,000 audience members throughout east central indiana and an additional 8,000 audience members at performances on-site embedded in other exhibit and program experiences. Highlights from 2013 included performing the original production, my plate: the musical, at the purdue university pavilion at the indiana state fair. This show aligned with purdue's educational programming on diet and nutrition. Minnetrista theatre preserves was pleased to accept this invitation. Mtp staff was also requsted to provide training on management of a museum theater program for the staff of the museum of science and industry in chicago, illinois.”

“Throughout the spring and summer, the community can find local produce at the minnetrista farmers market. This program serves both the community and the vendors who participate. Market vendors accept senior vouchers and wic vouchers (women, infants and children) provided through federal and state programs, encouraging nutritional eating habits for low-income families and individuals. In 2013, a new partnership was initiated between minnetrista and indiana university health - ball memorial hospital foundation that provides "market bucks" to a dozen low income families. Market bucks may be used to purchase produce at the farmers market. Additional education programs on diet, nutrition and general health were held for these families at minnetrista on market days with market bucks being distributed afterwards. Minnetrista is pleased to host many important community meetings and events, including: black history month kick-off celebration; muncie community schools' annual celebrating excellence student recognition event and display; and meetings of the muncie action plan board as well as reports to the community of the map committees. Minnetrista is the also the meeting site for regional hobby groups and service organizations including: rotary, altrusa, muncie artists guild, and master gardeners. Minnetrista has active partnerships with many related organizations, particularly ball state university, indiana public radio and public broadcasting, and arts and educational organizations. Another new collaboration in 2013 was the flags of honor celebration between labor day and patriot day. The muncie exchange club received sponsorships to fly 700 american flags honoring those in the military, veterans, public service, and everyday heroes. The event was hosted at minnetrista where we provided logistics support, marketing support, and a highly visible and beautiful location easily accessible by the public.”

“Other program services: the breakdown of the remaining 867,639 in program expenses is as follows: 393,968 depreciation expense; 124,949 it expense; 205,210 advertising; 143,512 administrative expense.”

“Retail shop and rental expenses reclassified to cogs 512,213 retail shop and rental expenses reclassified to cogs -512,213”