Faces of the Foundation - Competitive Grants: Molly Flodder

Giving back to the community is not new for Molly Flodder. She’s been an active community volunteer for most of the more than 40 years she has lived in Muncie.

Molly joined the Foundation’s Competitive Grants Committee in 2017, shortly after her retirement from TEAMwork for Quality Living, an organization that she helped start in the 1990s. The Foundation’s Competitive Grants Committee reviews applications for the Quarterly Competitive Grants program. In 2019, nearly $1 million was awarded to support 46 organizations doing work to improve the quality of life of Muncie and Delaware County.

To the Competitive Grants Committee, Molly brings a unique perspective of being on the frontline of nonprofit work. She was one of the dozen volunteer founders of TEAMwork for Quality Living, which was originally established to share information about and equip volunteers to address the community’s most pressing issues. With a background in marketing and public relations, developing clear messaging around the importance of PreK, good health, and positive race relations in our community was something in which Molly excelled.

Over time, as the volunteers of TEAMwork took a hard look at pressing community issues, one key challenge appeared to be the root of many of the others – poverty. TEAMwork for Quality Living’s mission shifted to focus on empowering people in poverty toward self-sufficiency.

Through her work at TEAMwork, Molly was used to connecting struggling families to community allies and organizations with programs that might help them meet their goals of self-sufficiency.

“As a Grants Committee member, I am able to know the parts and pieces of organizations’ missions and understand their role with a broader perspective,” said Molly. “I have become a better advocate and feel good about all the services our community is able to provide.”

Molly’s husband, Mark, built the home they share along the White River just outside of Muncie. They have two adult daughters, Maggie and Mallory, who have close connections to home working at Ball Memorial Hospital. Molly and Mark are the proud grandparents of four – two sets of twins. Among several community activities in which she volunteers, Molly is co-director of survivor voices, a choir of cancer survivors and caregivers.

In addition to giving her time and talent as a Foundation volunteer, Molly, and Mark, financially support the organization.

“I appreciate the macro-focus of the Foundation,” said Molly. “To be a part of the Foundation, you are reminded that there are so many caring organizations and people who make up the rich fabric of our community.”