Five county organizations are among those selected to receive grants from the Edmund F. and Virginia B. Ball Foundation that total more than $250,000.

The Leelanau Conservancy has been awarded $100,000 to assist with farmland preservation projects. The Fishtown Preservation Society received a grant payout of $50,000 toward the Foundation’s total previous commitment of $500,000 to assist in the purchase of property in Leland. The Inland Seas Education Association in Suttons Bay received $25,000 to assist with their efforts to take students on educational field trips on Lake Michigan aboard the tall ship Manitou.

Also benefiting from a Ball Foundation grant is Leland Township, which is receiving just over $13,000 to up the Munnecke room, a public meeting room at the township library.

Other non-profits receiving grants are the Grand Traverse YMCA ($20,000) and Traverse Area Recreational and Transportation (TART). TART Trails received $50,000 to complete its trail funding push for the section of the trail between Suttons Bay and Traverse City.

“Ed and Virginia Ball loved Leland and the surrounding areas,” said Jud Fisher, executive director of the foundation. “We are supporting the things they philosophically believed in that sustain the intrinsic beauty of the region. We are also supporting those things that create positive experiences that make this such a desirable place to live and visit.”

Fisher lauded the Conservancy’s push to assist with farmland preservation, as well as the TART Trails efforts to provide exercise and immersion in the natural world.

The Edmund F. and Virginia B. Ball Foundation is a private non-operating family foundation located in Muncie, Ind. The Foundation was established in 1994 with the goal of helping nonprofi t organizations in Indiana and Michigan, as well as other areas.