Christel DeHaan (1942-2020)
Christel DeHaan Fellowship for Accessible Arts
Christel DeHaan’s life epitomized the American Dream. Born during World War II in Germany and immigrating to the United States in 1962, she started typing and ironing services upon her arrival in Indiana. In 1974 she co-founded RCI, the company that pioneered vacation exchange and became the leader in its industry. When she became the sole owner of RCI in 1989 Christel led the company’s global expansion, creating over 30 international offices. At the time she sold the company in 1996 to NYSE-traded HFS, RCI had over 4,000 employees.
Christel’s passion for life, for causes, for people and for the arts, music and nature was underscored by a deep commitment to excellence in all that she did. She made a difference as an employer, as a community leader and as a philanthropist. The Christel DeHaan Family Foundation (CDFF) has made grants supporting over 700 arts, education, child welfare and human needs organizations. In 1998 she founded Christel House, a public charity that helps children around the world break the cycle of poverty and become self-sufficient, contributing members of society.
Through her careful planning, the work of Christel House will continue. Currently serving nearly 6,000 students, Christel House uses a holistic approach which ensures that a child’s basic needs are met, and then provides top-quality education, character development, career-planning, and ultimately, job placement. As a thoughtful and strategic philanthropist, Christel DeHaan desired CDFF to close following her death and corpus assets be provided to designated organizations through Legacy Gifts. The Foundation closed in 2023 after awarding more than $133 million in grants over its lifespan.
Through these efforts, Christel DeHaan will be remembered for providing educational opportunities to children in Indianapolis and around the globe, and for strengthening arts and cultural institutions in Indianapolis. Christel’s philosophy of life was, “to care, to share, to make a difference,” and nothing could summarize her life more clearly.
Fellowship for ArtMix Artists
We are incredibly honored to announce that ArtMix is the recipient of a significant gift to fund the Christel DeHaan Fellowship for Accessible Arts. Through this fellowship and training program, ArtMix will provide the following:
Formal professional development training for all teaching artists focused on accessibility in the arts
Expansion of our Creative Renewal Retreat program
Scholarship/Fellowship opportunities for expanded training for ArtMix Teaching Artists and Staff
This generous gift will provide ArtMix with the opportunity to expand and evolve as we continue our mission in making the arts accessible to everyone. By Fiscal Year 2025, ArtMix plans to open our accessible arts training program to artists and educators across the state to become the leading training program for the next generation of Hoosier artists who specialize in working with individuals with disabilities.
