Actor’s Theatre of Indiana, Inc. (ATI) has announced it has received a major Legacy Gift of $687,000 from Christel DeHaan that will help the professional theatre company thrive in the future. Funds will be used to establish a new ATI endowment fund managed by the Central Indiana Community Foundation.
The late Christel DeHaan recognized the value in promoting and investing in the arts and was a fan of the “Broadway in Your Backyard” presented by ATI.
For many years, the Christel DeHaan Family Foundation supported ATI with generous operating grants. She informed board members of the Christel DeHaan Family Foundation that, upon her death, “it is my intent that Legacy Gifts be granted to organizations whose artistic talents merit support and with whom special relationships existed.” The Foundation closed in 2023 and corpus assets were divvied up to designated organizations through Legacy Gifts.
“It is such an honor to be one of the select group of Legacy Gift recipients,” ATI Executive Director Jim Reilly said. “ATI has for years yearned to establish an endowment fund, but we did not have the opportunity to do so. This fund helps ensure the financial sustainability of ATI, the only professional theatre company in Carmel and Hamilton County and helps us tell the story of our strong programming and creativity to other funders, both current and future.”
The ATI Board-Designated Endowment Fund has been created and is managed by the Central Indiana Community Foundation.
As a result of this substantial gift, ATI productions will be permanently changed to “Actors Theatre of Indiana with Artistic Support from Christel DeHaan presents…” In addition, ATI is changing its logo to acknowledge “Artistic Support Provided by Christel DeHaan” in the text.
For more information on Christel DeHaan’s legacy of philanthropy and the ATI endowment fund, go to atistage.org.
Founded in 2005, ATI is an Actors Equity professional company offering “Broadway in Your Backyard.” For each mainstage show, a Talk Back is held with actors, director, and the audience. ATI also produces special shows, both indoors and outdoors and on location, throughout the season. In addition, ATI runs a Theatre LAB series, which is unique to central Indiana. It is a mission-driven project that enables professional playwrights to showcase their unproduced plays in front of a live audience at the Carmel Clay Public Library.