Even though our blog has been quiet for the first half of 2015, we’ve been hard at work behind the scenes advancing our projects and preparing to take Hayven to the next stage in its growth. Here’s just some of what we’ve been up to so far during this year’s 1st and 2nd quarters.

ANOTHER MEETING OF THE MINDS
In January, the board of directors gathered for our annual meeting, held in San Marino, CA. Highlights of our time together included an extended lunch with Paul Haaga, who has been a major influence on two of our founding directors and is among Hayven’s earliest supporters; and a wrap party (pictured below).    

Now that Paul has completed an unexpected gig of almost one year in duration as interim CEO of NPR (where he continues his ongoing role as one of its 5 trustees), he’s become more available to Carole Schabow, Hayven’s founder and acting CEO, continuing his role of trusted advisor begun in 2004 while he and Carole were at the prestigious investment firm Capital Research and Management Company (home of the American Funds), where Paul was Chairman.

“In keeping with Paul’s reflexive generosity, during January’s post-holiday lull he made time to meet Hayven’s newest director from Phoenix, Christine Mantel,” Carole says. “I rely on Paul in the same way I rely on Dan Crippen (former Director of the Congressional Budget Office and recent Executive Director of the National Governors Association) for frank, incisive feedback and business advice to guide me and Hayven from launch to stable sustained growth. Their effect on our formation is indelible and inestimable.”

With the arrival of fall weather and NFL Sports, Hayven::org is tackling year-end opportunities and goals with vigor and renewed resolve.
 
A Capital start to the month
Good news was off-and-running early this month, when Hayven received our second grant award from The Capital Group Companies’ Charitable Giving Foundation.
 
“Unexpectedly, Christine Mantel (our Phoenix-based director) was invited by Alyson Sattler’s team to apply for a second corporate grant less than a year after we received our first award check in January 2014,” says Carole Schabow, CEO and editor-in-chief. “We’re humbled and gratified by Capital’s above-and-beyond commitment to Project Infrastructure and our goal to ease cancer journeys by building Web 2.0 services and support that leverage peer-to-peer information sharing — in our case, the collective wisdom of survivor-to-survivor and caregiver-to-caregiver experience and insights. Considering this Foundation’s unheralded yet substantial support of established stellar organizations such as OxFam, the Red Cross, and dozens of others through the decades, we’re extremely conscious of the trust this bespeaks for a 501(c)3b still in its start-up arc.”
 
What it makes possible
Christine was interviewed in September by a committee that makes contributions decisions for the investment giant best known for managing the American Funds family of mutual funds. “This grant from Capital will enable us to accept donations online, a crucial enhancement to make giving easier for our donors,” she explains. “The grant money is also earmarked to purchase online services so we can procure a donor database and launch an eNews feature.”
 
The influence of influencer Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen
Coincident to the arrival of the Capital grant award, Carole and a Phoenix-based intern recruited by Christine began a MOOC online course offered by Stanford University that’s taught by philanthropy powerhouse Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen, author of Giving 2.0: Transform Your Giving and Our World. During one of her lectures about the ideal relationship of trust between philanthropists and recipient nonprofits, Laura underscores the tremendous value to Hayven of this ongoing recognition by CGC’s prestigious Charitable Giving Foundation.
 
In the video clip below, Laura (@LAAF) advises donors to “Trust in [the nonprofit’s] expertise. If a major foundation has provided consistent funding over multiple years, then you’re going to be able to trust that these investments have strong results or the foundation would not continue to fund them.” Laura further coaches donors: “Allow [the nonprofit] to help shape — if not shape entirely — how your gift is utilized whenever it is possible. If they’re worth investing in, aren’t they worthy of your trust?”
 

Another solid Foundation
While on the topic of philanthropic training, we would be remiss if we failed to give credit to another source of invaluable education that Hayven directors Carole and Lori Donovan — plus Advisory Board members Julie Ingoglia and Katafa Hall-Reed as well as grant writer Chris Deardurff — have all been receiving from classes and events this past year courtesy of the Washington DC branch of The Foundation Center on K Street NW.
 
“Executive director Pat Pasqual is so generous about sharing her in-depth knowledge in class and out about both sides of the giving coin — the foundations and the nonprofits. Her poise, calm, and levity are particularly reassuring to new or overwhelmed students of philanthropy and giving,” observes Carole. “One of my favorite Pat-isms is her pithy comparison of fundraising to charm school: ‘Be sure to write thank you’s!,’ she emphasizes. “And you have to say thank you seven times!’ ”
 
Chris Deardurff has similar praise for trainer Kim Patton and head librarian Janice Rosenberg for their training and support in using the FC’s invaluable Foundation Directory Online, “the single best resource for researching grantmakers.” According to Chris, “Kim makes sure everyone is laughing and participating, and Janice packs an incredible amount of incisive info into her lab classes that you only appreciate fully once you start using the database.”
 
The Foundation Center also provides online training and webinars at   
GrantSpace.org, most for free. “We highly recommend all of the Foundation Center’s resources and will continue to rely on their library, database, and classes throughout 2015 as we accelerate our grant writing,” says Lori.

Hayven’s 2014 annual retreat for our board of directors had two priorities: To welcome Christine Mantel as our newest director and to prepare for a major push forward in our branding and fundraising efforts.

The players assemble
CEO and president Carole Schabow arrived in Los Angeles first. “Christine flew in from Phoenix a day early so she and I could have an entire day for a one-on-one accelerator about the requirements of our directors and her new responsibilities as treasurer,” Carole explains. “Once we ensured we had a steady stream of Starbucks at hand, I briefed her about where we’re at in our growth arc, then we focused on donor relationships and investment strategy.”

The two then met with photo director Tom Schabow in Long Beach (Carole’s co-survivor brother and an indelible part of Hayven’s backstory and organic development from day one). Together the three crystalized creative choices to be implemented during planned photo shoots. “As development continues, new photos were in order,” says Carole. “Our goal is to refine our brand to further reflect our grassroots vantage and on-trend vintage sensibility. Tom is helping us convey the buoyancy and accessibility intrinsic to who we are and how we’re different.”

Founding director Katie Saunders hosted the retreat at her cottage near the beach and LAX in El Segundo, CA, which has served as Hayven’s usual meeting site and the location shoot for our initial board photographs. “Katie has exquisite taste that’s completely on-brand with who Hayven is — after all, we are our own market — and being able to use her property once more enabled a visual continuity as our branding moves forward,” Carole points out. “In fact, we pulled many of the props featured this year (look for the cruiser bike, the ladder-back chairs and the chandelier) out of Katie’s house and garage. We couldn’t have achieved what we did without her generous hospitality and impeccable eye.”

On Thursday evening, Katie and Christine met for the first time in person after collaborating remotely on a Capital grant (see our 4-4-14 post). The three directors laughed, relaxed, and lingered over a fireside dinner. On Friday morning, founding director Lori Donovan flew in from Washington D.C., only to be whisked from LAX straight to Santa Monica to take care of banking and then catch up on planning during an informal afternoon with Carole and Christine. Friday wrapped with more fireside chats in Katie’s backyard until the wee hours.

Saturday was devoted to wardrobe confabs and ironing; staging Katie’s front and back yards for the photo shoots; and assiduously avoiding sugary treats that had mysteriously teleported from the Huckleberry Bakery & Café in Santa Monica where three directors had been seen lunching the day prior. A collective sigh was heaved as the day advanced and the SoCal weather cooperated.

An early curtain call
The only blip in an otherwise sunny afternoon was when Katie Saunders formally and reluctantly resigned from the board.

“As a board, we’ve discussed board limits, naturally. It’s a normal practice in the nonprofit world,” says Lori. “Nonetheless, we were sad to see that day come for Katie. But our bad news is her good news. In January she began a new job for another investment firm in West LA, and she’s eager to devote more time to her growing family and the care of her mother. Her ready laugh, effervescent presence, and incisive problem solving will be sorely missed.”

Carole is quick to add, “I couldn’t bear it if I didn’t know that Katie continues to be available to us in an unofficial capacity. Her influence is woven into the fabric of who we are, and her tangible help during our firsts was crucial to any success we have now and in the future. Hurry back to us, Katie!”

In addition to assuming Katie’s role as treasurer when elected, Christine is now Hayven’s primary relationship keeper with The Capital Group Companies, our first corporate partner.

A photo finish
For Saturday’s shoot, Tom arrived early to finesse backgrounds and arrangements with props from his personal collection. All four board members participated in that afternoon’s staging, but Carole credits Christine for artfully arranging the lion’s share of furniture and decorative elements. (Later, photographer Renee Cascia was overheard exclaiming, “Christine did an amazing job staging the backyard!” — high praise from a professional with extensive experience as an eCommerce product photographer for Home Depot, ShopIntuition.com, and magazines such as InStyle and People.)

The first sequences were snapped during Saturday’s twilight by Rory Ryder, a Google certified photographer whose work has appeared in Surfer magazine. Seeking the same “magic hour” natural lighting (at sunrise and dusk), Renee (who is currently a Forever21 photographer) came Sunday morning for a different photo series. “Considering we’ve modeled certain aspects of Hayven in the spirit of successful retail California lifestyle brands like Quiksilver and The Gap, Rory and Renee are a perfect fit for what we’re trying to achieve,” says Tom. “We also look to Anthropologie and Boden for inspiration, and share Urban Outfitters vintage/indie vibe. And because nature is so healing, outdoor shoots suit us best.”

It’s a wrap!
Why so many photos? “After more than 2 years of thorough focus on our due diligence and planning responsibilities, Hayven is ready for a significant growth arc,” explains Carole. “With a firm foundation beneath us, we’re poised for our next and most visible leap forward. Assisted by our creative team and Chris Haberman’s mural, we’re updating our introductory materials, adding new print pieces (such as a brochure, postcards, and our first original Christmas card) and developing fundraising campaigns that reflect our uniqueness and mission to change the cancer conversation by sharing insider ‘been-there-done-that’ coaching, support, and tools.”

The entire board is extremely grateful to Renee, Rory, and Tom, all of whom volunteered their services.  According to Christine, “Each one not only made us look good, but helped us relax and have fun with an activity akin to trying on bathing suits under harsh lights or revisiting your self-conscious adolescent self.” 

Stay tuned for news of planned enhancements to this website and online fundraising campaigns currently in the works.

To help develop our visual brand, Hayven is pleased to announce that Chris Haberman and Frank Cubillos have joined forces with our creative team and thereby raised the bar on our ability to create a different kind of online experience for cancer survivors and families thunderstruck by a diagnosis.
 
In June, Hayven::org commissioned Portland artist Chris Haberman to paint one of his signature murals to capture the confluence of interconnected lives and serendipitous happenstances that conspired to form the Hayven team. “The scale and exuberance of Chris’ style is a perfect medium for capturing who we are as well as our organic growth and development as a community of pay-it-forward survivors and co-survivors who are trying to build the website we wish had been there during our own cancer journeys,” says Hayven’s newest director Christine Mantel, whose recent election is another indicator of significant forward-motion this year.
 
The collaboration with Chris is 2014’s second creative coup.
 
In March, designer Frank Cubillos joined Hayven’s Communications Advisory Board to help ensure a refinement and cohesion to our multiple web presences, campaigns and promotions, and supporting print pieces. On hearing of Frank’s advisory board role with Hayven, NPR’s former CEO Paul Haaga reacted, “I’m glad to hear you’re working with Frank. He’s a good guy. And he can make even mutual funds seem exciting.” And Paul should know. Frank was the senior designer at Capital Group Companies who executed a new logo for the investment giant when Paul assumed leadership of Frank’s business area during a major rebranding campaign in 2000.
 
The word on Chris :: COMMUNITY
In a city so identified by a community spirit uniquely friendly to hipsters, activists, and artists that it became the setting for Portlandia, the TV series that satirizes all of them, Chris Haberman is a stand out. A native son within a community known for its strong sense of … well … community, Chris is well known for his above-and-beyond nurturing of other artists and for his community-building arts advocacy evidenced in 2010 when he partnered with Jason Brown as co-owner and co-curator of the People’s Art of Portland Gallery in Pioneer Square Mall downtown. It’s an accessible venue for showcasing local and international artists with art shows, retrospectives and events.
 
Chris’ path to becoming an artist was as circuitous and layered as his art. When given the chance to leave his corporate career, he took the leap and has never looked back. And Portland’s art scene has never been the same, benefitting from his vibrant art, his unerring generosity about sharing the spotlight, and his tireless pursuit of opportunities for emerging artists.
 
When director/CEO Carole Schabow approached Chris with the idea of painting a mural for Hayven, his immediate enthusiastic assent was completely in character. “Chris recognized us -- an emerging nonprofit seeking to build an online community for people with a shared interest in coping with cancer as smoothly and strategically as possible – as a match made in Hayven,” she jokes.

“We’ll be using Chris’ painting in more than one way as part of our effort to create a cohesive look and feel for Hayven online and in print,” says founding director Lori Donovan, who has collected folk art since graduating from law school. “Watch for it on Facebook and in upcoming fundraising and promotional materials we’re currently developing.”
 
Oh yeah. And among the many hats he wears, Chris is also an art coordinator for Portlandia.
 
The word on Frank :: CORPORATE
Whereas Chris Haberman and Portland bring the quirky and a certain wit, Los Angeles-based artist and designer Frank Cubillos brings urbanity and an unmistakable polish to the mix.
 
Frank’s design credentials, taste, and restraint are impeccable. These qualities served him well as senior designer for a prestigious but conservative investment firm and in his current role as designer and marketing manager for Newmark Grubb Knight Frank in downtown Los Angeles. He’s expert at art and creative direction, and has prodigious experience with brand development and corporate identity. After earning a Bachelor’s in Graphic Design at California State University Northridge, he was brought back later to teach computer graphics.
 
Which is not to say that Frank is a one-dimensional corporate suit. This bilingual artist paints after-hours in a style with a playfulness akin to Chris Haberman’s.

Symmetry and commonalities
In fact, there’s a remarkable symmetry to the complementary sensibilities and skills of Chris and Frank. Even though Chris embodies community and Frank is corporate, neither is simply what he appears: Chris has a paralegal background, a Masters in English Literature, and is a published poet; he views his art as a form of writing, so it’s no wonder words figure prominently in his art. Frank is an accomplished soccer player, a suburban dad, and an avid surfer.
 
Both are unarguably creative, and descriptors that apply to the works of both include intelligence, vibrancy, accessibility, and excellence. They share the qualities of compassion and exuberance. And both are reminders that you can endure and find meaning in the face of tremendous loss.
 
Because with Frank and Chris, as is often true here at Hayven, there’s more to this news than meets the eye.
 
Sons of Artistry :: Twin losses as well as twin talents
Our collaboration with Frank and Chris is just the tip of the news iceberg, in our view. The backstories of each artist are as pertinent and valuable to Hayven as are their talents.
 
Like all great art, each man’s personal life, career path, and creative output are a fascinating mix of light and dark, of contrasts interweaving in textured point-and-counterpoint to each other.
 
In 2009, Frank’s father Francisco died of lung cancer. And in July 2004, Chris lost his mother, also to lung cancer. So both men live with the ongoing ache of a mother and a father taken too soon.
 
“Cancer is a form of biological anarchy that’s notably ruthless and impersonal. It likewise creates no-less-devastating emotional anarchy that’s highly personal and especially difficult for co-survivor family and friends left behind when a loved one succumbs,” states Carole.
 
“Because both men have experienced cancer and its aftershocks firsthand, Chris and Frank immediately got what we’re up to at Hayven,” she adds. “As sons who’ve lost parents to cancer, each is bringing not only their unique artistry, but a sensitivity and dimensionality to the brand and to the online refuge we’re creating at Hayven.”
 
Both men’s art are living proof, perhaps, that the ultimate artistry may well be the resiliency to extract meaning and create beauty from the anarchy of pain and loss that cancer so often leaves in its wake.
 
Design excellence :: The underlying “why”
Besides the abundant talent and qualification that Chris and Frank so obviously bring to the table, there are less obvious reasons why Hayven seeks to collaborate with these accomplished art professionals in particular.
 
“In the course of my communications career, I’ve learned how content and design work together as well as how to recognize what each can convey, inadvertently or not,” explains Carole. “And so, as a patient in 2004, once I got over the shock of information silos in the medical field and the burden of piecing together shards of information about cancer, I couldn’t help but notice how brochures and websites were mostly dry, institutional, or lacking truly helpful information. Pardon me for saying this, but too often websites were amateurish and difficult to navigate. It made me wince. Because clearly, compassion and concern for cancer survivors and families is immediate, genuine, and universal; but to my trained eye, materials that are unsophisticated, clinical, and disorganized convey quite the opposite. Taken as a whole, underwhelming design and pallid writing imply that cancer patient needs aren’t important enough to warrant a stellar product excellently executed.”
 
Carole never loses sight of Hayven’s core audience -- the newly diagnosed -- who she envisions just as she was, bleary eyed and overwhelmed as they perch in front of a computer screen late into the night with only crickets for company. “To offset the starkness of a cancer diagnosis and lives changed overnight, as well as the inherent fear and overwhelm of being unprepared and inadequately supported, every aspect of Hayven’s brand -- all our resources, solutions, and designs -- is meant to convey attentive care and respect for every person touched by cancer’s ripple effects.”
 
There’s no question that the motivations and aims of the cancer community to serve the general public are unimpeachable. Nonetheless, the board of directors' conviction -- that we can do better for families and individuals navigating through cancer treatment and beyond -- has shaped Hayven::org’s commitment to excellence and remains firm to this day.

At our 2014 annual meeting, Hayven::org’s founding directors elected Christine Mantel to the board.

“In recognition both of her invaluable help while serving on Hayven’s Business Advisory Board, and of the synchrony of her particular skills with our needs at this point in our growth, Christine has agreed to join Lori Donovan, Katie Saunders and me in advancing Hayven’s current priorities: relationships and fundraising,” announces founding CEO Carole Schabow.

“Christine earned my vote during our collaboration on the Capital grant,” adds Katie.  “She demonstrated an incisiveness, poise, and rare talent for articulating complexities that made all the difference to our success at securing a grant from such a prestigious organization. I quickly relaxed as she capably took the lead during a crucial discussion with Capital’s executive decision-makers.” (For more about this grant, see our announcement on 4.4.14.)

Christine’s ease with executives dates back to the early years of her career, when she was the Regional Employee Representative for America West’s East Coast stations, meeting regularly with senior executives and the airline owners to advocate on behalf of employees working for a non-union airline. “Having worked in the airline industry with Christine for upwards of 5 years, I repeatedly witnessed her consistently exceptional people skills, strong work ethic, and mature judgment,” says Carole. “For these reasons and for her other professional achievements since our airline days, she’s partnering with me to head our major gifts drive.”

As important as Christine’s talents and accomplishments are, her experience as a cancer co-survivor gives her an added insider perspective. “My father is a prostate cancer survivor, and my grandpa was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma back in the early ‘90s, dying within 3 months due to lack of knowledge and lack of access to information,” Christine reveals. “So I understand firsthand the helplessness, hurdles, and ripple effects a cancer diagnosis has on the entire family. My commitment to Hayven is fueled by an impulse to turn that helplessness into a positive by helping others.”

Christine has also experienced the no-less-piercing pain to co-survivors when close friends are struck. “I still tear up when I remember the day in 2004 when Carole called me with the news of her breast cancer diagnosis. Ugh!” Dropping everything, Christine flew to Los Angeles to be with her friend prior to surgery.

“It’s impossible to express how meaningful it was to have Christine there during that scary countdown,” Carole recalls. “I cherish the bike rides, the laughs, the tears, the photos. She listened, we watched movies, we shopped. Neither of us were prepared or knew what to say or do, but we stumbled through the anxiety and the unknown together.”

Because cancer isn’t a mere theoretical to either woman, but an up-close personal passage, Christine and Carole’s shared experience as a co-survivor and a survivor is infusing their work with Hayven. Their friendship is a model of what Hayven aspires to be: A friend in the eye of the storm and an antidote to the isolation and fear that are usually part of a cancer journey.

Christine’s willingness to help didn’t stop when Carole was declared cancer-free. “Launching Hayven has been a lengthy process, and Christine has been there from the ‘we can do better’ idea/discovery days,” says Carole. “She’s been an ongoing sounding board and strategist: from helping to name Hayven to, more recently, exploring fundraising options like creating a digital wall to memorialize those who’ve been lost to the disease. Her fingerprints are everywhere.”

In addition to her role in securing the grant from The Capital Group Companies Charitable Foundation, Christine has been one of our most generous individual donors in the past 12 months. The board of directors is pleased to welcome her and excited at the prospects for Hayven with her at the table.

Hayven::org’s board of directors is pleased to announce that The Capital Group Companies Charitable Foundation awarded us our first grant in January 2014.

As part of a giving-back culture that traces directly to founder Jonathan Bell Lovelace, Capital bestows these employee-driven awards to support causes dear to its associates as well as to benefit the communities where it has offices. (The Capital Group Companies, which manages the American Funds, is a highly respected investment firm based in Los Angeles but with offices worldwide.)

Founding director Katie Saunders submitted the grant application on Hayven’s behalf. Christine Mantel, a Capital associate in Phoenix, also played an essential role in advocating for funding toward the launch of our online cancer navigator site. Both give credit to the head of Capital’s Contributions Department, Alyson Sattler, for her above-and-beyond mentoring and assistance during the months-long effort. “I was extremely touched—and extremely aided—by Alyson’s involvement and very real interest in the success of our proposal,” says Katie. “We owe so much to her, and to everyone on the Charitable Contributions Committee who we spoke with during the approval process.”

It’s not a complete surprise that Hayven has received its first grant from Capital. According to our founding CEO Carole Schabow, “Truly, Hayven wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the influence of Capital’s giving-back culture, on me during my 7 years there, and on Katie and Christine in the course of their Capital careers. It’s completely fitting that this initial vote of confidence comes from the wellspring of so much of our inspiration and example.” 

In fact, numerous Capital associates have given generously of their time, their expertise, or their hard-earned dollars during our launch. Hayven’s board of directors likewise extends its thanks to Jim Ryan, Fran Sweeney, David Fisher, Karen Hall and Ken Gorvetzian, among others.

This grant is an auspicious start to a year devoted to relationships and development.

As is today’s launch of this blog!