The Imagine Foundation committed to contributing $12.5 million towards the approximately $102 million cost of Project 2, the new physical and athletics focused southeast corner of Oak Park and River Forest High School. The nearly complete project includes a long sought new swimming pool and a new third floor gym.
Thus far the Imagine Foundation has turned over only $5 million to OPRF. But not to worry, another $1 million check is expected to be gifted to OPRF by the end of the year and Heidi Ruehle, the executive director of the Imagine Foundation, says the foundation has raised or has commitments for $12.2 million and fundraising efforts are continuing.
Because some of the larger donations to the Imagine Foundation are given over a multiyear period the foundation is expected to be donating money to OPRF for Project 2 until 2030.
“The majority of our donations are one time donors or possibly someone who wants to give annually but they don’t have a multiyear gift agreement, but that said there is a larger percentage of funds that are part of those (multiyear) gift agreements,” Ruehle said.
OPRF’s five-year financial projections project the school will receive $1.5 million from the Imagine Foundation in the current 2026-27 fiscal year, $1 million in the 2027-28 fiscal year and $500,000 each in the three fiscal years after that.
The Imagine Foundation is also taking credit for a $3.5 million state construction grant that OPRF received and is counting that towards its $12.5 million commitment. The Imagine Foundation did the preliminary work in identifying the grant and working with State Senator Don Harmon’s office to help OPRF apply for the grant. OPRF expects to receive the state grant this school year.
Funds contributed to OPRF by the Imagine Foundation thus far have been used to reimburse OPRF for some of the payments it has already made in connection with Project 2. OPRF will use money from its operating funds to pay for Project 2 expenses that future donations from the Imagine Foundation would theoretically cover.
“All Imagine donations will be accounted for in the Capital Projects Fund since they are devoted to Project 2,” said OPRF Director of Finance Brian Imhoff in an email. “In the short term, we are transferring money from the operating funds to cover the donations that are yet to be received. For donations that arrive after the completion of Project 2, we will essentially be paying back the operating funds by having to transfer less for our 10-Year Maintenance Plan capital projects in those years.”
The foundation is continuing its fundraising efforts and last month sent out postcards to all of River Forest and northwest Oak Park seeking donations that will be matched by an anonymous Imagine Foundation donor.
The foundation is continuing its fundraising efforts and last month sent out postcards to all of River Forest and northwest Oak Park seeking donations. | Provided 
The foundation is continuing its fundraising efforts and last month sent out postcards to all of River Forest and northwest Oak Park seeking donations. | Provided
Ruehle said that fundraising will likely continue even after Project 2 is completed.
“Since we are reimbursing the school for expenses related to Project 2 our fundraising doesn’t end just because the project is completed so our fundraising will continue until we meet our commitment to the high school,” Ruehle said. “Our intention is to continue to raise funds until we meet our goal. Our goal is actually $15 million.”
Ruehle said the goal of raising $15 million is, in part, to cover the Imagine Foundation’s expenses, which includes staff salaries and fundraising expenses.
“We are 100% confident that we will definitely accomplish the 12.5 (million dollars) commitment to the high school but we need to raise money in addition to that to be able to cover the last four or five years of expenses, fundraising expenses,” Ruehle said. “We do need to raise above and beyond that.”
As the saying goes it costs money to raise money. The Imagine Foundation’s largest expense is salaries. The Imagine Foundation has three employees, two full time and one part time. According to the Imagine Foundation’s 2024 tax return, the most recent available on the IRS website, the Imagine Foundation spent $325,939 on salaries in 2024.
Ruehle said part of the contributions of some early donors were set aside to pay for salaries and other expenses.
“We have board members who committed early on that they would use part of their contribution to pay for expenses so if a community member is donating they can feel certain that their money is going directly to Project 2,” Ruehle said. “But then we do need to raise above that 12.5 (million dollars) to even that out.”
Ruehle said she is proud that that the Imagine Foundation has more than 500 distinct donors. But large donations account for a substantial portion of money the foundation has raised. Ruehle cited the 80/20 rule which in fundraising states that 80% of money raised comes from 20% of donors.
The Imagine Foundation was co-founded in 2019 by current Imagine Foundation Board President Emeritus Stephen Schuler, a 1980 graduate of OPRF, and Lynn Kamenista to support the facilities improvement plans created at OPRF in what was called the Imagine process.
Ruehle said that if and when the OPRF District 200 Board of Education decides to go forward with arts focused Act 3, the next stage of the five phase Imagine plan, the Imagine Foundation will be there ready to help out.
“If and when Project 3 gets started then we’ll switch our fundraising efforts toward that project,” Ruehle said. “We’ll follow their lead in that but our intention is to raise funds for Project 3 when it’s time.”