Press Release

September 22, 2008

CONTACT: Darci E. McConnell,

+1-313-237-0100, or +1-313-686-8094, for The Imagine Fund

EAST LANSING, Mich., Sept. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Diane Purgiel, a former Director of Gift Planning for Grand Valley State University in Allendale, has been named Vice President of Development for The Imagine Fund.

Purgiel brings more than 25 years of experience in fundraising to her new position as Vice President of Development. She will work with individuals, corporations, foundations and organizations throughout the state and nation to raise funds for scholarships to be distributed by The Imagine Fund.

She said she was honored to have been selected by the board of The Imagine Fund and looks forward to working with them and seeing the fund grow.

"I have spent most of my career in the field of education, and striving for social justice and equity," Purgiel said. "Working for The Imagine Fund offers me the perfect opportunity to merge my professional experience with a lifelong commitment to promoting fairness and equality for everyone."

Noting that Purgiel, a Western Michigan University graduate, previously held fundraising positions at The Michigan Women's Foundation and the Western Michigan Foundation, Dr. Nanette Reynolds, executive director of The Imagine Fund, said she was delighted to welcome aboard someone with the wealth of experience in fundraising and organizational development which Purgiel brings to the organization.

"In San Francisco, she raised private funds for AIDS organizations, the Sierra Club and Golden Gate Park Strybing Arboretum," Reynolds said. "Diane believes that one of the greatest gifts you can give or receive is the gift of scholarship."

The Imagine Fund is a 501(c) (3) non-profit tax exempt organization whose mission is to provide equal opportunity to higher education for students based on their race, color, sex, ethnicity, national origin and/or other cultural characteristics. It was established in 2007 and is now beginning its first public fundraising campaign. It was formed in response to Prop 2, a 2006 voter-approved measure outlawing some forms of affirmative action in Michigan.

It promotes innovative approaches to fairness in higher education through networking with donors to secure funding for scholarships that are specifically targeted to help promote the enrollment, admission and matriculation of qualified underrepresented minority and female students at Michigan colleges and universities.

The Imagine Fund plans to offer college scholarships beginning in fall 2009 that will consider an academically qualified student's race, gender or other characteristics.

"Ultimately, the goal of The Imagine Fund is to emulate Washington state's College Success Foundation," Reynolds said.

That foundation, formed in 2000 in a state where an anti-affirmative action law also was passed, raised $300 million and has awarded nearly 4,000 scholarships.

On the web: http://www.theimaginefund.com/