Together for Taft, a newly established non-profit organization whose mission is to reopen and reimagine the Lorado Taft campus, is looking to keep the momentum going.

It all comes to a head for the group after securing its 501(c)3 status from the Internal Revenue Service last month.

The IRS’s decision helps further solidify Together for Taft and its efforts to fundraise and raise awareness for the cause.

“We are definitely moving from vision to stewardship,” Founder Julie Roloff-Bassett said.

Lorado Taft, first established in 1898 as the Eagle’s Nest Art Colony, saw its campus closed by leaders from Northern Illinois University in December 2024. NIU announced the decision to close the historic outdoor education facility was because of aging infrastructure and increasing operational costs.

Since then, a movement has spawned by many who have fond memories of the campus to reopen and reimagine the space.

Roloff-Bassett said she’s excited to see how far the group has come.

“Definitely not only successful but almost unbelievable, the momentum that we’ve created in a very short time,” she said.

A public Facebook group, dubbed Together for Taft-Community Hub, was established to help create community around the future of Lorado Taft and has amassed a following of more than 700 members, to date.

When asked what’s driving the momentum behind Together for Taft, Roloff-Bassett said it’s simple.

“It’s passion. That’s really what’s driving this,” she said.

Together for Taft has already hosted fundraisers, and the group is planning more ways to raise money in the future.

Organizers have planned what they’re calling a Pre-Taft Program Kickoff for April 25. The event will take place from 12:30 to 4 p.m. at the Taft shelter, 1414 N. River Road in Oregon. Anyone interested in attending the Pre-Taft Program Kickoff is advised to register.

Roloff-Bassett heads up Together for Taft after having worked in DeKalb schools.

She said she’s enjoying every minute of her new journey.

“It has helped on a number of levels,” Roloff-Bassett said. “I was used to teaching children. A big learning curve for me is working with adults. That’s been enjoyable in a different way.”

There are some parallels between the worlds of classroom teaching and her work to save the Lorado Taft campus.

Roloff-Bassett said she is embracing all the similarities and differences.

“What I am doing with Taft is what I teach or how I used to teach personally,” Roloff-Bassett said. “I did a lot of project-based learning, and that’s what Taft is. ... This movement is project-based learning at its core.”

Roloff-Bassett said she looks forward to seeing where this adventure takes her.

“It’s like solving a puzzle,” Roloff-Bassett said. “It’s not like you ever fully arrive at solving a puzzle. Even once Taft is open and operational, there’ll be other puzzle pieces. Like, how can we keep programming fresh and new? That is the bridge right there for teaching and what I’m doing.”

Roloff-Bassett said she’d like to secure a partial lease of the Lorado Taft campus.

“Because there are 12 [buildings], we would like to start with leasing out three at a time,” Roloff-Bassett said.

Roloff-Bassett said she’d personally like to start with a soft opening in the fall, when the campus may begin hosting smaller groups.

Organizers behind Together for Taft encourage people to make a donation to the cause.

“I don’t want to see those buildings go through a third winter without people in and out of those buildings,” she said.