Based on personal interests, a donor may contribute in a number of ways. There are several options to consider:

A gift of cash or securities to the Wapakoneta Area Community Foundation enables the donor to benefit from the most advantageous charitable income tax deduction available under current laws. Special consideration should be given to appreciated securities as a tax-favored charitable deduction.

The act of naming the Wapakoneta Area Community Foundation in your Will is one of the simplest ways of making a gift to the Foundation. In this way, you provide a means of support for your favorite charity and reduce your estate taxes.

A life insurance policy may be donated outright to the Foundation or the donor may retain ownership of the policy and name the Foundation as beneficiary. In the first case, there is a reduction in the donor's income tax; in the second there is a reduction in the donor's estate taxes.

A Charitable Remainder Trust provides life income payments to the donor from invested assets. Upon the donor's death (or death of other income beneficiaries), the remaining principal of the trust is used to create a fund within the Foundation.

An effective way to maintain local giving, have access to a professional staff, and alleviate the administrative burden of administering a private foundation is to transfer all or part of it to the Wapakoneta Area Community Foundation. Such a transfer not only releases the private foundation from reporting requirements imposed by the Internal Revenue Code, but also terminates the payment of the federal excise tax.