Protect and Conserve Ottawa Refuge.
|
|
Make a donation, make an impact.
Many Friends of Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge supporters give beyond their membership dues by volunteering or regularly purchasing items in the Rookery Nature Store. Others make annual or monthly donations to programs they especially value. We aid the refuge with several projects each year. These vary from tangible places that you can visit to interns whose lives are forever changed by your generosity funding their time at the refuge. Below, you can learn more about these opportunities to support Ottawa Refuge. Tribute and Memorial Gifts It is possible to make a donation in memory or honor of someone special to you online or by writing a note in the memo line of your check. If requested, we are happy to send acknowledgements to your tribute or family member via mail or email. Not a fan of online giving? Checks may be made out to: Friends of Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge 14000 W. State Route 2 | Oak Harbor, OH 43449 If you have questions about donations, please call 419-707-7756. |
|
|
Contribute monthly to conservation.
The Blue Wing Flock supports Friends of Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge's core priorities: Youth Development, Public Access Projects, and Land Acquisition & Restoration. Your automatic, monthly or recurring gift as a Blue Wing helps ensure we’re always ready to protect nature, when and where it’s needed most. --$5/month could provide a volunteer with tools --$10/month could maintain a trail --$25/month could help to restore prairie, wetland, and woodland habitats --$50/month could provide transportation and supplies for a field trip --$100/month could invest in the future of an intern As a special thanks to you for joining the Blue Wing Flock, you will receive exclusive communications and updates from the refuge. Join our flock, and sign up today to create a visible impact at Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge. |
|
Make a general donation.
Friends of Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge relies on your help to protect and conserve Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge. Your generosity allows Friends of Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge to provide transportation grants that allow kids to explore the great outdoors, fund maintenance and restoration initiatives, and arrange stipends for refuge interns to help with all of these meaningful projects. Unrestricted funds are so important to the work that we do at Ottawa Refuge. Without selecting a designation for your gift, you are allowing Friends of Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge to put your funds to work where we need it most. As we are a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit, donations are tax-exempt to the fullest extent allowed by law. Our EIN is 34-1904821. |
|
Become a member.
Do your part for conservation and education in this critical stopover habitat and become a Friends of Ottawa NWR member. In return, you will receive discounts in The Rookery Nature Store, quarterly e-newsletters and biweekly updates, access to Members Only presentations and tours, discounts from a wide variety of businesses in the Oak Harbor area, and the reward of knowing that you're supporting Ohio's only National Wildlife Refuge Complex! Membership Levels: $20 Student / Senior $30 Individual $45 Family $100 Best Friend $250 Trumpeter Club $500 Snowy Owl Club $1000 Eagle Club $2500 Osprey Club |
|
Help to purchase and restore land.
One of Friends of Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge's long term goals is to establish a $500,000 Land Acquisition and Restoration Fund. This fund will allow us to aid the refuge with the purchase of land from willing property owners and restoration of existing refuge parcels from Toledo to the Sandusky Bay. So far, donations have helped us to purchase two parcels of land totaling 69 acres. These parcels have been sold to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and are officially part of the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge Complex. Funds from the land sale are placed back into the Land Acquisition and Restoration Fund for future use, allowing us to support the refuge by acquiring and restoring more land. If you love federal lands, donate today to help support this worthy cause. Consider setting up a recurring gift of $50 or $100 a month to make an impact a little bit at a time. |
|
Adopt an intern through the Career Pathways Program
Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge interns make a huge impact for conservation at your national wildlife refuge complex. Most interns are college students involved with Biology, Conservation, or Environmental Studies programs. While gaining valuable work experience and assisting refuge staff with projects, refuge interns live and work at Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge. Internship opportunities are offered at Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge year-round as funds are available. While the refuge provides free housing for interns, they do not have funds available to pay them for their time. Friends of Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge provides living stipends for interns at a rate of $500 per week for a total of $6,500 per internship. The offer of free housing and a small living stipend while learning about conservation is a huge draw for students across the country. The Friends strives to help interns after they have left our program by helping graduates to network with others in the conservation fields and successfully land their dream jobs. |
|
Sponsor a field trip.
Teaching children about the environment and why we should value it is a major goal at Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge. The Refuge currently brings environmental education programs to about 4,500 students per year from surrounding counties. Unfortunately, many students are missed because their schools just don’t have money for field trips. Each year, Friends of Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge (FONWR) provides $2,500 towards the cost of transportation grants. There is need for a total of 15 transportation grants per year. Please help us teach our next generation to value our environment and how to protect it. Help us teach them to become good stewards of the earth. Please consider sponsoring the visit of one or more classes each year for $250 each. Together, we can make a difference. Want to help, but not ready to make the $250 contribution? Use the custom amount of $4.81 and set the frequency to "weekly" to make an impact a little bit at a time.
|
|
Sponsor a live wildlife camera.
Friends of Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge's two streaming wildlife cameras give a live look into an active barn owl nest, and the shoreline of Cedar Point National Wildlife Refuge, the largest stretch of undeveloped shoreline on the U.S. Great Lakes. The cameras provide a way to view remote wildlife and scenery of the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge Complex while helping to maintain the integrity of this unique habitat. You can help to keep these cameras running! Your support as a Cam Keeper helps Friends of Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge cover the cost of the live streaming subscription service, maintaining and protecting the refuge, and running and maintaining the equipment that is necessary to make this up close and personal view of nature a reality. |
|
IRA: Qualified Charitable Distributions
If you are 73 or older you are required by law to take annual required minimum distributions from your Individual Retirement Account (IRA). When you make an a direct gift from your account to Friends of Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge, the amount you give counts towards the minimum you must take and can provide you with significant tax savings. Even though Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) don’t start until 73, direct donations from your IRA or IRA rollover are allowed starting at age 70½. You can give up to $100,000 per year this way, regardless of RMDs. This earned income is never taxed because it goes directly to the nonprofit. This makes it a smart way to give. 1. Direct the administrator of your IRA account to send a specific amount as a charitable gift to the Friends of Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge. They will need to know our full name (Friends of Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge), address (14000 W. State Route 2, Oak Harbor, OH 43449) and EIN # (34-1904821). 2. The administrator will send a check to Friends of Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge. 3. Let us know that we will be receiving a check to make sure that we can properly thank you! |
|
Stock, Bond, or Mutual Fund Donations
Donating appreciated stocks, bonds or mutual funds is quick, simple and may provide you with tax benefits. Direct your broker or mutual fund company to transfer a specific number of shares of a particular stock or mutual fund you own. Here is the information you will need: 1. Issue the gift in the name of Friends of Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge. 2. Please include your name on the delivery instructions to ensure proper crediting and let us know what you are transferring. 3. Send the gift to the following broker: LPL Financial, Contact: Mike Kelso DTC #: 0075 FONWR Acct #: 7692-9918 Federal ID #: 34-1904821 Phone: 419-704-4789 Email: [email protected] For more information, please contact Aimee Arent, Executive Director at [email protected] or 419-707-7756. |
|
Donor Advised Fund
You may also donate online through your donor advised fund. If you have a donor advised fund, DAF Direct enables you to recommend grants to this nonprofit directly from your fund (as long as your DAF's sponsoring organization is participating). Not familiar with donor advised funds (DAFs)? A DAF is like a charitable investment account for the sole purpose of supporting charitable organizations you care about. When you contribute cash, securities, or other assets to a donor-advised fund at a public charity, like Schwab, Fidelity, or a local community foundation, you are generally eligible to take an immediate tax deduction. Those funds are then invested for tax-free growth, and you can recommend grants to any eligible IRS-qualified public charity. Once set up, recommending a grant to a charity is often as easy as a phone call to your account holder, or even a few clicks online. Be sure to let us know to watch for a check from your account holder so that we can properly thank you for your support! |
|
Endowment Fund
Friends of Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge has an endowment set up with the Greater Toledo Community Foundation. The Friends of Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge Endowment Fund is money set aside to earn revenue to fund priority refuge projects, forever. The principal value of the endowment fund is kept intact, while the investment earnings can be used to support our conservation mission. Our endowment fund allows donors to support the refuge in perpetuity. Donations can be made to our Endowment Fund on the Greater Toledo Community Foundation website or with a check. To learn more, please contact Executive Director Aimee Arent at [email protected] or 419-707-7756. |
|
Legacy Gifts
You've spent a lifetime supporting organizations and causes that reflect your values. So why not consider including an enduring purpose gift as part of your overall financial or estate plan? By making an enduring purpose gift to Friends of Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge, you create a legacy that protects a place you value for future generations. An enduring purpose gift gives you the opportunity to leave a lasting legacy - making the world a better place. It ultimately comes down to your values - to consideration of the legacy you leave behind from your time on this earth. It feels good to support things you care about. Your decision to do that - to give back - reflects an important value you pass on to future generations. We invite you to help ensure that the Refuge you love remains healthy and thrives. Help protect its natural habitats and the plants and animals that live there. Help teach more children about the environment and conservation. Help preserve the special place that is the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge Complex. |
Item Wish List |
Equipment Wish List |
Education and Interpretation:
|
Education and Interpretation:
|
Donations may also be made through PayPal.
