Support Your Library

Wright Memorial Public Library

The Library Foundation's Fundraising Role

Created in 1996, The Wright Memorial Public Library Foundation (Tax ID 31-6000701) raises funds exclusively for the purpose of advancing Wright Library’s goals, objectives, and priorities.  

As a component fund of The Dayton Foundation, gifts to the Wright Memorial Public Library Foundation are tax-deductible to the full extent allowed by law. The Dayton Foundation will send donors an email acknowledging their contribution for tax purposes. 

Learn more about the Library Foundation Board.

Ways to Give

The Wright Library Foundation Board secures three types of donations:

  1. Annual Campaign Gifts
  2. Legacy Gifts & the Wright Library Legacy Society
  3. Capital Gifts & Campaigns

All gifts from the community are vital to the library. Please contact the Library Director with any questions about your gift.


 

Annual Campaign slogan for 2023: Every time, everywhere, the library has something for everyone. Wright Memorial Public Library Foundation.

Annual Campaign Gifts

Donate now This link opens in a new tab New Window Icon. This icon indicates that the link will open in a new tab
at DaytonFoundation.org

Please use fund number #2540 for Wright Memorial Public Library Foundation (Tax ID 31-6000701)

Annual gifts help Wright Library offer collections and experiences that tax dollars alone would not allow. Generous donations to the 2023 Annual Campaign exceeded $70,000, surpassing the $50,000 campaign goal and making this the best annual fundraising campaign in Library Foundation history.

Gifts are welcome at any time during the year.

Unrestricted annual funds are allocated by the Foundation Board in response to the Library staff’s requests for high-impact programs, materials, and services that the Library’s modest operating budget could not otherwise fund. 

See some of the past projects your support has made possible!

Over the past 10 years, donors have generously contributed more than $350,000, with annual gifts ranging from $5 to $10,000. Donors may also choose to recognize or memorialize a loved one with a gift to the Library Foundation.

Thank you, 2023 Donors!


Donate by credit card

Credit card donations are accepted online through the Dayton Foundation, using fund number #2540.

Donate now This link opens in a new tabNew Window Icon. This icon indicates that the link will open in a new tabusing the Dayton Foundation's secure online donation form.

Donate by check

Please make your check payable to "Wright Library Foundation." Drop it off at the library or mail to:

Wright Memorial Public Library Foundation
1776 Far Hills Avenue
Oakwood, OH 45419

If you have questions about your gift, please contact the Library Director

Thank you for your Annual Campaign support!

[back to top]


 

Adult woman reads with child in library.

Legacy Giving & the Wright Library Legacy Society

While annual gifts are welcome and appreciated, legacy gifts are based on longer-term financial planning. Legacy gifts can be made during a donor’s lifetime or specified in a will or estate. Gifts can be of any size, and in most cases, the donor retains control of the assets during his or her lifetime and can change or cancel the gift at any time. Wright Library encourages all prospective donors to consult with a qualified professional when developing their financial plans.

Types of Legacy Gifts

Many financial arrangements can suit a donor’s personal needs and may also offer significant tax advantages. Below are some of the most common categories.  

  • One of the easiest ways to arrange a gift is by designating the Wright Memorial Public Library Foundation as a beneficiary to receive a portion or all of life insurance, bank accounts, or retirement accounts (often with tax benefits).
  • A bequest in your will may include, for example, cash, securities, personal property, or a percentage of your estate. See the sample bequest language provided.
  • Your attorney can establish a trust to transfer assets to the Wright Memorial Public Library Foundation now or at a later time.

Since moving into its current building in 1939, Wright Library has benefited immensely from planned gifts to support programs, materials, and facilities. Unrestricted gifts allow the library to build reserve funds and respond to changing needs and fluctuating state support. Restricted gifts are also welcome, provided they are consistent with the mission of Wright Memorial Public Library.

Contact the Wright Library Director, Kristi Hale, to arrange a confidential discussion of your giving plans and ways to make a legacy gift. Anyone can leave a meaningful legacy regardless of the dollar value.

All donations to the Wright Memorial Public Library Foundation are administered through The Dayton Foundation (Tax ID 31-6000701) and are tax-deductible to the full extent allowed by law.

Please direct legacy gifts to the Wright Library Legacy Fund #8939 at The Dayton Foundation, 1401 S. Main Street, Suite 100, Dayton, Ohio 45409.

For additional information on ways to make a wide variety of gifts, download the Legacy Fund fact sheet.

The Wright Library Legacy Society

In 2023, The Wright Library Legacy Society was established to encourage donors who wish to support the library’s mission by increasing the library’s long-range financial strength.

If you are considering, or have already planned, a legacy gift to Wright Library, please contact the Library Director, Kristi Hale, so that we may formally thank you and recognize you as a Wright Library Legacy Society member. 

Wright Library Legacy Society Benefits and Activities

Legacy Society members will receive invitations to special members-only programs focusing on estate planning and philanthropy. Members also will receive an annual update from the Library Director and the President of the Library Foundation Board. 

Once a legacy gift is documented in writing, donors are recognized on a Legacy Giving Honor Roll on the library’s website.  

Once a legacy gift is received by the library, donors are recognized in perpetuity on a prominent wall plaque in the library as well as on the library’s website. The Legacy Donor plaque will be dedicated in 2024 and updated annually.

[back to top]


 

Children's section at Wright Library

Capital Gifts & Campaigns

The Next Chapter Campaign

Thanks to the generosity of 126 private donors, the Next Chapter Campaign raised $1,536,050, exceeding its $1.5 million fundraising goal.

The Library Foundation Board works with the Library Director to secure funding for capital projects approved by the Library Board. Capital projects are planned and executed over several years. For projects of this scope, larger gifts may be pledged and paid throughout one to five years.

The Next Chapter Campaign, completed in 2021, generated funds that were used to reimagine and transform major portions of the library building into beautiful, state-of-the-art 21st-century spaces for children, teens, and library patrons.

Every gift, regardless of size, was an important show of support from people who cared about Wright Library and its mission.  

Capital gifts are welcome at any time. Please contact the Library Director with any questions about gifts and current priorities for capital projects.

[back to top]


 

Wright Library Book Pedalers logo

Other Ways to Support: Tour de Gem

Since 2020, the Wright Library Book Pedalers cycling team has ridden in Dayton's annual Tour de Gem fundraiser.

The team has raised several thousand dollars in support of the Wright Library Book Peddler, a "mobile library" bicycle that visits local schools, the Farmers Market, and community festivals. The current goal is to convert the bicycle to an e-powered bike, along with upgrading remote technologies used to check out books, look up library cards, and register new patrons. Donations are always welcome and can be made from the Wright Library Book Pedalers team page at any time. 

Follow the Library on Facebook or Instagram to see where the Book Peddler will be next!


Recent Projects Funded by Your Annual Campaign Gifts 

 

About the Foundation Board

The Wright Library Foundation Board meets at 5:30 PM the first Wednesday of every month. Meetings are open to the public.

Members of the Foundation Board, 2024

  • Mike Armstrong
  • Caitlin Benton, vice-president
  • Laura Berger
  • Wesley L. Boord
  • Annie Callaway Davis
  • Erin Farnsel - treasurer
  • Juliet Glaser - president
  • Michele Henne
  • Yusaku Kawai
  • Gary Mitchner
  • Julio Quintero - secretary
  • Steve Turek
  • Don Prizler - volunteer advisor

[back to top]