Bart Boeckman wants to inform Kingfisher area residents of an avenue to donate money to Kingfi sher Public Schools in a way to not only benefit the school district, but also to save significantly on taxes.

It’s always best to consult one’s tax preparer, Boeckman said, but he laid out an example: By making a two-year commitment of $2,677 per year, the State of Oklahoma offers a tax credit of $2,000, there is a federal deduction of $147 and another tax credit of $32 assuming the tax benefit at 4.75 percent.

That creates a net after- tax cost of $488 for the donation, according to a sample chart prepared by the Oklahoma Public Schools Resource Center (OPSRC).

Named the Catalyst Education Fund (CEF), the program is authorized through the Oklahoma Legislature, and allows up to $200,000 per year.

The Boeckman family has donated $120,000 over the past four years using the program.

Jenny Jasper, chief financial officer at the OPSRC, said 75 percent of tax credits may be received by a donor for a two-year pledge.

Both individuals and corporations are eligible to receive tax credits for donations, Jasper said.

As an example of donation credits for corporations, Jasper said that if $133,000 was pledged for a two-year commitment, $99,750 would be eligible for Oklahoma state tax credit, with federal deduction estimated at $7,315 and tax benefit deduction of $1,330 from the state, resulting in an after-tax cost of $24,605.

She said there are three steps to completing the donation process:

• Complete a pledge form, sent to jenny.jasper@ opsrc.net;

• Followed by the receipt of a pledge acknowledgement letter and an invoice from OPSRC upon receiving the pledge form;

• Then, once OPSRC receives the check for the donation, donors will receive a donation acknowledgement letter from OPSRC.

Jasper said the school designated will receive guidelines and information, followed by a completed application issued to the school for the grant agreement.

Once OPSRC receives the signed grant agreement, the money is paid to the designated school.

She said two-year pledges are eligible for 75 percent tax credits and oneyear pledges are eligible for 50 percent tax credits.

Jasper added that the tax credit program was initiated by the Legislature to allow individuals and businesses to make donations to public schools of their specific choice and receive income tax credit for the donation.

She said that she invited inquiries into the specifics of the program.