From this C-Corp I get fringe benefit pre tax and can decide to take a salary and/or contribute to retirements accounts.

That means you can't really force appreciation, which tells me you are basically tying up your money for a slow equity leak that you have to contribute to. 

How do you think you contribute and help others in this industry? 

I also hope to contribute in a positive way and give back as so many others on here have done and continue to do.

How much should I be contributing?

I'm looking to connect with local investors to share ideas, talk about strategies, learn from and contribute to discussions that help people find success in this endeavor.  

Have a roommate that contributes about a $1k a month.

Contributions into and distributions out of an entity are not generally taxable. 

@Jerry W. thank you for contributing to the forum.

For example, in Arizona, they only publicly list owners who own 20% or more.Texas is similar.Other states have much greater privacy.However, there's more to many operating agreements than just the ownership percentages.In some deals, there can be waterfall provisions, overrides, preferred payments, sweat equity provisions, how much money was contributed to the deal and more.Quite simply, this information is none of the Seller's business, and the only reason the title company needs to know it is to verify that the parties signing on behalf of the Buyer are authorized to do so and that they're acting in compliance with their governing documents.Just try asking the Seller for a copy of their operating agreement and watch them resist, all for the same reasons.In 27+ years, I don't think I've ever had to give a copy of the operating agreement to parties on the other side of the deal.