Philip Watson

Philip A. Watson
Managing Director of Philanthropic Gift Planning at Children’s Mercy Kanas City, Missouri

11:00 Eat Alphabet Soup with Split-Interest Gifts [Troost Room]

Avoiding “split-interest” gifts is not particularly good for your best donors or for your long-range fundraising. While these techniques are not complicated and they should be a useful part of our gift planning toolbox, we know the “alphabet soup” just gets in our way! Charities like to talk about CRUTS, CRATS, NIMCRUTS, CGAS, and more. But, then we just take a pass on using them. Why? We want to take the easiest paths to a planned gift. And, that’s cash and bequests! It’s time for ALL of us to consider how these specialized planned gifts can set us apart from other fundraising shops and save money and taxes for our best donors! Come learn how you can take those first simple steps towards understanding “split-interest” gifts to have a big impact on your best donors and your charity’s fundraising success!

Learning Objectives:

  • Demystify “split interest” gifts
  • How charitable organizations can “test the water”

About Philip Watson: Phil is responsible for the management and leadership of the Gift Planning team at Children’s Mercy Kansas City as it builds and sustains a strong culture of gift planning for donors and friends in creating blended, tax-advantaged and financially meaningful gift plans to support children and families served by the hospital.

Phil has more than 35 years of experience in charitable gift planning, major gift fundraising, financial and estate planning, trust and investment administration and sales, and advancement and endowment administration. Before coming to Children’s Mercy, Phil served as Director of Planned Giving/Major Gifts at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and as Vice President for Advancement at Avila University and Associate Director of Planned Giving at the Kansas University Endowment Association. Phil has also provided trust and investment services through Midwest trust departments, including his role as Senior Vice President and Manager for BANK IV Kansas City.

Phil is a former President of the Mid-America Charitable Gift Planners. He is a former Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and holds Bachelor and Master degrees from the University of Kansas. Phil has provided fundraising consulting services regionally to charitable organizations and has presented programs at national and regional meetings and conferences for the Woodmark Summit and National Association of Charitable Gift Planners, which include the topics of the best ways to ask for major/planned gifts, identifying great gift planning prospects, creating collaborative work environments, strengthening donors’ financial plans through charitable giving, making gift planning easy, creating effective gift acceptance and counting policies, and how to pursue non-cash gifts for your organization.