MARK DEBIASE
PRESIDENT
Management: Mark DeBiase, President

Mark received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering Physics from the Colorado School of Mines and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame. At Ford Motor Company, he was responsible for financial analysis at six Transmission & Chassis Division factories. Before joining PhilanthroCorp, he was responsible for all aspects of Plummer Precision Optics in Singapore. Mark joined PhilanthroCorp in 1999, after being introduced by a friend who worked with PhilanthroCorp while selling his business. This friend impressed upon Mark the importance of this work then challenged him "to do something more meaningful with the rest of your life than build widgets." Mark responded to this challenge and remains passionate about this work and its Kingdom impact. He resides in Colorado Springs, Colorado with his wife, Catherine, and sons, CJ and Lucas.

DAVE KEESLING
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT
Management: Dave Keesling, Executive Vice President

Following ten years as Director of Development for Project Concern International (1969-1979), Dave was appointed to begin the planned giving program for the Young Life Foundation. While serving at Young Life for six years, Dave pioneered the concept of outsourcing planned giving as a way of enhancing donor confidence in the planned giving communications process. As a result, Dave founded Estate Design Inc. in 1993 with the goal of providing independent, confidential, charitable planning assistance for a broad range of Christian non-profit organizations and families. While still giving leadership to Estate Design, Dave also served as (volunteer) President of WaterStone from 1993 to 1996 to help smooth its relocation to the Colorado Springs area. WaterStone is the nation’s oldest Christian Community Foundation. While there, Dave pioneered the use of a legal audit to analyze and improve the financial accountability of the organization, assuring full compliance with all legal and accounting requirements of the I.R.S. In 1997, he merged Estate Design with PhilanthroCorp to form America’s premiere planned giving outsource company. PhilanthroCorp’s 100+ client ministries include churches, para-church and Christian educational ministries of all sizes throughout the country. PhilanthroCorp has also developed the first and most extensive online planned giving service for ministries that want to communicate planned giving effectively to their donors, including an online process for donors to complete planned gifts in complete privacy. PhilanthroCorp has generated more than $4 billion in confirmed gift commitments for their client ministries, yielding a 40:1 Return on Investment (ROI) for clients across the board. Dave’s undergraduate work at the University of Kansas emphasized Political Science and International Relations. He has taught extensively in settings across the country in venues such as Christian Leadership Alliance as well as countless continuing education seminars for the legal, accounting and financial planning professions. He also speaks extensively at donor events for client ministries around the country.

TARA IRONS
VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKETING & CLIENT RELATIONS
Management: Tara Irons, Vice President of Marketing & Client Relations

Tara Irons has been a part of the PhilanthroCorp team since July, 2001. As the Vice President of Marketing and Client Relations, Tara oversees relationships with ministry clients including reporting and developing communication plans. She also assists with creating marketing materials. Tara is a Colorado Springs native and enjoys all the activities the community has to offer.

RON BECK
VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKETING
Management: Ron Beck, Vice President of Marketing

Ron is a native of Louisville, KY and now resides in Bowling Green, KY. His education includes a bachelor’s degree from Western Kentucky University and a master’s degree from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. His professional experience includes over 28 years in various administrative roles at Western Kentucky University. For over 13 years, he worked in Institutional Advancement at WKU where he retired as Director of Planned Giving in 1999. Since then, he has been involved in financial planning and the formation of several businesses. He has worked in sales and marketing and consulting for the past eleven years at PhilanthroCorp and now serves as a Vice President. He has been active in Eastwood Baptist Church, serving in various leadership roles, including teaching adult Bible study for over 40 years. His family includes his wife Bonnie, two children and seven grandchildren.

DAVID CLIPPARD
REGIONAL DIRECTOR
Management: David Clippard, Regional Director

Dr. David E. Clippard has been as an ordained Southern Baptist (SBC) minister for over 40 years and has served churches in Texas, Oklahoma, Florida and Virginia. He served as V.P. North America for Evangelism Explosion, International and served for 17 years on its Board of Directors. He has held many roles in the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) and has served as staff on SBC state conventions of Oklahoma and Missouri. Most recently, David served as Associate Vice President of the International Mission Board in Richmond, VA, leading the Development Team.

LARRY REESOR
REGIONAL DIRECTOR
Management: Larry Reesor, Regional Director

Larry’s burden and passion for PhilanthroCorp was born out of his desire to serve the people he pastored over 45 years ago. He couldn’t find anyone to help his members with their estate planning from a Biblical perspective. His burden lay dormant for all these years. He is so grateful to be on the PhilanthroCorp team fulfilling a burden of over 45 years.

Larry Reesor is the Founder of Global Focus, a local church mobilization ministry with chapters in over forty countries. His 56-year ministry has been highlighted by his vision and involvement in global evangelization.

After graduation from seminary, Larry embarked on a varied ministry in evangelism, the pastorate and missions. A gifted speaker, he has had many opportunities to proclaim the gospel in North America and around the world.

His pastoral experience, coupled with his evangelistic and missions ministry, has uniquely prepared him for understanding and working with pastors and local churches both domestically and internationally.

He has traveled extensively to the mission fields of the world, motivating and mobilizing pastors and churches to greater missions vision and involvement. As a senior pastor, he led his churches to more expanded roles in global evangelization. He is committed to seeing local churches empowered for greater local and global impact and to give the members the opportunity to plan their estates from a Biblical perspective.

Larry has led Global Focus to partnerships with the Southern Baptist International and North American Mission Boards, Operation Mobilization and many other denominations and missionary organizations domestically and internationally. Global Focus has chapters in over 40 countries and is presently engaged in a very rapid international expansion.

Larry graduated from College and Seminary at Tennessee Temple University in Chattanooga, Tennessee and received the Doctor of Divinity degree from TTU. In 2008, he was honored with the Roberson/Faulkner Leadership Award by his alma mater. He and his wife, Sharon, live in Acworth, Georgia. They have one son, Landon, who is a church planter in the New York City area (Encounter Church). Landon and his wife, Cristy, have six children: Lauren, Lawson, Layton, Logan, Lia and Lili (Lia and Lili were adopted from China).

DOUG RIPLEY
REGIONAL DIRECTOR
Management: Doug Ripley, Regional Director

Doug began preaching at age 17, about two months after he was saved. He preached all through his college years and became a pastor at age 21. He pastored his first church in Tennessee for 12 years. He pastored his second church in Alabama for 35 years. During his last year-and-a-half in Alabama, the church partnered with The Baptist Foundation of Alabama and PhilanthroCorp to raise $3.7 million in legacy giving. Introducing the Body of Christ to legacy planning is his passion.

JOHN RUSSELL
REGIONAL DIRECTOR & ESTATE SPECIALIST
Management: John Russell, Regional Director & Estate Specialist

John has served in the local church most of his adult life as an Executive Pastor, Senior Pastor, Pastor of Global Outreach and Senior Adults, Pastor of Singles as well as Evangelism and Discipleship. John has served in local churches in Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Tennessee and Florida.

John also served as Vice President of North America for Global Focus in Acworth, Georgia. John served at the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention in the Development Office. His area covered 17 states. John has also served as a Trustee for the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention from 2000 through 2008. During his last two years of service, he was elected as First Vice Chairman of Trustees for the International Mission Board. He also served as President of the Global Reach Foundation, a church planting partner with First Baptist Church of Lakeland.

A native of Bessemer, Alabama, John attended Troy State University and Samford University and is a 1983 graduate of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. John is married to the former Marianne Gaston of Selma, Alabama. They have three children: Tray, married to Whitney; Shay, married to Jason Hamrick and Wade, married to Kailee. John and Marianne have seven grandchildren.

BRYON SWANSON
REGIONAL DIRECTOR & ESTATE SPECIALIST
Management: Bryon Swanson, Regional Director & Estate Specialist

Bryon Swanson has spent more than 20 years helping individuals turn their stewardship hopes, dreams, and responsibilities into meaningful, practical plans. A seasoned leader in Christian nonprofit work, he brings deep experience and creative insight to gift planning strategies that strengthen relationships between churches, ministries, and their communities—building lasting partnerships and transforming supporters into fully engaged stakeholders.

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PhilanthroCorp serves churches, universities and other charitable organizations by providing their constituents with a unique estate planning service, from a Biblical world-view. Our clients can offer our confidential planning services to their supporters. Our expert advice and guidance is a great service, that produces both gratitude from these supporters and significant gifts to our clients. For our clients, we are trusted partners that provide a customized approach, generating consistent, measurable, and significant results.
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Harvesting Resources

Here is what we know about estate planning
When you take a committed giver through our personalized estate planning process, generosity is natural. The scale of estate giving is remarkable when individuals see how to give through assets, not just cash.

ONLY 1 OF 40 INDIVIDUALS HAD CHARITY IN THEIR ESTATE PLANNING BEFORE MEETING WITH US

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ONLY 1 OF 40 INDIVIDUALS HAD CHARITY IN THEIR ESTATE PLANNING BEFORE MEETING WITH US

This unique opportunity is frequently overlooked for Kingdom causes by most people, but it is now a viable and powerful reality. After working with PhilanthroCorp, 39 of 40 individuals include charity in their estate documents.

As good stewards of the resources invested in our work, PhilanthroCorp brings great insights, accountability and measurements to this effort.

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Why Choose PhilanthroCorp?

Below is a sampling of some of our results

Return on Investment (ROI)
Company Start Date Committed ROI
Houston’s First Baptist ChurchSep. 2012$58,130,08148:1
John Brown UniversityAug. 2014$15,633,52242:1
Word of Life FellowshipDec. 2009$80,845,16347:1

Our Services

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Between 1998 and 2052, $41 trillion will be transferred through settled estates. Partnering with PhilanthroCorp will allow your organization to harvest significant testamentary gifts while strengthening relationships with supporters by providing them a service they will greatly appreciate.

The PhilanthroCorp estate planning services are customized to meet each client’s unique needs and opportunities; however, the following components are central to our relationship with you.

Our Process

  • With Our Clients
  • With Your Supporters
  • With Our Clients
  • With Your Supporters
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Our clients hire us to provide a valuable service to their supporters and secure remarkable legacy gift designations in the process. Our services are customized for each client's circumstances and needs. Some of our clients have sophisticated programs in place, while others have no expertise in planned giving. When existing efforts are already in place, we seek to expand the reach while complementing and developing synergies with these efforts.

Our work with all clients starts with a planning meeting to develop ways to communicate our services to our clients’ supporters. We provide a wide array of techniques to accomplish this and the creativity and flexibility to apply these techniques to the specific circumstances of each client.

While the strategy adopted can take many different forms and new techniques are constantly being developed, there are generally three common threads to all of this work.

Number one

We find ways to communicate our services to our clients’ most committed givers.

Number two

When these individuals ask for help, we serve them well. Impactful gifts and gratitude are the natural outcome. Many become advocates, providing stories and testimonials encouraging and often directly referring others.

Number three

We help our clients communicate these stories, our assistance and the concept of a legacy gift to promote awareness of this important opportunity.

Number one

We find ways to communicate our services to our clients’ most committed givers.

Number two

When these individuals ask for help, we serve them well. Impactful gifts and gratitude are the natural outcome. Many become advocates, providing stories and testimonials encouraging and often directly referring others.

Number three

We help our clients communicate these stories, our assistance, and the concept of a legacy gift to promote awareness of this important opportunity.

Communication with Client during Casework Process with Supporters

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As we work with our clients’ supporters and take them through the estate planning process, we serve as an extension of our client. There is no fee for our services to the supporter. Our fee is paid by our client, and supporters understand and appreciate that our services are provided as a gift to them.

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Because we want our clients to be well apprised of our work with their supporters, we communicate on a monthly basis regarding our progress. We encourage our clients to check in with any of these individuals regarding our service to make sure they have been well-served.

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A monthly case-in-progress report is developed for our clients showing next steps, last results, expected gifts, completed gifts and ROI to date for all estate planning assistance provided for their supporters. This communication is even more extensive whenever the donor is referred by field staff. In these cases, our estate specialist e-mails the field staff after each conversation with the individual so they are always up to date on our work with their referral.

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As we finish work with each family, we will, with their permission, send a report detailing the estate gift. The report quantifies the total amount being given to charity and specifically to our client. We ask that our clients thank each supporter for their gift and cultivate the relationship as their investment in the ministry has been significantly enhanced.

As we work with our clients’ supporters and take them through the estate planning process, we serve as an extension of our client. There is no fee for our services to the supporter. Our fee is paid by our client, and supporters understand and appreciate that our services are provided as a gift to them.

Because we want our clients to be well apprised of our work with their supporters, we communicate on a monthly basis regarding our progress. We encourage our clients to check in with any of these individuals regarding our service to make sure they are well served.

A monthly case-in-progress report is developed for our clients showing next steps, last results, expected gifts, completed gifts, and ROI to date for all estate planning assistance provided for their supporters. This communication is even more extensive whenever the donor is referred by field staff. In these cases, our estate specialist e-mails the field staff after each conversation with the individual so they are always up to date on our work with their referral.

As we finish work with each family, we will, with their permission, send a report detailing the estate gift and quantifying the total amount to charity and specifically to our client. We ask that our clients thank each supporter for their gift and cultivate the relationship as their investment in the ministry has been significantly enhanced.

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Our team of professionals guides your supporters through an easy process as described in this short video and briefly summarized below.

Step-by-Step

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To begin the estate planning process, our scheduling team will connect with your supporter to schedule a telephone appointment with one of our estate specialists.

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The first meeting, which takes 30 to 40 minutes, focuses mainly on gathering information and understanding your supporter's personal goals.

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Immediately after the initial appointment, we will send the supporter a summary of the information gathered along with a document entitled, “Biblical Perspectives of Estate Planning.” We then develop a preliminary estate design proposal that becomes the primary focus of the next phone meeting.

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At this juncture, we will connect with an attorney to move into the drafting phase. We are able to introduce your supporter, over the telephone, to an attorney in our network who will draft their documents at a reduced rate. If they already have a relationship with an attorney, we are happy to work together to complete their estate plan.

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The estate specialist will continue to work with your supporter until the proposal is finalized and all of their goals have been met. Upon completion, we send them a binder for their documents and our final estate design proposal. This binder also contains a very helpful booklet entitled "Memo to Loved Ones" which we will review with them.

To begin the estate planning process, our Scheduling Team will connect with your supporter to schedule a telephone appointment with one of our Estate Specialists.

The first meeting, which takes 30 to 40 minutes, focuses mainly on gathering information and understanding your supporter's personal goals.

Immediately after the initial appointment, we will send a summary of the information gathered along with a document entitled, “Biblical Perspectives of Estate Planning.” We then develop a preliminary estate design proposal that becomes the primary focus of the next phone meeting.

At this juncture, we will connect with an attorney to move into the drafting phase. We are able to introduce your supporter, over the telephone, to an attorney in our network that will draft their documents at a reduced rate. If they already have a relationship with an attorney, we are happy to work together to complete their estate plan.

The Estate Specialist will continue to work with your supporter until the proposal is finalized and all of their goals have been met. Upon completion, we send them a binder for their documents and our final estate design proposal. This binder also contains a very helpful booklet entitled "Memo to Loved Ones" which we will review with them.

About PhilanthroCorp

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Management Team

PhilanthroCorp consists of some of the best and most knowledgeable people in our industry, all who love the Lord and have a passion for furthering His Kingdom. Click on any photo below for a detailed biography.

Management: Mark DeBiase, President
Mark DeBiase

President

Management: Dave Keesling, Executive Vice President
Dave Keesling

Executive Vice President

Management: Tara Irons, Vice President of Marketing & Client Relations
Tara Irons

Vice President of Marketing & Client Relations

Management: Ron Beck, Vice President of Marketing
Ron Beck

Vice President of Marketing

Management: David Clippard, Regional Director
David Clippard

Regional Director

Management: Larry Reesor, Regional Director
Larry Reesor

Regional Director

Management: Doug Ripley, Regional Director
Doug Ripley

Regional Director

Management: John Russell, Regional Director & Estate Specialist
John Russell

Regional Director & Estate Specialist

Management: Bryon Swanson, Regional Director & Estate Specialist
Bryon Swanson

Regional Director & Estate Specialist

Staff

Abeyta, Donna
Client Relations/Scheduler
Bartha, Jonathan
Estate Specialist
Bunker, Beverly
Estate Specialist Assistant
Garlick, Olivia
Admin/Accounting Assistant
Gibson, Cindy
Accounting/Office Manager/Systems
Gibson, James
Software Developer/IT
Higbee, Rachel
Client Relations/Scheduler
Joy, Rosalie
Client Relations/Scheduler
Lamson, Avery
Client Relations/Scheduler
Nelson, Vicki
Executive Assistant
Perry, Gianna
Administrative Assistant
Poe, Matt
Estate Specialist
Reinhhardt, Jason
Estate Specialist
Scott, LaNell
Estate Specialist
Stanford, Roy
Estate Specialist
Swanson, Bev
Donor Relations/Estate Specialist
Wylie, Susan
Client Relations/Scheduling Team Supervisor
Zadurowicz, Alyson
Client Relations Manager

What People Are Saying About PhilanthroCorp

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Client Testimonials

"I would highly recommend PhilanthroCorp to you. Whether you have a planned giving officer on your staff or are planning to launch a planned giving initiative, PhilanthroCorp is an effective planned giving partner."

 

Randy Pittman, Vice President University Advancement

Samford University, Birmingham, AL

"Word of Life has used the estate planning services offered by PhilanthroCorp since 2009. We have been very pleased with the conscientious, caring, patient, professional services our donors have received. Their services have received numerous accolades from our donors. The results in estate distributions coming to Word of Life have been dramatic. We recommend them without reservation."

 

Bob Brown, Senior Vice President of Finance Administration

Word of Life Foundation, Schroon Lake, NY

"Houston’s First Baptist Church has been affiliated with PhilanthroCorp since September of 2012. Within this relationship, thousands of interactions have occurred between our members and their consultants resulting in millions of dollars being stewarded to God’s kingdom. While I’ve received numerous positive comments about the value of the consultations, I’ve not received a single complaint. In this day and age, that is remarkable."

 

David Self, Executive Pastor

Houston's First Baptist Church, Houston, TX

"Our church, Highland Colony Baptist Church, has partnered with PhilanthroCorp, a Christian company specializing in wills and estate planning. They provide Biblically-based estate planning assistance that is a valuable service to our members and a huge blessing to our church. HCBC has been designated to receive estate gifts exceeding $8.6 million! This partnership has proven to be one of the best decisions I’ve led our church to make in my almost 17 years as their pastor."

 

Jay Richardson, Senior Pastor

Highland Colony Baptist Church, Ridgeland, MS

"The professionals at PhilanthroCorp serve our donors like they are part of our planned giving team. They provide a great opportunity for alumni and friends of John Brown University to receive assistance with a variety of estate planning needs. Their work is very professional, high quality and represents us extremely well."

 

Jim Krall, VP of University Advancement

John Brown University, Siloam Springs, AR

"I’ve learned that I can completely trust PhilanthroCorp to work in God-honoring ways with any of our donors. Their care, expertise, prayerfulness, and eternal focus is a gift to Kingdom work. They have helped us receive transformational gifts that would have been impossible without them."

 

Dr. Roger Parrott, President

Belhaven University

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Previous

Supporter Testimonials

"Esperanza and I believed it was God’s plan to have our estate plan in check so our children would be protected no matter what happens. Everyone at PhilanthroCorp was so friendly and walked us through every matter with high knowledge and professionalism. It all went over very smoothly and there were never any issues."

 

Jesus and Esperanza Alfonso

supporters of First Choice Women's Resource Centers

"Prior to working with PhilanthroCorp, we had no knowledge about estate planning. We had never created wills before, and while we always knew this was something we needed to do, we didn’t know where to start. We’re so grateful that Converge MidAmerica connected us to the ministry of PhilanthroCorp. We had a great experience working with their team of experts. They walked us through the process with ease, and they have an excellent system to keep you organized. We would highly recommend others to take advantage of this amazing service."

 

Charley and Heather

supporters of Converge MidAmerica

"We had Wills prepared a while ago but our family has since grown and we knew we needed to update what we had in place. We were introduced to the team and PhilanthroCorp and we were pleasantly surprised how friendly and helpful it was to work with them. They walked right alongside us as we worked through each part of our document preparation. There were times when only one of us could be on the call and that was just fine. That sure helped the process keep moving. We had time to think about questions between appointments and had good discussion on each call. It was good to remember the Lord’s work through our planning. This process was well worth the time and money invested."

 

James and Marjorie

supporter of Desiring God

"The biggest barrier that prevented me from completing my estate plan was lack of knowledge regarding the time and money that goes into it. Fortunately, the opportunity presented itself where I could learn more information about the process through my church. From beginning to end, PhilanthroCorp provided a sense of patience that was shown at great lengths and I never felt pressured or lost. They are a wonderful company and I am so glad I utilized their excellent services."

 

Dawn

supporter of Westside Church

"I was reminded of life’s uncertainty and every day is a gift upon the death of a dear friend who got in an automobile accident. After this happened, I discussed with my wife, Laurie, how important it is to have a set plan in place. We are only getting older so it was best we protect ourselves and look out for our loved ones. PhilanthroCorp did a phenomenal job for Laurie and I and remained incredibly knowledgeable on all topics regarding estate planning. We were very pleased."

 

Stephen and Laurie

supporters of First Baptist Church - Jacksonville

"This was an enjoyable process to go through! If you haven’t done your estate planning, you need to do it. It represents a gift of love to others. All the staff at PhilanthroCorp were helpful, pleasant and kind. They were what kept us motivated to finish this project. We have a feeling of security knowing our family will be taken care of, along with charities we want to bless, through our estate planning documents. This was a great investment of our time, and we highly recommend it to others."

 

Larry and Gina

supporters of Temple Baptist Church

"We were delighted to have the opportunity to work with PhilanthroCorp. The wills package that they put together with the attorney was very impressive. Their team was great to work with, and we appreciated how they kept us on track and moving forward. We are pleased and thankful for the final product that we received, and we would most definitely recommend their expert services to others."

 

Carl and Katie

supporters of Baptist Foundation of South Carolina

"We knew we needed help with our legacy planning, but we didn’t know where to go. When we received an invitation from Belhaven to utilize their will and estate planning services from PhilanthroCorp, we decided to give it a try. We are so thankful that we did! We learned a lot about reducing taxes on our estate, and created a plan that supports our family and the Lord’s work. PhilanthroCorp provided us a nice binder to organize our documents, which will be helpful to our family. The process is easy, and we would highly recommend this service to others."

 

Randy and Ruth

supporters of Belhaven University

"Many years ago, we created wills. They were in desperate need of updating. We were thankful to have the opportunity to work with PhilanthroCorp to do more estate planning than basic wills. Our experience was wonderful! PhilanthroCorp’s team was attentive and helpful. We learned a great deal as we talked through each step of the wills package. They helped us understand complexities and set up trusts, which we always thought would be difficult. They were delightful to work with, and we would recommend highly to others their services. The value of the service we received was outstanding!"

 

Jim and Deanna

supporters of Calvary Church

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Contact PhilanthroCorp

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Address

111 South Tejon Street, Suite 520

Colorado Springs, Colorado 80903

Phone

800-876-7958

Fax

719‍-955-2140

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