Biography
Phil Purcell has enjoyed a 40 year career in planned giving and as counsel to nonprofits. He currently serves as the Director of Planned Giving for the Central Territory of The Salvation Army. In this role, he is the directional leader of over thirty planned giving officers in eleven states who close $80-90 million in planned gifts each year. He has held leadership planned giving roles in public and private higher education, a hospital foundation, an international Catholic ministry, and a leading community foundation.
Professional Service. Phil has served as counsel on legal and fundraising matters to community foundations and all types of nonprofits throughout the U.S. for 40 years. He is a Senior Consultant for the Heaton Smith Group, a national legacy planning firm, for 15 years. He is Editor for Planned Giving Today, a monthly national publication, for six years, and is on the editorial board of Giving USA. Phil has written chapters and articles, and been interviewed for articles, appearing in the Planned Giving Design Center, The Journal of Gift Planning, CASE Currents, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Achieving Excellence in Fundraising, Charitable Gifts of Noncash Assets, and other publications. He has spoken at hundreds of national, local, and organizational conferences, seminars, and webinars over his career, including professional continuing education programs. Phil has served as counsel and expert witness in court cases involving nonprofit organizations and philanthropy.
Teaching Service. Phil has designed and teaches separate courses on the law of nonprofit organizations and the law of philanthropy for 21 years at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law. He has taught the planned gift fundraising course for the Fundraising School (TFRS) of the Lilly School of Philanthropy for 26 years, including design and annual updates of the course. Phil created the first online planned giving course for TFRS. He has designed and teaches a course on the law of nonprofit organizations for 15 years for the master’s degree program of the Indiana University Lilly School of Philanthropy, and he created the first online version for this course. Phil teaches for the American Institute of Philanthropic Studies Certified Specialist in Planned Giving at California State University Long Beach for six years.
Community Service. Phil is a licensed attorney and member of the American and Indiana State Bar Associations. He currently serves as Vice Chair of the American Bar Association’s Charitable Planning and Exempt Organizations Group (Real Property, Trust and Estate Section) and was a member of the Tax-Exempt Organization Advisory Council for the Internal Revenue Service (Great Lakes states). Phil is the current president of the board of directors of the American Council on Gift Annuities. Formerly he served on the board of directors of the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners (past secretary), Planned Giving Council of Indiana (past president), and Association of Fundraising Professionals Indiana (past president). He is a member and past chair of the Leadership Institute of the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners.
Education
Phil received his B.A. degree from Wabash College, M.P.A. degree from Indiana University O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, and J.D. degree from the Indiana University Maurer School of Law. He was a Truman Scholar and a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Pi Alpha Alpha.
Honors and Awards
Phil received the 2025 National Association of Charitable Gift Planners Hall of Fame induction, 2021 Gift Leader Award by Crescendo, and 2011 Fundraiser of the Year by the Association of Fundraising Professionals Indiana.