WCS - Donating

We deeply appreciate and need your support throughout the year. Watson Children's Shelter is a private, 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization. Donations are tax deductible, and we are happy to provide you with a receipt for your gift. Donations may be mailed directly to Watson Children's Shelter at 2901 Fort Missoula Road, Missoula, Montana, 59804. If you have questions or are interested in supporting Watson Children's Shelter by making a donation, please call Fran Albrecht at (406) 549-0058 or send us a email. Thank you for helping us to brighten the lives of children in crisis.

Birthday and Holiday Fund: DONATE NOW
Help us create special holidays for the children in the Shelter and make birthday wishes come true throughout the year.

WCS Permanent Endowment Fund: DONATE NOW
Our endowment fund was created to ensure our future and our ability to provide essential services to children in crisis.

As Needed: DONATE NOW
Unspecified contributions are deeply appreciated and go wherever funds are needed most.

In Memory of: SEND A MEMORIAL
Honor the memory of a cherished friend or relative by giving a gift in their name. A letter acknowledging your thoughtfulness will be sent to the family member or person you select us to notify.

In Honor of: HONOR SOMEONE SPECIAL
Celebrate a birthday, holiday, birth of a child, anniversary, retirement or other special occasion by making a gift to Watson Children's Shelter in their name. A letter noting your gift will be sent to the person you are honoring.

Matching Funds from your Workplace: DONATE NOW
Many companies offer a matching funds program which effectively doubles your gift to Watson Children's Shelter. Ask your company if they have a matching gift program and if so, supply Watson Children's Shelter with your company’s form and we’ll do the rest.

Gifts of Needed Items
Caring for a household of 70 to 100 children annually requires a large quantity of supplies. If you’d like to help, please CLICK HERE for a list of typically needed items.

Gift certificates from department stores, Target, Shopko,Wal-Mart and Old Navy are an excellent way to ensure that we can provide appropriate clothing for every child who comes to the Shelter.

During the Christmas holiday season, the Missoulian lists our children’s holiday wish lists in the "We Care" section. We depend upon community support to help us fulfill special holiday wishes for every child in our care. Please feel free to contact us for updated lists of children’s needs during this time.

Activity Passes
Watson Children's Shelter operates a full time summer camp for the children in our care. We appreciate your help to give children wonderful experiences through gift passes for activities throughout the year, such as movies, Big Sky Water Slides, Splash Montana, Currents, Missoula Osprey Baseball games, Montana Grizzly Football and Basketball games, Missoula Children’s Theater productions, and other cultural experiences.

Sponsorship Opportunities
Watson Children's Shelter annually hosts an exciting fundraiser called Bike For Shelter. This event havs excellent sponsorship opportunities and depend upon the generosity of corporate sponsors and participants. If your corporation is interested in becoming a sponsor, please contact us for more information.

Legacy Montana
By leaving a legacy through a gift in your will, you can continue to help charities like Watson Children's Shelter make a difference in children's lives. It doesn't have to be thousands or millions of dollars. Even a small gift tells an organization that you are grateful for the work that they do.

Planned Giving
Have a discussion with your tax or legal advisor about ways to make a planned charitable gift to Watson Children's Shelter, a gift that requires consideration and planning in light of your overall estate plan. There are numerous planned giving vehicles and combinations that allow you to tailor-make your gift plan.

Planned gifts are usually deferred, meaning they are arranged now and fulfilled later. For example, a person could include a provision in his or her will to make a bequest to a charitable organization. That arrangement would be a "planned" gift.

Or, a person might establish a charitable trust that could provide income to the donor (or someone else) for a period of time (usually for life). After this gift-deferral period, the trust would "mature" and the remaining assets would go to one or more charities. This is called a charitable remainder trust.

Another kind of planning device allows a donor to place assets in a trust that pays out income to charity for a period of years. Then, when this trust "matures," whatever is left goes back to the donor or to someone else stipulated by the donor. This is called a charitable lead trust.

Another deferred gift instrument is the charitable gift annuity. This is popular with many donors because it represents a life-time contract between the donor and a charity, and because it is relatively simple to understand and establish. For example, a donor gives $25,000 to a charity and receives, in return, a set amount of money every year for the rest of his or her life. The donor also has the choice of naming someone else as the "annuitant," or person who receives the annuity payments.

Planned gifts usually include legal documents and often require the assistance of a qualified professional advisor to complete. Because of the size and potential impact of such gifts, a donor should consult with his or her professional advisors before completing the process.

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