Open Forum

I have become aware of donation works and collections that have no known donation record. I wanted to make sure that these donations are properly documented but do not know how to proceed. Is there a best practice method? A few donors I have spoken with said they would be willing to sign a statement or form regarding their donation. Does anyone know of a sample form that could be used with or without the donors assistance? Or have you experienced a similar situation or advice? 

Thank you!

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Carolyne Chronister
Art & Gallery Coordinator
Salt Lake Community College
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First, you indicate that some donors are willing to sign paperwork, meaning there is a known source of the object.  What is the nature of the existing paperwork identifying the donors?  In many if not most cases, undocumented objects are devoid of the paperwork needed to even begin the process.  For objects that you want to keep or dispose of, you can run a public notice in your local paper indicating that you are looking for the owners of "a number of undocumented objects" in your collection and are looking for the rightful owners.  You may get inundated with calls, but without actual proof that someone either loaned or donated an object, you have little fear of losing anything.  After a period of time, and I cannot recall the legal period, the items can be considered "abandoned property" and you may do with it what you will.  I have been through this process a couple of times and never had any serious problems.

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David Beard
Director
Museum of the Gulf Coast
Port Arthur TX

Original Message:
Sent: 03-11-2016 04:27 PM
From: Carolyne Chronister
Subject: Best Practice for Undocumented Gifts & Donations

I have become aware of donation works and collections that have no known donation record. I wanted to make sure that these donations are properly documented but do not know how to proceed. Is there a best practice method? A few donors I have spoken with said they would be willing to sign a statement or form regarding their donation. Does anyone know of a sample form that could be used with or without the donors assistance? Or have you experienced a similar situation or advice? 

Thank you!

------------------------------
Carolyne Chronister
Art & Gallery Coordinator
Salt Lake Community College
------------------------------

Hi David,

It is internal public knowledge who donated what. Some donations are recorded in the College's Banner system. Unfortunately Banner does not give any details about donation, only the value as a whole. In some situations I have found physical paperwork such as an email, letter, or asset report referencing a donation but not a deed of gift. In all cases, these are still current Donors and their donation cannot be disposed of.

Thanks,

------------------------------
Carolyne Chronister
Art & Gallery Coordinator
Salt Lake City UT

Original Message:
Sent: 03-14-2016 10:25 AM
From: David Beard
Subject: Best Practice for Undocumented Gifts & Donations

First, you indicate that some donors are willing to sign paperwork, meaning there is a known source of the object.  What is the nature of the existing paperwork identifying the donors?  In many if not most cases, undocumented objects are devoid of the paperwork needed to even begin the process.  For objects that you want to keep or dispose of, you can run a public notice in your local paper indicating that you are looking for the owners of "a number of undocumented objects" in your collection and are looking for the rightful owners.  You may get inundated with calls, but without actual proof that someone either loaned or donated an object, you have little fear of losing anything.  After a period of time, and I cannot recall the legal period, the items can be considered "abandoned property" and you may do with it what you will.  I have been through this process a couple of times and never had any serious problems.

------------------------------
David Beard
Director
Museum of the Gulf Coast
Port Arthur TX

Original Message------

I have become aware of donation works and collections that have no known donation record. I wanted to make sure that these donations are properly documented but do not know how to proceed. Is there a best practice method? A few donors I have spoken with said they would be willing to sign a statement or form regarding their donation. Does anyone know of a sample form that could be used with or without the donors assistance? Or have you experienced a similar situation or advice? 

Thank you!

------------------------------
Carolyne Chronister
Art & Gallery Coordinator
Salt Lake Community College
------------------------------

I have a similar problem to this original post and would love some feedback.  We have a substantial amount of items donated and loaned to our collection by a former staff member.  There is no paperwork associated to these items other than their name or address label affixed to the items.  I am told by our current staff (been on board here for three months) that this former staffer has removed all of the items that she wanted back and all that remain in our holdings are to be considered gifts.  Again, there is no documentation and the conversation is hearsay since no one on staff was part of the conversation where the former staffer said that all remaining items are a donation to the museum.  For political reasons and her long history of not documenting her own gifts to the museum, I feel that a Deed of Gift is too heavy handed for this individual.  I have heard about a confirmation of gift in which the donor affirms their gift to the institution.  Has anyone used one of these?  What do they look like?

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Nanci Gasiel
Historical Museum Director
Salvation Army Central Territory Museum
Hoffman Estates IL

Original Message:
Sent: 03-14-2016 12:43 PM
From: Dana Neitzel
Subject: Best Practice for Undocumented Gifts & Donations

I generally create a formal Deed of Gift and, in describing the artifact, note that it was received earlier (using a circa date if I'm not sure).  Once the Deed of Gift is signed by both parties, the item is accessioned into the current year's gifts-the date when the accession paperwork was actually processed.  Unfortunately, we don't always know the donor.  In those cases, I just assign a found in collection number and hope someday the mystery will be solved.

 

Hope this helps,

Dana

 

Dana Neitzel

Curator

San Mateo County Historical Association

2200 Broadway, Redwood City, CA 94063

Ph: 650.299.0104, ext. 230 | Fax: 650.299.0141

dana@historysmc.org | www.historysmc.org

 

      

          

Current changing exhibits at the History Museum:

Fighting the Bite (through April 2, 2016)

Experience the West:  Sunset Cover Art (April 5, 2016 through June 23, 2016)

Let's Play Ball (through September 4, 2016)

 

For items left at the museum (drop & leave) or found in the collection, when there is no donor identification or information, I complete our standard donation/deed of gift form.  For the donor, I simply put "Found at Museum".  I use the date in was "found" or "left" at the museum.  All available information is entered into Past Perfect with a notation in the comment file.  Then a paper copy file is made up.  These are the same steps used for donations/gifts when donor info is available.  You also might check your state's laws.  California has a specific sections in our Civil Code that are strictly for museums.

In addition to my listed position, I'm also responsible for our Collections Dept.

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Raymond Meyer
Safety & Security Manager
Aerospace Museum of California
McClellan CA

Original Message:
Sent: 03-11-2016 04:27 PM
From: Carolyne Chronister
Subject: Best Practice for Undocumented Gifts & Donations

I have become aware of donation works and collections that have no known donation record. I wanted to make sure that these donations are properly documented but do not know how to proceed. Is there a best practice method? A few donors I have spoken with said they would be willing to sign a statement or form regarding their donation. Does anyone know of a sample form that could be used with or without the donors assistance? Or have you experienced a similar situation or advice? 

Thank you!

------------------------------
Carolyne Chronister
Art & Gallery Coordinator
Salt Lake Community College
------------------------------

In Utah, it's the "Preserve Our Heritage Act."

http://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title9/Chapter8/9-8-P8.html?v=C9-8-P8_1800010118000101

If you know the donor, you can have them sign a Deed of Gift.

If the item was loaned (and you can't get the lender to sign a deed of gift) or you cannot get the donor to sign a deed, you can follow the procedure outlined in the state code. Unfortunately, in Utah that's only effective if you can show you've had the item for 25 years. (These acts in most states require 7 years.)

You can find information on a "confirmation of gift" in Marie Malaro's book, Legal Primer for Managing Museum Collections.

------------------------------
Linda Endersby
Director
Michigan Historical Museum
Lansing MI

Original Message:
Sent: 03-11-2016 04:27 PM
From: Carolyne Chronister
Subject: Best Practice for Undocumented Gifts & Donations

I have become aware of donation works and collections that have no known donation record. I wanted to make sure that these donations are properly documented but do not know how to proceed. Is there a best practice method? A few donors I have spoken with said they would be willing to sign a statement or form regarding their donation. Does anyone know of a sample form that could be used with or without the donors assistance? Or have you experienced a similar situation or advice? 

Thank you!

------------------------------
Carolyne Chronister
Art & Gallery Coordinator
Salt Lake Community College
------------------------------

Thank you all for your advice and references, it has given me a clearer idea of how to approach these donations.

------------------------------
Carolyne Chronister
Art & Gallery Coordinator
Salt Lake City UT

Original Message:
Sent: 03-15-2016 09:57 AM
From: Linda Endersby
Subject: Best Practice for Undocumented Gifts & Donations

In Utah, it's the "Preserve Our Heritage Act."

http://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title9/Chapter8/9-8-P8.html?v=C9-8-P8_1800010118000101

If you know the donor, you can have them sign a Deed of Gift.

If the item was loaned (and you can't get the lender to sign a deed of gift) or you cannot get the donor to sign a deed, you can follow the procedure outlined in the state code. Unfortunately, in Utah that's only effective if you can show you've had the item for 25 years. (These acts in most states require 7 years.)

You can find information on a "confirmation of gift" in Marie Malaro's book, Legal Primer for Managing Museum Collections.

------------------------------
Linda Endersby
Director
Michigan Historical Museum
Lansing MI