Thanks for your input, Erin.
Valarie
-----Original Message-----
From: Erin Richardson <[log in to unmask]>
To: MUSEUM-L <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tue, Dec 12, 2017 9:18 am
Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] Loan-to-Gift Question
Hi Valerie:
I would advise only considering acquisitions at the time the property is physically available for you to receive as a gift. Essentially, a promised gift is a loan. I would not enter into a "loan-to-gift" agreement. So many things can happen between the agreement initiation and the actual receipt of the property into the collection. Here are some scenarios:
1) you get in a disagreement wit the donor and they wish to pull their loan/gift
2) the museum is unable to care for/store/exhibit the item at the time it becomes available for accession (storage area full; storage area lost; major museum renovation; bankruptcy; change in mission; better items offered in the interim which are accepted rendering "promised" items redundant; information comes to light regarding provenance or authenticity which would make acceptance of gift inadvisable)
And, my personal pet peeve here, and ethical concern - are you essentially offering "free storage" to someone on the "promise" that the item will be made available to you at some future point?
I would keep this as simple as possible - retain the items on loan if they meet the provisions of your collection management policy for incoming loans. Record and document, with copy of will, contact information for donor's attorney, the donor's bequest intention. Renew the loan annually, or at an interval less than five years, to maintain contact with the lender/bequestor and attorney.
Also note that federal fractional gift regulations have changed. Fractional gifts, which are just a registration and collection management nightmare anyway, must now be completed within five years. It does not sound like a fractional gift, but your donor may propose something along these lines as an alternative to the loan-to-gift plan.
Also, become familiar with abandoned property and/or museum property laws in your state in case you lose contact with the property owner.
Erin.
On Mon, Dec 11, 2017 at 7:58 PM, Danielle Bennett <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
Hi Valerie,
This is called a promised gift or a promised bequest. You will want to do paperwork laying out the terms of the future gift. You will also want to work with the lender and donor to make sure that the gift is included in the donors will. You can also do a binding pledge. I suggest you look up promised gifts in Marie Malaro’s “A Legal Primer on Managing Museum Collections”.
Lastly, until the promised gift or bequest happens it is a loan so do your loan paperwork.
Danielle
On Dec 11, 2017, at 12:17 PM, Diane Hall <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
Hi Valerie,
None of the museums I have worked at have entered into loan-to-gift agreements. As you say, it’s not best practices and I would be extremely weary of entering into that kind of agreement.
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Valarie J. Kinkade
Sent: Monday, December 11, 2017 11:59 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] Loan-to-Gift Question
Thank you Brownwen for replying to my question. I am replying here in case others need clarification to my question. I am looking for loans that the museum and donor knowingly wanted to convert loan-to- gift at the loan's inception, as opposed to those that got converted later.
Valarie
-----Original Message-----
From: Bronwen Sanders <[log in to unmask]>
To: MUSEUM-L <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Mon, Dec 11, 2017 11:49 am
Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] Loan-to-Gift Question
Valerie,
When the Buggy Museum opened we had quite a few things that were on loan, everything from carriages to doilies. We have worked to convert a lot of those long term loans to gifts. But we still have long term loans, mostly vehicles. A few of those we have talked to the donor about them becoming gifts (eventually). If you want to talk specifics, contact me off list.
Bronwen Anderson-Sanders
Mifflinburg Buggy Museum
[log in to unmask]
On Mon, Dec 11, 2017 at 9:47 AM, Valarie J. Kinkade <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
Has your museum ever entered into a loan-to-gift agreement? A loan-to-gift in this case is a loan where the agreement indicates that the loan will become a gift to the museum at some date in the future or upon the passing of the donor? Second Part of my question: Has your museum ever taken a loan-to-gift in which the loaned collection is housed and used at the museum, but the donor retains the right to remove items during their lifetime, with the loan becoming a gift at the time of the donor’s passing? I am aware that this scenario is not a best practice, but would like to know if others have done it. I am only looking to compile statistics. Replies will be treated anonymously. Thanks for your help.
=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:
The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).
If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).
--
Bronwen Anderson-Sanders, Executive Director
Mifflinburg Buggy Museum
598 Green Street, Mifflinburg, PA 17844
570-966-1355
www.buggymuseum.org
Get on the PATH - Preserve American Transportation History
To unsubscribe from the MUSEUM-L list, click the following link:
http://home.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa-HOME.exe?SUBED1=MUSEUM-L&A=1
To unsubscribe from the MUSEUM-L list, click the following link:
http://home.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa-HOME.exe?SUBED1=MUSEUM-L&A=1
To unsubscribe from the MUSEUM-L list, click the following link:
http://home.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa-HOME.exe?SUBED1=MUSEUM-L&A=1
To unsubscribe from the MUSEUM-L list, click the following link:
http://home.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa-HOME.exe?SUBED1=MUSEUM-L&A=1
--
Erin Elizabeth Richardson
To unsubscribe from the MUSEUM-L list, click the following link:
http://home.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa-HOME.exe?SUBED1=MUSEUM-L&A=1
=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:
The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).
If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).
|
