Hello museum colleagues!

 

I'm reaching out in the hopes that someone could give me advice on an
unwanted donation problem we're having. 

 

A fairly large collection was shipped to us without any kind of Deed of Gift
or paperwork of any kind. I was never contacted or notified that we'd be
receiving it, so it was quite a surprise to all of us when it arrived. I
reached out to the donor and told them that we don't have the space or
resources to accept this collection and that it was not approved by the
Collections Committee/executive director/myself. I received no response, but
more boxes showed up (we are now up to 16!). I reached out again through
certified mail and finally got an answer. It turns out that way before I
arrived at the museum, the curator at the time sent a letter (which the
donor sent me a scan of) requesting this collection. So now, over 17 years
later, the donor sent it. They also wrote that they "do not grant [us] the
authority to "dispatch" with the collection".

 

So...we don't know where to go from here. Are we locked into having to
accept the donation? It wasn't an official Deed of Gift that was signed
(more like a letter of intent)...but is that irrelevant? Can we rescind the
request? The donor did say that we can deliver the boxes back, but that they
would not pay for shipping...I'm honestly very tempted to just drive it all
back myself.

 

As a new(ish) curator of a small upstate New York museum, I don't have
experience with this type of situation and want to make sure it's handled
correctly. Any help or recommendations will be greatly appreciated!

 

Marina Loew

Curator, Thousand Islands Arts Center ~ Home of the Handweaving Museum


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