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