Hello, Marina, You've gotten good advice from others. I'd add one comment though. If this prospective donor has had you in their minds for so many years, are they someone who should be cultivated as a financial contributor? If so, I'd probably approach them with as much candor as possible, explain that the volume is more than you can deal with appropriately, and ask if you might select the items that you most need to add to your collections (based on your mission and collecting parameters) and return the rest. I found, in years of 'conundrum' situations of all kinds, that candor and a 'good will' approach was often the most beneficial in retaining a 'friend' of the museum. It often worked to explain that things are being done differently now than they were in the past for legal (or other logical) reasons. It's sort of a teaching moment. Then be super appreciative of their understanding and of the items that you take (if you do). Hopefully that will also deal with the question of 'dispatching' :-) -you'll explain that you would only accept what you intend to keep. (Then hope they don't balk at signing your gift agreement which probably has a clause about that.) Good luck. Lucy Sperlin, retired > On 05/12/2021 10:04 AM Marina Loew <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > > > 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 > > > > --------------------------------------------- > > To unsubscribe from the MUSEUM-L list, click the following link: > https://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).