At 11:05 AM 10/08/2003 -0400, Bonni-Dara Michaels wrote:
>Our new fundraiser tells me that she will not solicit funds to purchase or
>conserve works of art, nor will she solicit donations of artworks, unless
>she can guarantee the donor that the work will be exhibited within a year.


And WHERE did your development officer work previously?  Some place where
fundraising dictated policy and mission?!

Conditional gifts are not tax deductible.  In other words, giving money for
a professorship with the stipulation that Dr. John Friend hold it is not
acceptable.  It may well be that Dr. Friend IS the best candidate for the
chair, but that is up to the institution, not the donor.  So too with funds
for purchase or conservation of artwork--the donation cannot be conditional
on curatorial decisions.  There are often reasons other than exhibition to
acquire or conserve an object.

Now, in reality, there are sometimes donor relations issues that lead to
"expedited" exhibitions of works, or other special considerations.  But
that would be determined on a case-by-case basis and not as a general policy.

Someone should rein in your development officer. . .

Susan Ruderman




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Susan Cronin Ruderman, Ed.M., Vice President
VERITAS INFORMATION SERVICES, 9 Alton St., Arlington, MA  02474
(781) 643-7811; (781) 643-1136 (fax) mailto:[log in to unmask]
Fundraising Research Consulting http://www.veritasinfo.com
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