The 2 years "rule" refers to the IRS regulation that a charity that 
disposed of donated property with in 2 years of accepting material must 
file a form 8282. This has potential tax implications for the donor and 
their original deduction may be thus disallowed. Therefore, museums follow 
the general rule of holding onto property for 2 years before disposing of 
it. 

There are many permutations of this and this generally applies to objects 
intended for the museum's collection, not property intended for 
fundraising purposes only. 

It's really a bad precident to return material to a donor, and not just 
for tax reasons. It opens the doors to other donors who "changed their 
mind" about a donation and now "want it back for the kids". Donors should 
understand that donations are permanent and there's no take-backs. 

A good collections policy will force you (the museum) to evaluate every 
potential donation and will reduce the amount of stuff you accept only to 
decide shortly thereafter that it doesn't fit your scope. 

Diane G
[log in to unmask]

On Fri, 7 Apr 2006 10:41:45 -0400, Marielle Fortier <[log in to unmask]> 
wrote:

>Alright I concede my options were not in numerical order...but I had heard
>of returning to the donors/heirs at a conference.  But someone has 
mentioned
>that after 2 years it is okay?  How does that work?
>
>
>
>**********************
>Marielle Fortier
>Museum Registrar
>Norwich University Museum
>Northfield, Vermont
>**********************
>
>

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