One of the strongest arguments against your doing appraisals is that  it
casts a shadow of suspicion on both you and the donor.  One might suspect
that you are offering higher than market value to entice the donor to make
the gift (and the who is suspicious might be the I.R.S.).


------
Robert Handy
Brazoria County Historical Museum
100 East Cedar
Angleton, Texas  77515
(409) 864-1208
museum_bob
[log in to unmask]
http://www.bchm.org

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From:   wphayes[SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
Sent:   Wednesday, March 10, 1999 3:39 PM
To:     [log in to unmask]
Subject:        Appraisals and ethics question...

<<File: ATT00001.html>>

Recently, Museum administrators have challenged my assertions that it is
unethical for me to provide appraisals to potential donors who want a
charitable gift tax deduction. I am somewhat aware of the conflicts of
interest this poses, but have been unable to develop, in layman's terms, an
argument against providing appraisal services in donation scenarios. I even
thought it might be illegal, but apparently IRS rule changes from the early
1990s allow museums to determine "fair market value". We are a military
history museum and if we offer one appraisal, it is assured our actions
will spawn ten more similar requests. Likewise, I would not consider myself
an expert in militaria collectibles. My research time would be reduced
significantly by these type of activities. What are some of the arguments
against providing appraisals and can anyone recommend published resources
enumerating them? Thanks in advance. You may respond off-list.

W. Parker Hayes Jr.
Curator & Director of Operations
Airmen Memorial Museum