We have a friend's group (501c3) and it can be invaluable.  We are a city owned and operated site.  As such we are constrained by City regulations and spending rules.  The independent friends group is not.  This can help when hiring skilled artisans who without the foundation would be held to complicated City purchasing rules.

We also use our friends group as a recipient for collections which contain a mix of items we want, and do not want for our collection.  In our case, if an item becomes City property, it must be disposed of, via the City surplus property system (i.e. sold at an auction, proceeds to the City General fund), which can be at odds with good collection practices. By passing the collection through the foundation we can only accept (into the collection) those items we want, and then have freedom to dispose of the rest in appropriate ways.  This process has been approved by the City Attorney.

Randy Hees
Patterson House at Ardenwood Farm
City of Fremont, CA

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