To the list, I want to thank everyone for their answers and discussion on this topic. Some of the more detailed ones were actually quite helpful. I have passed some of the posts on to our accounting people and, especially Ellen Cutler's post about the Pennsylvania Law. I have no idea what the laws are in New Hampshire, but I am sure they can find out and we certainly should before we institute a program of this nature. I would also like to respond to something Anne Baker said. > Before answering Matthew's specific questions I want to ask -- for most > museums, is this _really_ a big issue? We have a couple of people who > periodically buy gift certificates, but in almost two years in this > position I've _never_ had one redeemed. I think she is correct. A small to medium size museum would probably have little need for a full, formal program. However, (and I am afraid I was inadvertently less than candid with you folks) the museums at the Mount Washington Observatory (two of them, quite small by anyone's standards) are part of a much larger scientific organization with a world wide reputation and a cult-like weather-buff following. The stores are much busier and more mature than the size of the museums to which they are attached would lead you to believe. We sell stuff via mail order and the web all over the world. The attached retail stores are destinations in their own right. Indeed, one of the retail outlets opened years before there was a museum attached. So I think we can make a go of a small gift certificate program as long as it is well run and well publicized. I apologize for misleading the list. There are major and minor differences between working at a museum that is a stand alone institution and one that is part of a much larger organization (not always with the same goals) and I haven't changed my mind thinking yet. Me culpa. On the subject of gift certificates themselves. It seems that there are as many answers as there are institutions that have them. I even asked around town here (resort town, lots of factory outlet stores and restaurants) and some have expiration dates some don't. Some give change or store credit some don't. When I asked the question of one restaurateur, he asked if I meant certificates that people buy or certificates they donate to charity for giveaways or auctions. An excellent distinction I hadn't thought of. The latter has expiration dates that former does not. At minimum I now have enough info to create our own policies to reflect our own needs. Thanks again for everyone's help. -- Matthew White Director of Museums Mount Washington Observatory www.mountwashington.org ========================================================= 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).