No one's mentioned my favorite tactic. I used to send the second copy of 
the Deed of Gift as "return receipt". Then the little green post card was 
proof the donor got my letter. Often this gave my letter enough perceived 
importance that the donor signed and sent back the D-o-G.

I also used a carefully worded deposit receipt for items brought in to the 
museum. It gave us the right to dispose of items after a period of time 
past notifing the donor we didn't intend to accept their object. Potential 
donors were asked provenance questions as well and completed an 
information form. For most donors (local history museum) this helped them 
understand that we were just as interested in the story associated with 
the object as the object itself. I co-authored a technical leaflet for the 
Illinois Heritage Association (TECH. INSERT 101 (Sept.-Oct. 
1999): "Documenting Collections," by Diane Gutenkauf, Sally  DeFauw, and 
Steph McGrath.) that can be purchased from them at: 
http://illinoisheritage.prairienet.org/tilista.html

Hope this helps.

Diane Gutenkauf
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