Another case for thought. We were approached with a donation of a painting. However it was in obvious need of restretching. We asked the donor if she would consider getting it into a better condition before she donated it. She was delighted to do so, and a month or so later we accepted the painting into the collection. I think this has to be taken on a case by case basis, but if a donor is made to understand the need they often are most receptive to help the museum. In this case it worked. Asking for money to help with conservation is not an unfair question. If handled correctly it may educate the donor to the cost of ongoing care for the collection, and hopefully they will appreciate the museum's concern about an item's future conservation. Barbara Taylor