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How to Donate a Musical Instrument
or Archival Material to the Museum
Persons wishing to donate objects and/or archival
materials to the Museum
should submit a letter of intent to the Museum at the address listed on the
contact page.
This letter should include a description of the
instrument(s) or archival material (including any specific
details that may apply such as maker's/manufacturers' names, city of
manufacture, model
numbers, serial numbers, condition, quantity, and so on) as well as
photographs. A description of the previous use and
ownership (if known) of the instrument(s) and/or archival materials is
also
requested. The Museum staff requests that potential donors
submit this information and wait for confirmation before shipping
or bringing items in for
possible
donation.
Based on the information contained in the donor's
letter, the
Museum staff will
make a preliminary assessment
of the
gift's relevance to the Museum's mission and contact the donor with
further instructions. The Museum reserves the right to
accept or refuse donations upon actual receipt and examination of the
item(s).
National
Music Museum is a 501(c)3 charitable cultural and educational
organization, and all non-cash donations are tax deductible to the full
extent of the law.
Upon receipt of a non-cash gift,
the Museum will issue a gift acknowledgement form to be signed by the
donor,
but cannot issue a formal appraisal suitable for IRS purposes.
Potential donors should obtain a third-party
appraisal
of
items to be
gifted to the Museum, prior to their donation.
For
further details concerning the tax laws governing the donation of
property, potential donors should consult the IRS
website and/or publications 561 ("Determining
the Value of Donated Property") and 526 ("Charitable
Contributions").
Upon the receipt, final acceptance, and cataloging
of
donated items,
the Museum will issue the donor two copies of a Gift Acknowledgement Form,
one copy of which is to be signed
and returned to the Museum. The second copy should be retained by the
donor as
proof
of the donation.
Below is an example of how a typical gift to the Museum
is recognized in
Museum checklists, labels, and other printed materials.
NMM 2673. Square piano by William Knabe and Co.,
Baltimore, 1891.
Gift of Max Siler Wehrly, Arlington, Virginia, 1980, in memory of his
mother, Maude Siler Wehrly (1877-1955).
In order to maintain the integrity of the Museum's
collections and
archives, the following guidelines have been established for the
acquisition
of
musical instruments and archival materials for National Music
Museum.
Objects shall not be accepted or otherwise
acquired for the
Museum's collections unless the following conditions are met:
the objects are relevant to and consistent with
the purposes and activities of the Museum;
the Museum can provide for the storage, protection,
and preservation of the objects under conditions that insure their
availability for museum purposes and in keeping with professionally
accepted standards;
it is intended that the objects shall have
permanency
in the
collections as long as they retain their physical integrity, their
identity, and their authenticity, and as long as they remain useful for
the purposes of the Museum; and,
there is reasonable assurance that the objects have
not been exported
from their country of origin in violation of that country's laws or of the
ethical guidelines defined by the United Nations treaty of 1972 or
collected in violation of federal or state antiquity laws.
Title to all objects acquired for the collections
should
be obtained
free and clear without restrictions as to use or future disposition.
If objects are accepted with restrictions or limitations, however, the
conditions should be stated clearly in an instrument of conveyance,
should be made part of the accession records for the objects, and
should be strictly observed by the Museum. Gifts that would impose any
present or future legal obligations upon the state or its
administrative agencies shall not be accepted, received, or
administered until the attorney general certifies they are free of such
obligations.
A legal instrument of conveyance setting forth an
adequate
description of
the objects involved and the precise conditions of transfer,
should accompany all gifts and purchases and should be kept on file at
the Museum. In all cases, this document must be signed by the seller
or donor
and by an agent
of the Museum's Board of Trustees.
- Records of accession should be made and retained for all objects
acquired for the collections.
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