HOW TO DONATE BANJOS OR RELATED ARCHIVAL ITEMS TO THE MUSEUM

 The American Banjo Museum encourages the donation of banjos and items related to their history.  As not all potential donations may be relevant to the Museum’s collection, please review and follow these guidelines if you are considering such a donation to the Museum.  These guidelines may be altered to accommodate specific donations...If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Museum Director.

 1. Contact the Museum - If you wish to donate a banjo or related item to the ABM, please submit a letter of intent to the Museum.  This letter should include a description of the instrument(s) or item(s) including any specific details that may apply such as make, model, serial number, condition, etc. P hotographs are very helpful in this process.  If the banjo or item has historical significance, please note this in the letter as well.  The Museum requests that potential donors submit this information and wait for confirmation prior to shipping or bringing items in for possible donation.

 2. The Museum Will Decide Whether or Not to Accept the Gift - Based on the information contained in the your letter, the Museum will make a preliminary assessment of the gift's relevance to the Museum's mission and contact you with further instructions.  The Museum reserves the right to accept or refuse donations upon actual receipt and examination of the item(s).

 3. Obtain an Appraisal - The American Banjo 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 acknowledgment 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, consult the IRS website and/or publications 561 ("Determining the Value of Donated Property") and 526 ("Charitable Contributions").

 4. When the Gift is Accepted - Upon the receipt, final acceptance, and cataloging of donated items, the Museum will issue the donor two copies of a Deed of Gift 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.

 PLEASE NOTE: Unless specifically noted otherwise at the time of acceptance, it is the Museum’s policy that donated items have permanency in the Museum’s collection so long as they are relevant to the Museum’s purpose and maintain physical integrity.  However, in the case of future necessary deaccession, title to all objects donated to the Museum’s 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 at the time of donation to become part of the accession records for the objects.