CRHM-Donating

Donating to Chattanooga Regional History Museum

The largest part of the CRHM’s collection is received through donations and is always interested in talking with anyone with items pertaining to the documentation of daily life and events in the Chattanooga region. If you have items you may be interested in donating to the museum please contact the curator by e-mail at bwestbrook@chattanoogahistory.com or by phone at (423) 265-3247.

Acquisitions Criteria:

A. Tests of Acquisitions:

Objects and materials must meet all of the following tests before being acquired by the CRHM by any means:

All materials and objects must conform to the CRHM’s collection policy.
The present owner (potential donor) must have clear title to the object.
If for sale. A fair market value must be determined between the seller and the CRHM.
The CRHM must be in a position to care properly for the proposed acquisition.
The significance of the material or object must be determined.
The material or object must, if possible, be documented as to provenance.
All moral, legal, and ethical implications of the acquisitions must have been considered, including literary or property rights, copyrights, patents, or trademarks, and objectionable or physically hazardous attributes.
Acquisitions should be free from donor-imposed restrictions.
Except in extremely rare circumstances, no acquisitions will be made with the requirement that it be maintained as a separate entity, or collection.
Whether acquisitions are intended for accessioning or development must be determined in advance.

Means of Acquisitions:

Materials and objects may be acquired through gift, bequest, purchase, commission, specified loan or deposit, exchange, filed collection, levy by creditors, abandonment, reversionary clause and adverse possession. No materials or objects shall be knowingly, or willingly accepted or acquired which are known to have been imported into, or collected in, the U.S. contrary to state or federal law, regulation, treaty, or convention.
The CRHM subscribes to the provisions of the International Council of Museums Convention of 1970: it shall refuse to acquire materials and objects where there is cause to believe that the circumstances of their collection involved willful destruction of historic sites, buildings, structures, habitats, districts or objects.

Acquisitions Procedures:

Authority to acquire objects, each item or collection having estimated value of $2500, is delegated to the Executive Director or Curator. The acquisition of materials, objects, or collections having an estimated value of over $2500 shall be made within annual budgets approved before acceptance or purchase by the collection committee of the Board of Directors, as described in the CRHM by-laws. Acquisitions shall be made within annual budgets approved by the Board of Directors, with the exception of special acquisitions approved by the Board from restricted funds.

Additional Stipulations:

No staff member may obligate the CRHM to the acceptance of any material or object not consonant with the intent of the acquisition policy without approval from the executive director or collection committee.

Appraisals:

No individual connected with the Museum’s management or staff shall offer appraisals of the monetary value of materials or objects to donors, or reveal the CRHM’s insurance value for the purpose of establishing a fair market value of gifts offered to the CRHM. Donors desiring an income tax deduction must obtain an independent evaluation. Staff members may assist donors in locating qualified appraisers from a list of appraisers maintained by the museum, and should cooperate with any such appraisers used by the donors. Staff members will not appraise or otherwise place monetary values on objects brought casually to the museum. However, as a public service, staff members may attempt to attribute, identify, or authenticate items brought by the public to the museum.

E-mail questions to bwestbrook@chattanoogahistory.com