The strings — or the absence of them.
Every in-kind gift to a public charity carries a set of rights and limitations on what the charity can do with the piece, when it can do it, and to whose ultimate benefit. Some donors attach conditions; many do not. The choice has real consequences — for the future of the piece, for the deduction the donor claims, for the charity's stewardship, and for the institution that may someday take the piece on. This page is the Foundation's working reference on every condition we see, the disposition options open to the Foundation, and the IRS rules that govern the whole framework.
A condition placed on a gift is not a flaw. It is the donor's voice continuing to speak about what the piece is for.
Every party has a stake.
Donor-imposed conditions are honored permanently under federal tax rules and Utah charitable-trust law. Once attached, they bind the Foundation, the eventual recipient institution, and every subsequent caretaker. So the conditions written into a deed of gift are, in real terms, a permanent narrowing of what the Foundation can do with the piece — and a permanent shape on its future.
That permanence is exactly why this page exists. A potential donor should know the menu of conditions that other thoughtful donors have used. A potential institutional applicant should know what conditions the Foundation tends to accept, and what conditions it tends to decline. And every reader should understand the federal tax rules — particularly the Related Use Rule and the Three-Year Rule — that turn certain conditions into accelerators of value and others into landmines.
For donors — conditions can preserve a piece's life trajectory after the donor is gone, but the wrong condition can also reduce the deduction the donor claims and, in extreme cases, trigger recapture and penalties.
For The Collectible Home Foundation — every condition narrows our flexibility. We accept reasonable conditions, and decline gifts whose conditions would be impossible or inconsistent with our mission.
For recipient institutions — the conditions attached to a piece become part of the institution's ongoing stewardship obligation. Knowing them up front is the only way to evaluate fit.
The unrestricted gift.
The simplest and most common form. The donor transfers full legal and equitable title to the Foundation with no future obligation — the Foundation may hold, place, loan, exchange, or (subject to the IRS rules below) deaccession the piece in furtherance of the Foundation's mission. The donor's deduction, if the appraisal is qualified, is the full fair-market value of the piece.
FMV preserved No related-use risk Full disposition flexibility
The three pieces currently held by the Foundation — Mules of the Adobe Road, Warpath, and Painted Miniature Teepee — are unrestricted gifts of this kind. The donor in each case retained no condition on the piece beyond the Foundation's general charitable obligations.
The menu.
Conditions are grouped below by what they restrict — use, time, placement, identity, or reversion. Each card flags whether the condition typically preserves the donor's full FMV deduction (green), introduces some risk or complexity (yellow), or creates a real possibility of reduced deduction or downstream penalty (red).
Display-Required Use
Donor specifies that the piece must be displayed publicly — at the receiving institution, on a defined schedule, or for a minimum number of weeks per year. Tightly aligned with the Related Use Rule for tangible personal property; preserves full FMV deduction for the donor.
Education / Research Use
Donor requires the piece be used for teaching, scholarly research, or curatorial study. The clearest expression of "related use" — preserves full FMV deduction and restricts placement to institutions with active educational programs.
Conservation Standards
Donor requires that conservation, framing, and environmental controls meet a stated standard. Welcomed by the Foundation. No FMV impact; aligns the piece's care with the donor's wishes.
Anonymity
Donor requires that identity remain confidential — no public donor recognition, no plaque, no acknowledgment in placement records beyond what federal substantiation demands. Honored permanently. No FMV impact.
Naming Recognition
Donor requests that the piece be identified, on placement, with the donor's name or family name (e.g., "Gift of the Smith Family Collection"). No FMV impact; honored permanently.
Geographic Restriction
Donor specifies that the piece must remain in a defined region (e.g., the Mountain West, the State of Utah). Reasonable when the piece's significance is regional — but narrows the universe of qualifying institutions and may delay placement.
Specific Institution
Donor specifies that the piece may only be placed with a named institution. The Foundation generally declines this restriction unless the named institution has already accepted in writing — otherwise the gift may sit indefinitely if the institution declines or its mission shifts.
Family Access
Donor's family retains ongoing visit, study, or research access to the piece. Reasonable to negotiate; can complicate placement to institutions with strict access policies.
First Refusal on Deaccession
Donor or family retains a right of first refusal if the piece is ever sold by the Foundation or by a recipient institution. Workable for the Foundation; can narrow the pool of institutions willing to accept placement.
Minimum Hold Period
Donor requires the Foundation to hold the piece for a stated minimum (commonly three or five years) before placement. Aligns with the Three-Year Rule and is generally welcomed; the Foundation already operates with patience as its working pace.
No Sale, Ever
Donor requires that the piece may never be sold or exchanged for cash by the Foundation or by any recipient institution. Honored permanently. The condition itself does not affect FMV — but it forecloses the Foundation's ability to deaccession in unusual circumstances and binds every future caretaker.
Reversion / Conditional Title
Title reverts to the donor or the donor's heirs if specified conditions are violated (display ceases, institution dissolves, sale is attempted). Honored where well-drafted, but the IRS treats certain reversion clauses as defeating a "completed gift" — which can reduce or eliminate the donor's deduction. Independent legal review is essential before acceptance.
Retained Use / Future Interest
Donor retains personal possession or use of the piece during the donor's lifetime, with the Foundation receiving a future interest. Federal tax rules generally disallow current FMV deductions for future-interest gifts of tangible personal property — donors should not use this structure for art and books absent specialized counsel.
Donor-Required Sale
Donor specifies that the piece must be sold by the Foundation, with the proceeds used for a stated purpose. Triggers Unrelated Use treatment, reduces the donor's deduction to the lesser of basis or FMV, and (within three years) may trigger Form 8282 recapture. The Foundation typically declines such gifts as inconsistent with mission.
Bargain Sale to the Foundation
Donor sells the piece to the Foundation at less than FMV. The donor receives a deduction equal to the difference between FMV and the sale price (subject to allocation rules), and the Foundation receives the piece for less than its appraised value. Useful in some estate-planning contexts; complex enough to warrant counsel for both sides.
Fractional / Partial Interest
Donor donates an undivided fractional interest in the piece (e.g., 25 percent to start), with the remainder donated over time. Permitted for art under IRC § 170(o), with strict rules — including a 10-year completion requirement, revaluation at each subsequent transfer, and recapture if not completed. Not common for charities of the Foundation's scale.
The disposition options.
Subject to whatever conditions the donor has imposed and to the IRS rules below, the Foundation has the following options for any piece in its collection. The right path is determined by the piece's mission fit, the readiness of qualifying institutions, and the time elapsed since donation.
Hold Indefinitely
Retain the piece in the Foundation's care, in environmentally controlled storage with proper conservation, until the right institutional home presents itself. Always preserves the donor's deduction.
Place by Deed of Gift
Permanent transfer of title to a qualifying U.S. 501(c)(3) institution by written deed of gift. The piece becomes the institution's permanent property, subject to the conditions originally attached. The most common path for pieces with strong public-benefit fit.
Long-Term Loan
The Foundation retains title; the receiving institution exhibits, studies, or uses the piece under a written loan agreement of stated duration. Useful when neither party is ready for permanent transfer, or when the piece serves multiple institutions over time.
Trade With Another 501(c)(3)
Exchange the piece for another piece held by a peer charity, where the trade refines both collections. Permitted; care must be taken to satisfy the Related Use and Three-Year Rules and to document the exchange in both organizations' records.
Grant to Another 501(c)(3)
Outright transfer to another qualifying public charity whose mission better fits the piece. Permitted at any time; the Foundation files Form 8282 if the transfer is within three years of receipt.
Deaccession by Sale
Sell the piece for cash, with proceeds reinvested exclusively in the Foundation's charitable mission. Permitted but disfavored — restricted to genuinely unusual circumstances under the Foundation's Document Retention and Gift Acceptance Policies. Within three years of receipt, sale by the Foundation triggers donor recapture risk under IRC § 170(e)(7).
Decline a Proposed Gift
Refuse to accept the piece in the first instance. Always available. Reasons may include condition, provenance, mission misfit, or unreasonable conditions imposed by the donor.
Deaccession to Donor or Heirs
Permitted only where a written reversion clause requires it and the conditions of reversion have triggered. Cannot be done as a quiet undoing of a charitable gift — that would be self-dealing or worse.
IRC § 170(e)(7) — the recapture trap.
Added by the Pension Protection Act of 2006 to close a loophole that had become a frequent source of abuse, IRC § 170(e)(7) is a recapture rule with serious consequences. It applies whenever a charity disposes of donated tangible personal property within three years of receipt, where the donor claimed a fair-market value deduction above $5,000.
If the rule's conditions are met without proper certification, the donor must recapture the difference between the FMV deduction claimed and the donor's cost basis in the piece — and report that recapture as ordinary income in the year of disposition. For high-value gifts that long predate the donation, the recapture can equal the entire deduction the donor was relying on.
When does it bite. The charity sells, exchanges, or otherwise disposes of the piece within three years of receipt, and the disposition is not accompanied by a § 170(e)(7)(D) certification.
The certification escape. The charity may file Form 8282 with a § 170(e)(7)(D) certification stating either (a) the piece's use was substantial and related to the charity's exempt purpose, or (b) the intended use became impossible or infeasible. Both certifications are material — they go on the public IRS record and the charity's officer signs them.
Form 8282 is required regardless. Whenever a charity disposes of donated property within three years, Form 8282 must be filed within 125 days, with copies to the IRS and the donor. The certification is a separate matter that affects whether donor recapture applies.
Penalties on top. If the donor's claimed FMV is found on examination to have been substantially overstated, IRC § 6662 accuracy-related penalties — typically 20 percent, escalating to 40 percent for gross overstatement — apply on top of the recaptured tax.
Action by action.
A reference table mapping each disposition action against its effect on the donor's deduction and the IRS treatment that follows. Read down the leftmost column to find the action; read across to see the practical consequence.
| Action | Effect on Donor's FMV Deduction | IRS Treatment |
|---|---|---|
| Hold indefinitely (any year) | No impact — full FMV preserved. | No filing triggered. Continued related-use posture. |
| Place by deed of gift to a 501(c)(3) (any year) | No impact — receiving institution's related use preserves the original FMV. | Form 8282 required if within 3 years of original donation; certification of related use should accompany the filing. |
| Long-term loan to a 501(c)(3) | No impact — title remains with the Foundation; no disposition has occurred. | No Form 8282 required (no transfer of title). The Foundation continues as donee. |
| Trade with a peer 501(c)(3) after 3 years | No impact — outside the three-year recapture window. | No recapture. Document the trade in both organizations' records. |
| Trade with a peer 501(c)(3) within 3 years | Possible impact — depends on whether use during the holding period was related and on the certification filed. | Form 8282 required within 125 days; § 170(e)(7)(D) certification advisable. |
| Sell for cash after 3 years | No impact — recapture window has closed. Donor's deduction stands. | No recapture. Form 8282 not required. Sale proceeds must be reinvested in mission per Foundation policy. |
| Sell for cash within 3 years, with related-use certification | Risk only if certification is challenged. | Form 8282 with § 170(e)(7)(D) certification of substantial related use. The IRS may examine the certification. |
| Sell for cash within 3 years, no certification | Recapture — donor's FMV deduction reduced to basis; the difference becomes ordinary income in the year of sale. | Form 8282 required. § 6662 accuracy-related penalty (20–40 percent) applies on top of any recaptured tax. |
| Grant to non-501(c)(3) at any time | Disallowance — unrelated transfer that defeats charitable use. | Possible loss of the charity's tax-exempt status if material. Always declined. |
| Reversion to donor under valid clause | Depends on the original deed — IRS may treat the gift as never having been completed. | Independent legal counsel required. Reverse-acknowledgment of the original Form 8283 may be appropriate. |
What we accept, and what we decline.
The Foundation is a willing recipient of conditioned gifts where the conditions are reasonable, achievable, consistent with mission, and well-drafted. Most green-flagged conditions on the menu above are accepted readily. Most yellow-flagged conditions are negotiated. Red-flagged conditions are reviewed case-by-case, with independent counsel where the structure raises real federal-tax or charitable-trust questions.
Acceptance is recorded in writing in the deed of gift, the deed is approved by the Board, and the conditions become part of the permanent record of the piece — passed forward to every recipient institution that ever holds it.
Generally accepted. Display, education, conservation standards, anonymity, naming recognition, minimum hold period, geographic restriction, family access (within reason), first-refusal on deaccession.
Carefully reviewed. Specific institution requirements, no-sale clauses, fractional gifts, bargain sales.
Generally declined. Reversion clauses where the trigger is broad or unilaterally determined by the donor; future-interest structures for tangible personal property; donor-required sale; conditions that would, in practical terms, prevent any qualifying institution from accepting placement.
For pieces under committed gift.
Some pieces in the Foundation's collection are presently held under a committed gift — meaning the donor and the Foundation have agreed to the gift in principle, but the deed of gift, the appraisal, and the conditions framework have not yet been finalized. The conditions field on those piece pages reads "Unknown at this time" as a reflection of that genuine uncertainty.
Once a committed gift transfers, the conditions are set in writing in the deed of gift, approved by the Board, and published on the piece's page. The Foundation never represents conditions as known until they are formally documented.
What happens once the piece is no longer in CHF's hands.
A donor's exposure to the Internal Revenue Code does not end the moment the Foundation accepts a piece. If the Foundation transfers the piece to a recipient institution and that institution then disposes of it, federal tax rules can reach back to the original donor in ways that are easy to miss. This section explains how, and what the Foundation does to prevent it.
A worked example.
Suppose the Foundation accepts the Painted Miniature Teepee as a gift in May 2026. In June 2027, after a year of stewardship, the Foundation places it by deed of gift with the Buffalo Bill Center of the West — a 501(c)(3) museum in Cody, Wyoming, with active programs in Western art and material culture. So far, every step is clean: the Foundation's placement is to a qualifying public charity for related use, and Form 8282 is filed with a § 170(e)(7)(D) certification of substantial related use.
Now suppose the Cody museum — for whatever reason — sells the piece at auction in August 2028, twenty-eight months after the original donation, three months before the original three-year window closes. The original donor is not a party to that sale, was not consulted about it, and may not even know it is happening. But the federal tax consequences travel back up the chain.
The successor-donee rule. Under Treasury Regulation § 1.6050L-1(c)(2), an institution that receives donated property from another charity within the original three-year period is itself a successor donee. If the successor disposes of the property within that same three-year window, the successor must file its own Form 8282, with the IRS and with the original donor.
The recapture question. The original donor's exposure under § 170(e)(7) turns on whether the Foundation's § 170(e)(7)(D) certification of substantial related use was truthful at the time it was made. Where the Foundation transferred in good faith to an institution that genuinely intended related use — and the Foundation had documented evidence to that effect — the certification stands, and the donor is generally protected even if the successor later sells.
The audit reality. "Generally protected" is not the same as "immune." If the IRS examines the original donor's return and finds that the Foundation's certification was thin, premature, or contradicted by surrounding facts — including the timing of the successor's sale — the donor can face recapture and § 6662 penalties anyway. The certification is most defensible when supported by contemporaneous documentation.
How we shield donors from downstream surprises.
The most painful tax outcomes in the charitable-contribution space are the unexpected ones — recapture events that arrive years after the gift, triggered by the actions of an institution the donor never met. The Foundation has adopted a set of working policies that exist specifically to keep that from happening to people who give to us. Several of the items below are matters the Foundation endeavors to negotiate into deeds of gift with recipient institutions; we cannot guarantee every recipient will accept every term, and we will not condition placement on terms that prevent qualifying institutions from taking on the piece.
For a fuller treatment of how the Foundation works with both donors and prospective grantees — and what is and is not negotiable — see the Foundation Policies reference page.
Pre-Placement Diligence
Before any deed of gift to a recipient institution, the Foundation requires a written statement of the recipient's intended use of the piece, the duration of that use, and the institution's active programs that will engage with it. A piece is not placed with an institution that will not, on the record, commit to actual related use.
Three-Year Hold Covenant Endeavor
For any piece transferred to a recipient institution during the original three-year recapture window, the Foundation endeavors to negotiate a written covenant under which the recipient agrees not to sell, exchange, or otherwise dispose of the piece during the remainder of that window without prior consultation with the Foundation. We cannot guarantee that every recipient institution will accept the covenant; some institutions reserve their deaccession authority as a matter of policy. Where it is accepted, it is binding.
Form 8282 Notification Clause
The deed of gift to every recipient institution requires the institution to provide the Foundation with written notice and a copy of any Form 8282 the institution files for the piece — ideally before filing, in any event no later than the day of filing — so the Foundation can in turn notify the original donor.
Right of First Refusal Endeavor
For pieces of significant value, the Foundation endeavors to negotiate a right of first refusal: if the recipient elects to deaccession during a defined window, the Foundation has the first opportunity to take the piece back at the deaccession price — preserving its trajectory toward another related use rather than the open market. Where the recipient's policies preclude such a clause, the Foundation will not insist on it as a condition of placement.
Annual Stewardship Report
For at least the first three years after transfer, the Foundation requires the recipient to submit an annual written stewardship report describing the piece's use, exhibition history, and any change in the institution's plans for it. The report is a contemporaneous record; in any IRS examination of the original donor's return, those reports are evidence the certification was sound.
Donor Notification on Disposition
The Foundation commits to notify the original donor in writing within thirty days of learning that a piece has been transferred to a recipient institution, sold, or otherwise disposed of by the Foundation or by a recipient institution within the three-year window. Surprises are a failure mode the Foundation refuses to accept.
Counsel Where Warranted
For any disposition contemplated within the original three-year window, the Foundation seeks independent legal counsel before signing — for the structure of the transaction, the certification language, and the donor-protection terms in the recipient agreement. The cost of counsel is a small price next to the cost of an unexpected recapture event for a generous donor.
Read the regulations directly.
IRC § 170(e)(1)(B)(i)
The Related Use Rule. Reduction of fair-market deduction where tangible personal property is put to use unrelated to the charity's tax-exempt purpose.
IRC § 170(e)(7)
The Three-Year Recapture Rule. Donor must recapture the difference between FMV and basis if the charity disposes of the property within three years without a § 170(e)(7)(D) certification.
IRC § 170(o)
Fractional and partial-interest gifts of tangible personal property. Permitted under specific conditions including a 10-year completion requirement and revaluation at each transfer.
IRC § 6662
Accuracy-related penalty. Twenty percent (or forty percent for gross overstatement) on the underpayment attributable to a substantial valuation misstatement.
IRS Form 8282
Donee Information Return — filed by the charity within 125 days of any disposition of donated property within three years of receipt.
IRS Publication 526
Charitable Contributions — the IRS's plain-English guide for donors, covering substantiation, deduction limits, and the treatment of various gift types.
Talk to us before you decide.
The right structure for a gift depends on the piece, the donor's goals, and the donor's tax position. The Foundation does not provide tax advice — but we are happy to walk through the Foundation's standard deeds of gift, the conditions we typically accept and decline, and the practical implications of each option, before any donor commits to a particular path.
Start a conversationFor the underlying federal-tax framework, see the Qualified Appraisals page. For the Foundation's adopted Gift Acceptance Policy and full governance structure, see the Governance & Disclosures page.