How we work — with donors, with grantees, and within the law.
This page sets out the working operating policies of The Collectible Home Foundation — what the Foundation will do as a matter of standing practice, what it endeavors to negotiate into every gift and every placement, and what is firm and not subject to negotiation. It is written for two audiences at once: prospective donors who want to know how a gift will be handled, and prospective recipient institutions who want to know what the Foundation will ask of them before any deed of gift is signed.
A foundation that publishes its terms before the conversation begins makes the conversation easier — and the trust deeper.
Standard, endeavor, firm.
Every policy on this page is tagged with one of three labels. The label tells you, at a glance, whether the Foundation will commit to the term in writing, whether it is something the Foundation will work to negotiate but cannot guarantee, or whether it is non-negotiable.
What we always do
Standard policies are the Foundation's commitments to itself and to its constituents. Every donor and every recipient gets these terms; they are written into our deeds of gift and our internal procedures.
What we work to negotiate
Endeavor policies are terms the Foundation tries to include in every recipient agreement. Whether they appear in any specific deed of gift depends on the recipient institution's own policies; some institutions accept these terms readily, others do not. We do not condition placement on endeavor terms that a qualifying institution will not accept.
What is not negotiable
Firm policies are the Foundation's line in the sand. They are matters of mission, federal tax compliance, or fiduciary duty, and they are not subject to negotiation by donors, recipients, or anyone else. A gift or a placement that requires the Foundation to depart from a firm policy will not be done.
What you can expect from us.
If you are considering a gift to the Foundation — financial or in-kind — these are the terms the Foundation works under and the commitments it makes to you.
Written Acceptance Required
No gift is acknowledged as accepted, and no donor advised to claim a deduction, until the Board has approved the gift in writing. Verbal expressions of interest, preliminary correspondence, and pre-acceptance review do not constitute acceptance.
Donor Anonymity Honored
If you ask for anonymity, the Foundation honors it permanently — in our public records, in placement records, in stewardship reports, and on every public page of this website. The only exception is what federal substantiation rules require us to disclose to the IRS.
Right to Decline (Yours and Ours)
You may withdraw a proposed gift at any time before final acceptance. The Foundation may decline any proposed gift for any lawful reason — mission fit, condition, provenance, or unworkable conditions. Either side's decision to walk away is final and without further obligation.
IRS Form 8283 Acknowledgment
For every qualifying in-kind gift above $5,000, the Foundation signs Section B of IRS Form 8283 acknowledging receipt. Signature is acknowledgment, not a valuation endorsement.
Successor-Donee Notification
If the Foundation transfers your piece to a recipient institution within the original three-year recapture window — or if a recipient institution disposes of it within that window — we notify you in writing within thirty days of learning of the disposition. You will not be surprised by a Form 8282 filing in your inbox.
Restricted Gifts Honored Permanently
If you attach a restriction to your gift — display, education, conservation standards, geographic, naming — and the Foundation accepts it, the restriction binds the Foundation, every recipient institution, and every subsequent caretaker. We honor the restriction or, where it has become impossible, follow Utah charitable-trust law before any modification.
Three-Year Hold Negotiation
When the Foundation transfers your piece to a recipient institution within the three-year recapture window, we endeavor to negotiate a written covenant under which the recipient will not sell or exchange during the remainder of that window without prior consultation with the Foundation. Some recipient institutions accept this readily; others reserve their deaccession authority. We will not push a covenant to the point of losing the placement.
Right of First Refusal Negotiation
For pieces of significant value, the Foundation endeavors to negotiate a right of first refusal — the right to take the piece back at the deaccession price if the recipient elects to deaccession in the future. Whether this clause appears in any specific deed depends on the recipient's policies.
No Tax Advice
The Foundation does not provide legal or tax advice to donors. We will explain how the Foundation works, what conditions we accept, and what the relevant federal tax structures look like — but the application of any of that to your specific tax position is for you and your own counsel to evaluate.
No Quid Pro Quo Beyond Acknowledgment
The Foundation provides written gift acknowledgment, signed Form 8283 (where required), and the satisfaction of having advanced a public-charity mission. We do not provide goods or services to donors in exchange for gifts beyond modest, documented donor-recognition items consistent with IRS quid-pro-quo rules.
What we will ask of you.
If your institution is interested in receiving a placement of a piece from the Foundation's collection, these are the terms the Foundation includes in its standard deed of gift, and the obligations the Foundation asks recipient institutions to take on.
501(c)(3) Eligibility
Recipient must be a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) public charity in good standing — a museum, library, university, historical society, or comparable cultural-preservation organization. Documentation of current standing is required at application.
Written Statement of Intended Use
Before any deed of gift, the recipient provides a written statement of how the piece will be used — the institution's active programs that will engage with it, exhibition or research plans, conservation arrangements, and the duration of intended use.
Annual Stewardship Reports
For at least the first three years after transfer, the recipient submits a written stewardship report annually describing the piece's use, exhibition history, and any change in the institution's plans for it. The report is a contemporaneous record both for the recipient's own files and for the Foundation's.
Form 8282 Notification
If the recipient disposes of the piece within the original three-year recapture window, the recipient must file IRS Form 8282 within 125 days and provide the Foundation with a copy — ideally before filing, in any event no later than the day of filing — so the Foundation can in turn notify the original donor.
Honor of Donor Restrictions
Any conditions attached by the original donor and accepted by the Foundation pass through to the recipient and bind the recipient's ongoing stewardship. The deed of gift sets these conditions out in writing; acceptance of the deed is acceptance of the conditions.
No Resale to a Non-Charity
Recipient may not transfer the piece to a non-501(c)(3) entity except through deaccession at fair-market value, with proper notice and Form 8282 filing where the timing requires it. Quiet transfers to private parties are not permitted.
Three-Year Hold Covenant
Where placement happens within the original three-year recapture window, the Foundation endeavors to negotiate a written covenant that the recipient will not sell, exchange, or otherwise dispose of the piece during the remainder of that window without prior consultation with the Foundation. Many recipients accept this readily. Where an institution's deaccession policies preclude such a covenant, the Foundation will not require it as a condition of placement.
Right of First Refusal
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. Where the recipient's policies preclude this clause, the Foundation will not insist.
Display, Programmatic, or Research Schedule
For pieces with strong display value, the Foundation endeavors to include a written commitment to a minimum display or programmatic schedule. This is in everyone's interest — donor, Foundation, recipient, and the public — but the Foundation recognizes that exhibition calendars are an institutional matter and does not insist on terms that conflict with curatorial freedom.
Form 8282 Cooperation
Where the Foundation itself files Form 8282 in connection with the transfer (because the placement is within the original three-year window), the Foundation prepares and shares the certification language under IRC § 170(e)(7)(D) for the recipient's review and counter-execution.
Independent Counsel Available
For any deed of gift the Foundation considers materially novel or risk-bearing, the Foundation engages independent legal counsel. The recipient is encouraged to do the same. The Foundation does not represent the recipient's interests and the recipient does not represent the Foundation's.
What helps the conversation.
The Foundation responds to every serious donor inquiry and every serious institutional application. We do our best to respond within five business days for donor inquiries and within fifteen business days for institutional applications. The questions below are the ones we tend to ask early; thinking through them in advance tends to make the conversation move faster.
If you are a donor. What is the piece, where did it come from, and what condition is it in? Have you obtained or do you intend to obtain a qualified appraisal? Are there any conditions you would want to attach? Is anonymity important to you?
If you are an institution. What is your IRS standing and accreditation? Which piece(s) interest you, and what is your specific intended use? What programs or research will engage with the piece? Are you in a position to commit to the standard recipient terms above?
For everyone. What is your timeline, and what would success look like for you a year from now?
Other reference pages.
The policies on this page are operating commitments — what the Foundation does in practice, before signing a deed of gift. Several adjacent topics live on their own pages because they are reference material more than negotiation.
- Governance & Disclosures — the Foundation's legal status, board structure, formally adopted policies, and financial transparency posture.
- Qualified Appraisals & the IRS — the federal qualified-appraiser standard, the recognized professional appraiser organizations, and direct links to the IRS rules.
- Donation Conditions — the menu of conditions a donor may attach to a gift, the disposition options open to the Foundation, the Related Use Rule, the Three-Year Recapture Rule, and the impact matrix.
- After the Foundation — what happens once a piece is placed with a recipient institution and the federal-tax considerations that follow.
- Protective Policies — Section XI — a focused statement of the seven working policies the Foundation operates under to keep donors out of unexpected tax exposure.
When you're ready.
If you are a prospective donor, an interested institution, or a counsel evaluating a possible gift or placement on behalf of someone else, the Foundation welcomes the conversation. Use the contact options below; we read everything that comes in.
Contact the Foundation