Donate an Object

If you are interested in donating an object, please review the following guidelines regarding our collection acquisition process. We ask that you not mail or deliver any items to the museum without first contacting the museum’s staff.

For a list of current items the museum is seeking to collect, please visit our FAQ page. 

Donation Process

To donate an object to the IHMG collection, first consider how the object relates to the history of Washington and Lee University. When evaluating an object for potential acquisition, we consider the following:

• How is the object connected to the history of Washington and Lee University? How can the object help us tell a story?
• What is known about the object (i.e. who made it, used it, owned it, etc.)?
• Do we already have something like this in the collection?
• Is the object in good enough condition to display it?
• Does the donor have the legal right to the object to permit the donation?

After considering the questions listed above, please contact us with the following information:

• Describe the object: what is it, what is it made of, is it marked in any way, is it damaged in any way?
• Explain the known provenance of the object: who made it and when, used it, owned it, how and when did you receive it?

After receiving the above information, we will contact you with next steps:

• If we do not believe the object would benefit the collection, we will try to assist you in finding a different museum or institution for your donation.
• If we would like to evaluate the object further, we will establish a formal agreement permitting us to have temporary custody of the object. This does not give the IHMG ownership of the object, nor does it allow the IHMG to lend, display, or modify your object; you still retain ownership. We will arrange for the object to be sent to us and evaluate the object further. After the IHMG concludes its examination, we will either deem the object unsuitable for the collection and facilitate the object’s return to you, or we will proceed with formally accessioning the object.
• If we want to formally accession the object, we will arrange for the object to be sent to us if we have not yet already, and we will send you a deed of gift to sign. This deed acknowledges that you have transferred the object from your ownership to ours. It also affirms that you are the sole owner of the object and have the full legal right to donate the object to us, irrevocably and unconditionally. You will receive a copy of the deed for your records.

Please note that the process to donate an object may take several weeks. We do not complete appraisals for objects. If you are interested in getting the object appraised for tax purposes, please do so prior to contacting us.