**************Re: [Milsurplus] wwII walkey talteys

[William Donzelli]

> being that we are a privately funded organization rather than a 501c3 it
> allows us greater flexibility.

I hate to break the news to you Ed, but calling yourself a "Museum", and
not being incorporated at some non-profit level (501c3 is the norm for the
organizations in question), is basically a breach of ethics. The only way
around it is to blatantly proclaim yourself as a private collection and
explicitly state that it is not a non-profit organization. Your web page
may need to be updated, as I see little evidence of such a proclamation. 
You may also want to show a little of your incorporation information, and 
a contact to get a copy of the museum charter.

By not doing these things, people that offer donations to you can be 
stung by the taxman, as they may assume that they can get a tax break. It 
is also not fair to the real museums that are non-profit corporations.

On a very related note (and a bit of a Catch-22), a real Museum must not 
advertise to purchase artifacts. This is a serious breach of ethics, as 
it incourages "pot hunting" (named for people that loot excavations, 
knowing they have a market). A museum can still purchase things, but 
discretion is the key. Basically, museums must never excplicitly tie a 
monetary value to an artifact or collection.

My advice is just to go ahead and get the 501c3. It is a bit of a pain to 
do, as the taxman just does not give anyone the status, but it is far 
from impossible. The fees are not horrible, and if you wish not to get 
grants for some reason, just do not apply for them.

William Donzelli
aw288@osfn.org