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

[ed sharpe]

check into it William there are  a number of rather prestigious privately
funded libraries and museums in this world.

Museums DO advertise to purchase artifacts, although  in the venue of
artifacts pertaining to ancient civilizations it DOES indeed encourage tomb
robbers and is frowned upon.

Some museums refrain from advertising as they  hope to get things gratis
also.

on the issue of "Basically, museums must never explicitly tie a  monetary
value to an artifact or collection." This is true if someone is going to
donate it to them. they are not allowed to appraise something that they are
receiving as a benefit.

the 501c3 route does hold some merit as  the principals get older and want
a governing board  to continue on,  or perhaps  after we finish the next
2000 sq foot addition on the building we will find it cushy to get a free
20,000 foot building.....

anyway that's about all I have to say...

except...

need info on a Broadcaster by the name of David Stackhouse from the Rhode
Island Area.  just put an interesting  Recall that Stackhouse did up at

http://www.smecc.org/david_l__stackhouse_-_wean_-_wjar_-_wean.htm

we do not have much else on him  as far as a biography from his early
years... need more info..  his last place was WSBE a PBS station.

Nothing on google etc.. been there  done that...

anyone in the R.I area out there want to  do a little scouting around?!

Thanks Ed Sharpe archivist for SMECC

Please check our web site at
 http://www.smecc.org
to see other engineering fields, communications and computation stuff we
buy, and by all means  when in Arizona drop in and see us.

address:

 coury house / smecc
5802 w palmaire ave
glendale az 85301



----- Original Message -----
From: "William Donzelli" <aw288@osfn.org>
To: "ed sharpe" <esharpe@uswest.net>
Cc: "Dan Arney" <hankarn@pacbell.net>; <WA5CAB@cs.com>;
<milsurplus@mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Wednesday, March 26, 2003 1:00 PM
Subject: Re: **************Re: [Milsurplus] wwII walkey talteys


> > 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
>
>