Artifact Donation

The Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame (SSHF) recognizes sport excellence, preserves sport history, and educates the public on the contribution of sport to Saskatchewan’s cultural fabric. In order to be able to achieve our mission we welcome and, in fact, rely on the donation of sport artifacts and archives from our inductees and their families, teams, fans, and members of the general public.

If you own an object, document, or photograph related to Saskatchewan’s sport history, we would like to hear from you. The SSHF appreciates your interest in helping to preserve this valuable history, as well as expanding our permanent collection.

As a not-for-profit corporation and registered charity, the SSHF is able to issue income tax receipts for qualifying artifact donations.

For more information about our donation policies (donations, appraisals, income tax receipts, etc.), please see below for details.

HOW TO DONATE:

If you have material(s) that you would like to donate to our collection feel free to contact us by email: [email protected] or by scheduling an in-person meeting at the SSHF. In order for us to better assist you please call 306-780-9211 to book an appointment with our curator.

Please gather the following information to help us assess your prospective donation:

  • A photograph of the item(s) or, for an in-person visit, bring the item(s) with you;
  • A brief description of the item(s), including its dimensions;
  • Information about the history, age, and origin of the item(s);
  • Your story of how you obtained the item(s); and
  • Your name, address, daytime phone number, and email address

Providing all the above information to us through email in advance of an in-person visit will allow the curator to cross-check the collection for any duplications or gaps in the collection.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE DONATION PROCESS:

Not sure if donating is right for you? Please review the frequently asked questions below to assist you with deciding.

What happens when I donate an item to the SSHF?

Our curator is responsible for deciding whether the item(s) meet the mandate of the museum. This may require additional research by the curator prior to acceptance.

  1. A Donation Agreement Form is completed with a list of the item(s) for which ownership is being transferred to the SSHF.
  2. The Donation Agreement Form is signed by the curator or designated museum representative, as well as the donor. One copy of the completed Donation Agreement Form is provided to the donor and one copy is kept at the SSHF.
  3. A tax receipt can be provided to the donor if requested. A tax receipt will be in the amount of “fair market value” or, in the case of respected documentation being provided, an appraisal.

How is “fair market value” determined?

For income tax purposes, fair market value is the amount that the item donated would fetch in an open market, between a willing buyer and a willing seller, who are both knowledgeable, prepared, and who are acting independently of each other. Depending on the nature of the item being donated, determining fair market value may take some time and cannot be assessed immediately upon donation.

How is ownership formally transferred to the SSHF?

Within the donation process, the transfer of ownership is formalized by the donor completing a Donation Agreement Form, which gives legal ownership rights to the SSHF.

What recognition do donors receive?

Objects donated to the SSHF retain donor provenance in our accession files and catalogue system. We generally do not acknowledge specific donors of items on display; however, we do identify who used an item if that information is known. Sometimes this information is one and the same.

Will the donated item be displayed?

The SSHF cannot guaranteed that all donated items will be placed on display in the museum. Items are collected for several different reasons including rarity, historical significance, research purposes, future exhibits, etc. Artifacts are displayed on a rotational basis, depending on exhibit priorities, in order to preserve them for the future. When an item is exhibited, the SSHF cannot guarantee the length of time that it will remain on public display. Items from the SSHF permanent collection may also be used in outreach exhibits or loaned to other institutions within the province and across Canada. In such circumstances time frames for the duration of these exhibits are generally established in advance.

What happens to artifacts that are removed (deaccessioned) from the collection?

The SSHF has a well-developed collections management policy in place that provides strong guidance regarding what we should accept as donations. As a result, the need to deaccession items is rare. When it does happen the curator presents the justification for deaccessioning to the executive director who, if in agreement, will carry the request forward to the Board of Directors for final approval.

The main reasons to deaccession an artifact from the collection include:

  • The item is outside the scope of the SSHF’s mission and our Collections Policy
  • The size, condition or value of the item poses a threat to the rest of the SSHF collection and our staff, or the condition does not support conservation or ongoing storage
  • The item has failed to retain its authenticity, or has been stolen, lost, missing, vandalized or otherwise damaged beyond repair
  • The item is unnecessarily duplicated in the collection
  • The item is a candidate for repatriation

Once an item has been approved for deaccessioning:

  • The SSHF will attempt to give it back to the original donor
  • The SSHF may relocate the item to another organization where it supports the collection policy
  • The SSHF may offer the item through public sale, however, the SSHF prohibits the board and staff from purchasing objects for sale or receiving them as gifts
  • The SSHF may choose to destroy the item using accepted museum protocols

The SSHF curator would be pleased to discuss any specific questions you might have about the donation process. Please call 306-780-9211 to discuss your concerns.

SSHF DONATION & COLLECTION POLICIES

The SSHF’s Collections Policy outlines the professional and institutional standards and procedures by which collections will be acquired, documented, maintained, utilized and in some instances disposed of.

Excerpts from this policy are outlined below in order to explain the donation process.

Acquisitions:

  • The SSHF will collect archival materials and artifacts that are relevant to the sport heritage of the province of Saskatchewan from the earliest times to the present.
  • Any material collected must have historical significance that will contribute to a clearer understanding or interpretation of some former custom, activity, episode or person related to sport or relevant to its interpretation.
  • Preference will be given to material that has a documented individual history.
  • The SSHF will collect both archival and artifactual material related to the sport career for which an individual or team is inducted.
  • The SSHF will also collect material that is not related to inductees but illustrates and promotes an understanding of the cultural heritage and traditions of sport in Saskatchewan.
  • The SSHF will only collect those materials that it can properly care for as outlined by accepted museum standards.
  • The SSHF will acquire only objects having a legal and ethical pedigree.

Accessioning:

  • As a general rule, the SSHF does not purchase items for the permanent collection. All acquisitions are through donation which requires a transfer of ownership to the SSHF through a Donation Agreement Form.
  • The decision to accept an item into the permanent collection rests with the curator and executive director. In the event that a timely decision is not available then a Temporary Receipt will be provided to the prospective donor.
  • The Board of Directors shall make any final decisions to accept or reject any proffered donation if there is any question of acceptability by the staff or dispute by the donor of a staff decision to refuse an item.
  • The SSHF will not accept donations with restrictions or conditions on their use or mandatory credit lines.
  • The SSHF will not be obligated to exhibit any item accepted for the permanent collection. Items at any time not on display will be considered part of the reserve and study collections for use in changing displays and other programming.
  • The SSHF does not accept long-term loans as part of the permanent collection. Materials will only be accepted on loan for short-term activities such as research and temporary exhibits initiated by the SSHF. All loans are subject to the terms outlined in the Incoming Loan Form accompanying such materials.
  • The SSHF is a Registered Charity under the Income Tax Act in Canada and may issue income tax receipts representing the fair market value of donations received with a Donation Agreement. In evaluating donations for income tax purposes, the SSHF staff can appraise individual articles valued up to $1,000. Items valued by the donor at more than $1,000 must be accompanied by a signed and dated appraisal from a disinterested third party who is considered an expert in the field before a tax receipt will be given. The cost of appraisal is the responsibility of the donor. The SSHF will refuse donations where the donor and the SSHF are in disagreement with the fair market value based on internal or external appraisals.

Deaccessioning:

The removal (deaccessioning) of materials from the permanent collection is, as a general rule, avoided by the SSHF. There are, however, circumstances where deaccessioning an artifact would be considered. This includes:

  • not fitting into the mandate;
  • untenable restrictions placed by a donor;
  • insufficient documentation, uncertain provenance, questionable origin or loss of authenticity;
  • condition does not support conservation or storage;
  • a size, condition or value which may pose a threat to other elements in the collection;
  • redundancy or surplus;
  • candidate for repatriation;
  • stolen, lost, missing, vandalized or otherwise damaged.

Following consultation with, and approval by, the Board of Directors, artifact(s) that are no longer deemed relevant to the SSHF may be deaccessioned. Disposal of items will be accomplished in one of the following manners (listed here in order of preference):

  • transfer to an education, extension, or research collection;
  • offer to return artifact(s) to the original donor, as long as a tax receipt has not been issued.
  • offer the artifact(s) to another museum, archives, educational or cultural institution;
  • sell the artifact(s) with the proceeds from any sale going into a special projects fund to be used at the discretion of the curator pending approval by the Board; on no occasion will staff or Board members be permitted to purchase or receive as a gift any such items;
  • destroy the artifact(s) only as a last resort and only under the advisement of a trained conservator who has determined whether the artifact is beyond repair and if it is, how to safely and ethically destroy it.