Receiving Proposals – Museum Exchange

Once your listing has been reviewed and made available to institutions, you may receive one or more proposals from institutions interested in receiving your donation.

This article explains what a proposal is, how to review proposals, and what happens when you accept one.

What is a proposal?

A proposal is a formal expression of interest from an institution.

When an institution submits a proposal, it is indicating that it has reviewed your object or collection and would like to be considered as the recipient of the donation.

A proposal typically includes information about:

the institution
its collection
why it believes it is a good fit for the donation

When will proposals appear

Proposals are only available after your listing has been reviewed, added to the catalogue, and explored by institutions during the catalogue window. You may receive none, one or multiple proposals for an object or collection you have listed.

How to review proposals

When proposals are available, you can review them in Museum Exchange as part of your listing workflow. You will also be notified by email that a proposal(s) was received. To view proposals, visit the folder the listing is in, and then click on the listing tab. Find the proposal and click on the View Proposals button.

As you review proposals, consider:

which institution feels like the best fit for your object or collection
how the institution describes its interest
whether the proposal aligns with your goals for the donation

If you have received more than one proposal, take time to compare them carefully before making a decision.

What to look for in a proposal

Each donor may evaluate proposals differently, but common things to review include:

the institution’s interest in the object or collection
how the institution describes the fit with its collection
whether the proposal gives you confidence in the institution’s ability to receive the donation
any information that helps you understand why the institution wants the work

The goal is to choose the institution you would like to receive the donation.

What happens if you receive multiple proposals

If more than one institution submits a proposal, you can review all available proposals before selecting one. Once you select an institution, a match is made and the donation moves into the next phase.

What happens when you accept a proposal

When you accept a proposal:

the donor and institution are officially matched
the listing is no longer in the pre-match stage
the donation moves into standard donation processing

At that point, the process shifts from reviewing interest to completing the steps required to finalize the donation.

Can you reject a proposal?

If you receive a proposal or proposals that you do not want to move forward with, you do not have to accept it. The key decision at this stage is whether you want to proceed with one of the institutions that has submitted a proposal.

Best practices when reviewing proposals

To help make the decision process easier:

review each proposal carefully
compare all available proposals before choosing
think about which institution is the best fit for your object or collection
make sure you are comfortable moving forward before accepting
remember that accepting a proposal begins the donation processing phase

Common questions

Do I have to accept the first proposal I receive?

No. If multiple proposals are available, you can review them before choosing one.

What happens if I receive only one proposal?

You can still review that proposal and decide whether you want to move forward with it.

Can I receive proposals from more than one institution?

Yes. A listing in the catalogue may receive multiple proposals.

What happens after I accept a proposal?

Once you accept a proposal, a match is made and the donation moves into the post-match donation process.

Can a Collection receive a proposal?

Yes. If you submitted multiple objects together as a Collection, institutions review and propose on the Collection as one donation. If accepted, the institution must receive all objects in that Collection together.