November 28, 2002 | Read Time: 2 minutes
Responding to controversies that have arisen over increasing efforts by donors to control how their gifts are used, the American Association of Museums has issued its first set of ethics guidelines governing how its 3,000 members should deal with individual contributors.
“In today’s funding environment there is a lot of misunderstanding, particularly in the donor community, about the appropriate role of the donor when they get involved with a museum,” said Edward H. Able, president of the association. “The relationships being sought by donors are infinitely more complex than they used to be. Donors are frequently seeking more involvement or more recognition.”
The guidelines on relationships with individual donors come one year after the association issued a similar set dealing with corporate contributors. Mr. Able said both are part of a continuing effort by the group to lay out ethical standards for museum boards and curators.
Several museums have become embroiled in controversies in recent years as the result of relationships with certain large donors, Mr. Able pointed out, though he declined to give examples.
Among the most public cases, however, was one involving the Guggenheim Museum, in New York.
Two years ago the museum was criticized for putting on an exhibition of clothes designed by Giorgio Armani at the same time the fashion designer’s company was making a $15-million gift to the museum.
Last year curators at the Smithsonian Institution questioned a decision by the National Museum of American History to accept a $38-million gift from a foundation established by the businesswoman Catherine Reynolds that was to be used to pay for a hall to honor people of great achievement.
When the gift was announced, Ms. Reynolds mentioned the former Olympic ice skater Dorothy Hamill and the television reporter Sam Donaldson as the types of people who might be honored. Critics charged that the exhibit’s content was being dictated by the donor and did not meet the museum’s standards. After the controversy erupted, Ms. Reynolds announced the foundation was canceling the gift.
The new museum-association guidelines are based on six principles:
- Museums should make sure gifts comply with the law.
- They should develop written policies to ensure that charitable donations are used for purposes consistent with the museums’ missions.
- While they should encourage “appropriate collaborations” with donors, museum officials should control the content and integrity of exhibitions.
- Museums should ensure that no individual donor benefits at the expense of an organization’s mission or reputation.
- Museums should take reasonable steps to make their actions open to the public.
- Museums should make sure donors have the information they need to understand what their money will be used for and how that use fits into the organization’s mission.
To carry out those principles, museums should develop written policies and mission statements, the guidelines suggest.
The association’s guidelines, along with its other ethical standards, are available on its Web site, http://www.aam-us.org.
