Estrella WarBird Museum

Material Donations

The Museum actively solicits and encourages donations in the form of historical artifacts from individuals and their relatives who served in the armed forces, or who were active in civil aviation in any capacity, either in peacetime and during conflicts, and who may have items in any of the categories listed at the bottom of this page.

It is important to our history that these be available to public view, and not locked away unseen or forgotten in a closet. Most donations are, of course, considered tax-deductible by the Internal Revenue Service.

If you have an item you want to donate, please call Betty Miller at (805) 471-0472 or Carol Weiss at (805) 239-2637. Let us know what you are considering donating. And, thank you for considering the museum!

About donated/loaned material

All donated material is, upon acceptance, immediately assigned a category number, and an archive is established in the Donor's name.

Terms and conditions for donations of property are typical with museums, but should be understood by the Donor:

1. Unless a prior offer has been submitted with a written statement expressing otherwise, personal property is offered to the Museum without any encumbrance or limiting conditions on the part of the Donor, and permission for its use and display by the Museum is given. This permission includes rights of the Donor's authorship and copyright, inasmuch as copies of all data, drawings, and photographs will be available to researchers and historians approved by the Museum, with stipulations that credit for any published use be given to the Museum.

2. The Museum has unrestricted rights to display, photograph, copy, and otherwise use this personal property for the charitable purposes of the Museum. The Museum also reserves the right to restore, reconstruct, or repair any part of the property. As deemed appropriate or necessary by the Board of Directors of the Museum, donated property may be disposed of, temporarily or permanently, by lease, loan, or in other like manners, or by sale or trade.

3. The Museum will exercise the same precautions with regard to personal property that are done with other properties. The Museum cannot insure individual items against loss or damage from any cause; however, all property will be treated with the reasonable care normally afforded those items of historical or intrinsic value.

4. Most donations of personal property to the Museum qualify as donations to a public charity, and the Donor is entitled to charitable deductions of such properties, for their reasonable or appraised values, for tax purposes (refer to current IRS policy). Loaned propety is not tax deductible.

5. By law, the Museum is not authorized or permitted to give or secure appraisals of the value of donated personal property, although estimated values may be established for purposes of Museum insurance. If the Donor desires independent appraisals of value of donated personal property, it is the Donor's responsibility to obtain such appraisals.

6. It is the Donor's responsibility to notify the Museum of any change in a Donor's status, or a change of address.