A Guide to Donating to the Collection

The Dundas Museum and Archives holds both artifacts (objects such as clothing or tools) and archival material (two-dimensional items such as documents, photos, maps, and digital content).

If you have an artifact or archival record you think we might be interested in, we would love to hear from you!

What should I do if I want to donate something to the Museum? 

STEP 1: Fill out our online submission form below!

• Please bring in your donation when requested by a Museum staff member, following approval by the Collections Committee. This ensures we’re ready to receive your donation with the appropriate staff available, with time and space for you to share your items’ stories with us, and the vault space needed to store your donation safely.

When a donation submission is received, our Collections Committee will review the donation based on the following:

• Condition: We will assess donations’ physical condition, such as their potential deterioration, mould, or wear-and-tear. If an item is in poor condition but determined to be relevant through related Documentation (below), we will then determine the extent and cost of treatment needed. Unfortunately, objects or archival materials in poor condition cannot be accepted unless they are rare or unique. 

• Documentation: The most valuable items in our collection are those with stories to tell. When considering a donation, we value those with stories, provenance, history, and context about those who created or used the object or archives. The more detail, the better!

• Relevance: While we love history, in the form of both artifacts and archives, due to space limitations, we have to limit ourselves only to accept donations that are relevant to the Dundas area specifically. We will consider how the object or archives fit within our Collection Mandate and whether it will bring a new perspective to the existing collection. 

STEP 2: Donation is reviewed by the Collection Committee

• Our Collections Committee regularly reviews potential donations and confirms their acceptance into our collection. Or, the Committee determines the object(s) do not meet the above criteria, and the donation is declined.

STEP 3: Bring the donation to the Dundas Museum & Archives

• Once your donation has been reviewed by our team, we will reach out to you and ask you to bring the item in as well as fill out a Declaration of Gift form.

Once a donation is made, the donor transfers ownership of the item(s) to the Dundas Museum & Archives, who will have complete discretion regarding the use, display and disposition of these items as it may deem to be in its best interests. Because of space limitations, we cannot guarantee that any specific artifacts will be displayed on a permanent basis. Concerns about access restrictions to archival records should be discussed with the Archivist before donation. 

Examples of items we would be interested in receiving are:

• Records created by or relating to women in the community.
• Records created by or relating to individuals from minority groups in the community, including but not limited to: LGBTQ2+ people; religious minorities; ethnic & cultural minorities and people with disabilities.
• Items manufactured in Dundas or relating to Dundas industry.
• Artifacts relating to Dundas businesses and events, especially 1960’s to present.
• Local art, by both professional and amateur artists.
• Objects relating to the Dundas Cactus Festival and Cactus Festival Parade.
• Objects relating to the 70’s-80’s biker culture in Dundas.
• Photographs of Dundas from the 1930s to the 2000s, specifically those that identify people, places, buildings, and events. These records can be digital in format, or you can loan an item to us on a temporary basis for scanning.
• Men’s clothing, circa the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
• Objects, images and materials related to the experience of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Dundas.

Items we are likely not interested in receiving are:

• Newspapers: Although they are a wealth of information, the Dundas Museum & Archives cannot accept newspapers at this time due to their delicate nature and the ongoing maintenance of our existing newspaper collection (with the exception of rare items such as the Dundas Moon).
• Christening Gowns: As we already have several excellent examples in our collections, we are unlikely to accept christening gowns unless it has a very strong Dundas provenance and history.

If you have any questions or difficulty completing the form, please contact our Collections Manager & Assistant General Manager, Severine Craig, at severine@dundasmuseum.ca.

DONATION FORM

Donation Inquiry

Name *

Phone Number *

Email Address *

Address

Address

Address

Address

City

City

State/Province

State/Province

Zip/Postal

Zip/Postal

Country AfghanistanAland IslandsAlbaniaAlgeriaAmerican SamoaAndorraAngolaAnguillaAntarcticaAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaArubaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBermudaBhutanBoliviaBonaire, Sint Eustatius and SabaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBouvet IslandBrazilBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryBruneiBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCôte d'IvoireCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaChristmas IslandCocos (Keeling) IslandsColombiaComorosCongoCook IslandsCosta RicaCroatiaCubaCuracaoCyprusCzech RepublicDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEast TimorEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEthiopiaFalkland Islands (Malvinas)Faroe IslandsFijiFinlandFranceFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaFrench Southern TerritoriesGabonGambiaGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGibraltarGreeceGreenlandGrenadaGuadeloupeGuamGuatemalaGuernseyGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHeard Island and McDonald IslandsHoly SeeHondurasHong KongHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIranIraqIrelandIsle of ManIsraelItalyJamaicaJapanJerseyJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribatiKosovoKuwaitKyrgyzstanLaosLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacaoMacedoniaMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaldivesMaliMaltaMarshall IslandsMartiniqueMauritaniaMauritiusMayotteMexicoMicronesiaMoldovaMonacoMongoliaMontenegroMontserratMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNew CaledoniaNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNiueNorfolk IslandNorth KoreaNorthern Mariana IslandsNorwayOmanPakistanPalauPalestinePanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPitcairnPolandPortugalPuerto RicoQatarReunionRomaniaRussiaRwandaSaint BarthelemySaint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da CunhaSaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint Martin (French part)Saint Pierre and MiquelonSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesSamoaSan MarinoSao Tome and PrincipeSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbiaSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSint Maarten (Dutch part)SlovakiaSloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSouth Georgia and the South Sandwich IslandsSouth KoreaSouth SudanSpainSri LankaSudanSurinameSvalbard and Jan MayenSwazilandSwedenSwitzerlandSyriaTaiwanTajikistanTanzaniaThailandTimor-LesteTogoTokelauTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanTurks and Caicos IslandsTuvaluUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUnited StatesUnited States Minor Outlying IslandsUruguayUzbekistanVanuatuVatican CityVenezuelaVietnamVirgin Islands, BritishVirgin Islands, U.S.Wallis and FutunaWestern SaharaYemenZambiaZimbabwe

Country

Donation Description (Please list individual items, their approximate dimensions, their material and any markings.) *

How did you acquire this object(s)? *

History *

The Collections Committee is looking for artifacts that help the Dundas Museum and Archives tell stories about Dundas: the people and communities, places and events, businesses and organizations, both in the past and present.

Item Date(s)

Condition of the Collection or Item *

Very Good (like new)

Good (some wear and tear)

Fair (significant wear and tear)

Poor (incomplete or has severe damage)

Very Poor (afraid to touch it)

OtherOther

Associated Stories or Other Information?

Images: We use images to review donations. Please upload 1-10 images of your donation(s) below (cell phone pictures are fine!)

Drop a file here or click to upload Choose File

Maximum file size: 5MB

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