THE FUSE

Every once in a while, as a collector, I am exasperated. It has little to do with forming my collection, which is a joy. Rather, it has to do with gifting objects from my collection to museums and like organizations. This happens because institutional employees who write thank-you letters to donors for their gifts do so either thoughtlessly or because they have not been trained to execute the letter correctly. Though the communications seem so sugar-sweet, and I suspect the same template is sent to every donor regardless of what was given, they often omit crucial terminology the IRS requires to substantiate a charitable deduction.