You Can Make a Difference

Most of the items in the Museum collection were donated by our generous friends.

The Museum is a not-for-profit organization. There may be certain tax advantages for you to donate to the Museum and you should first consult a tax professional.

There are many ways to donate to the Museum. You can donate money. You can donate artifacts. And you can donate your time. All of these are important to us and we would not have a Museum without them all.

You may make a donation to a specific project. If you see a need for a certain display, facility, service, etc., and you would like to usher it into being, please discuss your idea with the staff. For example, our military exhibit is the result of the work of a single individual who constructed the viewing area, obtained and arranged the artifacts, and maintains the display.

Money: The State Farm Museum, like most museums, always lack sufficient funding. While we do receive financial support from state and county sources for maintenance costs, we rely on private donations and grants from institutions for improvements to our grounds and facilities.

Money can be donated as an outright gift. If you would like to donate as part of a will, please consult your attorney to make proper arrangements.

If you see a need for a certain display, facility, service, etc., and you would like to usher it into being, please discuss your idea with the Museum staff. Our military display is the result of the vision of a single person (a retired military man) who constructed the display area, obtained and arranged the artifacts, and maintains the display.

Artifacts: If you have an artifact that you think would be appropriate in the Museum collection, it is advisable to contact someone on the museum staff to discuss the item. (This may save you the trouble of transporting the item.) If the Museum staff agrees that the item is in keeping with the mission of the Museum, either your can transport the item to the Museum, or their personnel can pick up the item. The Museum has equipment necessary to move most items.

When you donate an item to the Museum, you will be asked to sign an agreement that you relinquish ownership of the artifact to the Museum.

Due to display space limitations, your object may not be immediately displayed. It may be placed in a safe storage area and used in future displays as displays are rotated periodically to increase interest and encourage return visits.

Some artifacts may be maintained in the condition they were received. However, some items such as tractors and farm equipment may be restored and put to use on the Museum grounds. The appearance or utility of a donated item may thus be altered.

While the museum does not anticipate it when they accept an item, there is a possibility that the item you donated to Museum may disappear. Not everything is under lock and key. Sometimes an item will get moved to another location and the books are not updated and we simply can't find it. We try very hard to safeguard our artifacts.

Museum staff members are very much aware of the emotion attached to objects donated to the Museum and respect for your feelings is always a consideration. The Museum simply cannot be a warehouse for every artifact in the state and we are sometimes forced to make choices because of limitations of storage and display area, and the costs of maintaining artifacts in our humid climate.

You can rest assured that any item placed into the custody of the Museum will have a lasting benefit to the Museum and community.

Your Time: You can donate your time. President George W. Bush has recommended that every American volunteer 2000 hours of their time to any worthwhile project of their own choosing. The persons developing this web site are volunteers. The Farm Museum always needs volunteers. The greatest need for volunteers is to help conduct school tours. On some days there are several hundred school children visiting the Museum! Volunteers are needed in the kitchen, blacksmith and carpentry shop, store, and loom room. A group of dedicated volunteers meet every Thursday evening to restore maintain the antique tractors. Volunteers are needed to help maintain the grounds and buildings.

It does not matter what your skill levels may be, there is always something that most people can do, and your efforts, what ever they may be, will be appreciated by the community.

Please see our Volunteer page, e-mail us, or call (304) 675-5737. We thank you.