Donate an Artifact

To make an artifact donation offer, complete the  Online Donation Offer Form. Completing this form is the quickest way to get in touch with the Donation Review Team. CHM does not accept materials that are deposited at the Museum without prior acceptance by the Donation Review Team. Donation offers made by phone are discouraged and take longer to process. Please note that on average, only 20% of donation offers are accepted into CHM’s artifact collection.

CHM does not accept unsolicited donations through the mail or in person. Item(s) mailed or dropped off at CHM will not be considered for inclusion in CHM’s collection.

Donation offers are reviewed by a team of curators, archivists, and museum registrars who are experts in computing history, archival practices, and preservation. All donation offers are evaluated based on the historical interests outlined in CHMs Collecting Plan. Condition, completeness, our ability to make the potential donation accessible to the public, and the availability of the resources required to store and care properly for the item(s) are also aspects of donation offer review, as well as the sensitive nature of materials or copyright concerns.

The CHM Team takes about four weeks to review donation offers. During that time, we may ask for additional details that are needed to properly consider the item(s) on offer. If your offer is accepted into the collection, our registrar will contact you to arrange for the items to come to CHM’s off-site storage facility (not our museum building in Mountain View, CA). When the item(s) reach CHM, we will issue an Incoming Receipt. After a final onsite review of the item(s), we will send out a Deed of Gift. The Deed of Gift legally transfers the property to CHM. Your copy of the countersigned Deed is proof that you donated the item(s) to CHM and can be used for tax purposes. If your offer is not accepted, you will receive an email notification informing you of that decision.