Acquisition Dates

Date

Scope

ARC Approval/NotifiedThis is the date that the work was presented and approved by a Blanton acquisition committee.
Date ReceivedThis is the date on the incoming receipt that shows when the object was received at the museum or by a museum staff member.
Accession Date

For this date, use the date that the gift letter was signed by the donor or the date the purchase voucher was signed by the director.  If that date is not there for some reason, try to get the closest to when the funds were transferred. 

Use this date as the date of accession because it will put the acquisitions into the proper order or sequence of when they were acquired.  This is critical, since our fiscal year begins in September, and often we need to know what was acquired in a given fiscal year.  For bequests use the year when probate is completed, and all of the various parties sign off on it.


Note: Sometimes, things fall through the cracks and something has to be given a number at the end of the year. In this case, under “date of accession” use the actual date when the gift or purchase was completed in order for the work to show up as being acquired in the correct fiscal year.

Promise Agreement Signed DateFor promised gifts, enter date of donor’s signature here. Do not enter into accession date field, which will be filled whenever it is made a full gift.
Director Approval

Date of the director’s approval for acquisitions that are not formally presented to the ARC first. This field can also be used to note the date that the director signs the accession approval form.

YEG Date ReceivedCustody date for year-end gifts. Use Date Received for the date that the gift actually arrives at the museum.
Condition Approval DateDate condition approved by curator after they have reviewed the objects current condition in person.
Thank You Letter DateDate the executive director’s thank you letter is sent acknowledging a gift offer.





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