July 28th THE SIGNATURE

I remember after my interview, Peggy Hoobler and Gary Bailey gave me a tour of the museum, and explained the collection was owned by the Huerfano County Historical Society, but that the buildings and operations were owned by the town … oh, and the Town Board appointed them … the museum board. But, most of the fundraising is handled by the Friends of the Francisco Fort Museum. Ah-hem, “So … wait, who’s on first?” I wanted to say. I “get it” now, and think the conclusion of a fabulous Francisco Day, put on by Friends of the Francisco Fort Museum, is a great time to assist in clarifying exactly, “What’s on third” ….

There are three main entities involved with the museum: the Town of La Veta, Friends of the Francisco Fort Museum, and the Huerfano County Historical Society. Within three organizations lie four boards, because the Town appointed the Francisco Fort Museum Board to act as a liaison, responsible for handling museum issues. Ultimately, museum decisions are left to the discretion of the Town Board Trustees, but with the advisement of the Museum Board. The Town cooperates with the Huerfano County Historical Society on matters regarding the collections, and fundraising matters are the concern of the Friends Board, which exists as an independent of the Town.

Our governance structure has significant impact on a number of matters, one of which I will do my best to cover in this article: how does this affect donor relations?

First, fiscal donations may be taken by any of the bodies involved. If you would like to make a general-purpose donation of, say, $50 – that check can be written to the Francisco Fort Museum, at which point the Town of La Veta will earmark the funds, and the $50 will be worked into the following year’s operation budget; the donation is tax deductible under the IRS code 170. If you’d rather, you can make the check to Friends, and the money will be placed into their account – which is used to support special events for the museum (such as Museum Music or Francisco Fort Day), and is available to the museum through proposal. Friends is legally bound to support the museum with their assets, and has a little more freedom is taking out funds for immediate use. Donations to Friends are tax deductible under IRS code 501. Finally, you can write a check to the Historical Society, with notation of your desire for it to be used for the museum, and they will set it aside to assist as they see fit. They are also a 501 organization, and donations to them are tax deductible.

On to donation of artifacts … If you want to donate an item, you must first make an appointment with me – and I will work with a team to consider whether or not the museum is in need or want of the item. Then, you can choose whether you’d like the item to be assigned to the Town of La Veta, or to the Historical Society. Either is tax deductible.

And, finally – I’d like to address the reality that there is very real frustration and mistrust that exists because of the way our system is currently set up. There have, indeed, been unfortunate power-struggles and various squabbles as we’ve maneuvered out way through a complex governance system. What I want to make very clear is this: there are good people on all these boards, and they are all working towards a common goal. Dissent is inevitable, but we are doing this together and I am proud to say things are coming together. As always, please contact me with any questions or concerns.