Thank you very much for considering making a gift to the California Historical Society. We do not have collection staff available for unscheduled or ‘walk-in’ item evaluations, and we thank you, in advance, for taking the time to complete this form for our review.

Additionally, we hope you understand that we cannot take possession of, nor accept responsibility for, potential donations brought to CHS without a scheduled appointment.

You may download, print & mail the form to: CHS, Director of Library & Archives, 678 Mission, San Francisco, CA 94105 or you may complete the online form. After reviewing the information that you provide, our collection staff will contact you within 30 days if CHS is interested in adding your proposed donation to the collection. We receive a great many offers of potential gifts to the collection every week, and may not be able to respond personally to each one.

Additionally, we hope you understand that we cannot take possesion of, nor accept responsibility for, potential donations brought to CHS without a scheduled appointment.

How does CHS decide what material it will accept?

In order to ensure that any new addition to the collection will receive the care it deserves in terms of preservation, museum-quality storage, accessibility and exhibition, a careful review of the material, considering the points below, will be made by CHS collections staff:

• Is the material compatible with our organizational mission?
• Does this material duplicate material already in the collection?
• Does CHS have resources to adequately preserve, store or care for the material?

All items submitted for donation to the California Historical Society undergo a review process before being accepted into the collection.

Although CHS maintains a specialized collection of three-dimensional cultural materials, CHS does not actively seek or acquire such materials unless of exceptional value in interpreting the history of the state.