The Missouri Institute of Natural Science will gladly accept gifts of personal property such as fine art, fine furniture, antiques and collectables, personal collections of artifacts (including natural science specimens), movable property such as automobiles, aircraft, RVs and boats (all in working condition) and other personal property.  The Institute benefits in one of several ways: we can choose to sell the property immediately and use the sale proceeds for any activity or program of the Institute, we may hold the property (such as a collection of natural science specimens) and make it a permanent part of our exhibits or we may hold it temporarily and sell it in the future when we believe it will fetch a greater value than an immediate sale.

Your gift of personal property gives you an immediate income tax deduction, based on the appraisal of the property.  No capital gains tax is levied on the donation, as long as the gift meets the IRS requirements of ‘Related Use.’ A gift of personal property has the added benefit of making a useful contribution to the Institute immediately without any adverse affect to your personal cash flow.