CAUT

Hello CAUT people,

I wonder if any of you have ever grappled with the idea of trading in or selling a piano that was donated as a bequest.  In this case, a 1930s S&S M, donated by an alumna who passed away.  Some new parts, but it's basically an old piano.  Sentimentality versus reality...

Thanks!

We have had success with trading in pianos for credit toward new piano/s. Selling --BIG NO NO. But this is typical at a state university. Any idea of your guidlines at your school? 

Hello CAUT people,

I wonder if any of you have ever grappled with the idea of trading in or selling a piano that was donated as a bequest.  In this case, a 1930s S&S M, donated by an alumna who passed away.  Some new parts, but it's basically an old piano.  Sentimentality versus reality...

Thanks!

Hello CAUT people,

I wonder if any of you have ever grappled with the idea of trading in or selling a piano that was donated as a bequest.  In this case, a 1930s S&S M, donated by an alumna who passed away.  Some new parts, but it's basically an old piano.  Sentimentality versus reality...

Thanks!

Hello CAUT people,

I wonder if any of you have ever grappled with the idea of trading in or selling a piano that was donated as a bequest.  In this case, a 1930s S&S M, donated by an alumna who passed away.  Some new parts, but it's basically an old piano.  Sentimentality versus reality...

Thanks!

Richard West wrote:

"I almost always did an inspection just to see what we might be getting and to have a conversation with the donor about the conditions under which we accept a piano."

Yes! Ask me how I know to NEVER accept ANY donation without inspecting the piano first. Is it, "Looking a gift horse in the mouth?" Yes, and there are very good reasons to do so.

Alan

Richard,

I don't think that in today's market it is feasible to accept everything offered. Craig's list is filled with free pianos, some even offering to pay for the move.

I'm curious, though, how you managed to do what you did. Did you pay to move the piano to somewhere at the university? With whose funds? Did you then fix it up a bit (to make it sellable), and advertise it? Take payment personally and convey it to the university? Or did the department have ownership and take payment directly?

For me, I would need to do a requisition to pay for a move, don't have anywhere to put one, and to comply with NM law, it would need to be sold by the university property department, meaning a sales process involving open bidding.

With a private school, I can see working things out. With my public school, I don't even want to think of going there. There are just too many regulations and pitfalls around every corner. Those regulations are there for good reason, to combat kickbacks, skimming, and other devious activities, but they make many seemingly reasonable activities too close to impossible to even consider doing. Which is why I try to keep it in the private sector (foundation) unless we want the piano.

Hello CAUT people,

I wonder if any of you have ever grappled with the idea of trading in or selling a piano that was donated as a bequest.  In this case, a 1930s S&S M, donated by an alumna who passed away.  Some new parts, but it's basically an old piano.  Sentimentality versus reality...

Thanks!

Zeno

You need to have the school ask the family of the alumnae who donated the piano if it can be sold. It could be that the family wants the piano to stay with the university, no matter what. If it needs to be rebuilt, maybe the family will come up with the money to do that, if the school doesn't have the money.

This happens often when a family donates an useless upright piano to a church. The church doesn't have the money to fix it, even if it could be fixed, and the family doesn't want to spend the money either, but the family wants the piano to stay in the church. So it just sits in a corner of a room not being used, taking up space.

Hello CAUT people,

I wonder if any of you have ever grappled with the idea of trading in or selling a piano that was donated as a bequest.  In this case, a 1930s S&S M, donated by an alumna who passed away.  Some new parts, but it's basically an old piano.  Sentimentality versus reality...

Thanks!

Issues arise depending on how the donation is done. We try to get a form that allows us complete latitude in how we use or dispose of it. Your foundation folks probably have some boilerplate language for such a thing.

When someone approaches UNM with a piano to donate, I am immediately consulted. Based on what it is, I will either nix it (sorry, not interested in the spinet), accept it, or shunt it to a local piano dealer who will sell it on consignment. In the latter case, the foundation accepts the donation, and being independent of the university, is not subject to the state regulations having to do with disposal of property, which make it next to impossible to sell it at any decent price (essentially it goes through the surplus property department, where they dispose of desks, filing cabinets, and chairs and the like). Thus, the foundation takes possession, has it moved to the store, obtains the consigned price when it sells, and conveys the proceeds to the department.

I have been trying to come up with a system of shunting donated pianos to people who need them, with the idea of us being the go between who never owns the instrument, but haven't worked out the details and organization (I don't want that job, beyond saying X piano should go to that program, if the donor is willing). 

I have had the problem of not being able to dispose of instruments donated before my tenure, as property management wouldn't allow it without jumping through lots of hoops. (I solved that by giving them to dorms, still under the institutional umbrella).

Hello CAUT people,

I wonder if any of you have ever grappled with the idea of trading in or selling a piano that was donated as a bequest.  In this case, a 1930s S&S M, donated by an alumna who passed away.  Some new parts, but it's basically an old piano.  Sentimentality versus reality...

Thanks!

Thanks for all your replies, great food for thought.  In this case, we're a public (combo of city and state funded) school, so selling anything is close to impossible.  There were no formal or legal limits on what we could do with the piano.  I cleaned it up and it went into a rehearsal room for a few years, but it has its limitations and we're unlikely to have funds for rebuilding it to the degree required anytime soon.

As far as accepting donations, I learned the hard way that I personally must inspect each and every candidate.  Now I'm pretty quick to say no, but we have received some quite acceptable pianos.

Issues arise depending on how the donation is done. We try to get a form that allows us complete latitude in how we use or dispose of it. Your foundation folks probably have some boilerplate language for such a thing.

When someone approaches UNM with a piano to donate, I am immediately consulted. Based on what it is, I will either nix it (sorry, not interested in the spinet), accept it, or shunt it to a local piano dealer who will sell it on consignment. In the latter case, the foundation accepts the donation, and being independent of the university, is not subject to the state regulations having to do with disposal of property, which make it next to impossible to sell it at any decent price (essentially it goes through the surplus property department, where they dispose of desks, filing cabinets, and chairs and the like). Thus, the foundation takes possession, has it moved to the store, obtains the consigned price when it sells, and conveys the proceeds to the department.

I have been trying to come up with a system of shunting donated pianos to people who need them, with the idea of us being the go between who never owns the instrument, but haven't worked out the details and organization (I don't want that job, beyond saying X piano should go to that program, if the donor is willing). 

I have had the problem of not being able to dispose of instruments donated before my tenure, as property management wouldn't allow it without jumping through lots of hoops. (I solved that by giving them to dorms, still under the institutional umbrella).

Hello CAUT people,

I wonder if any of you have ever grappled with the idea of trading in or selling a piano that was donated as a bequest.  In this case, a 1930s S&S M, donated by an alumna who passed away.  Some new parts, but it's basically an old piano.  Sentimentality versus reality...

Thanks!

Zeno-

Perhaps you can donate it to the art department...

In the same vein, when you get a few donations that you would  like to keep and have pianos that you need to unload, where could ;you go to unload them?  Assuming the pianos are in really bad shape, you probably wouldn't try to unload them with faculty and students. Rebuilders these days prefer vintage Steinways and Masons not CBS era etc. Welcome any suggestions.  Thank you.

Interest in 19th-century squares is growing among musicians, piano historians, and collectors. They should not be casually discarded. If nothing else, their materials can be valuable, and they embody important tangible evidence about contemporary design and technology.

It can't hurt to offer any you don't want through the AMIS chatlist, so at least they might be well documented before they disappear.

Laurence Libin