Designation: Self-Assessment Tool - Movable Cultural Property

Designated organizations can apply to the Canadian Cultural Property Export Review Board (Review Board) for certification of cultural property as being of "outstanding significance and national importance" for tax purposes as well as to apply to the Department of Canadian Heritage for movable cultural property grants.

This self-assessment tool is designed to help you understand and prepare for the designation application process.

Once completed, you will know:

1. Whether your organization requires designation.
2. If your organization is eligible to apply for designation.
3. The type of designation status you should seek.
4. What key documents you will need in order to apply.

Note: This is a self-assessment tool intended for your own use and reference.

A. Does your organization need designation?

• 1. Does your organization have a donor or vendor who wants to obtain certification of cultural property for income tax purposes?
• 2. Does your organization plan on applying to the Review Board to have a donation or sale certified and a tax certificate issued?
• 3. Does your organization plan to apply for a Movable Cultural Property grant to assist with the purchase of eligible cultural property?

B. Is your organization eligible to apply?

To be eligible to apply for designation, an organization must be either a public authority or an institution, as defined by the Cultural Property Export and Import Act (the Act).

4. Is your organization:

• 4a. a national, provincial/territorial, municipal or regional government?
• 4b. a Crown agency or Crown corporation?
• 4c. a public body performing a function of the Government of Canada?

To be eligible to apply for designation, a public authority must also meet all of the following requirements:

• 5. Are you a public authority able to issue official donation receipts for income tax purposes?
• 6. Is your organization committed to preserve for the long term certified cultural property or cultural property acquired with a Movable Cultural Property grant and commit itself to inform the Department of Canadian Heritage of any deaccession of these properties, if applicable?

7. To determine if your organization is an institution, please answer the following questions. Is the organization:

• 7a. publicly owned and operated solely for the benefit of the public? In other words, does the organization have a public mandate and is it managed exclusively in the public interest?
• 7b. established for educational or cultural purposes?
• 7c. conserving and exhibiting objects or otherwise making them available to the public?

To be eligible to apply for designation, an institution must also meet all of the following requirements:

• 8. Does your organization own the building(s) where it displays and houses objects or hold a long-term lease (minimum 10 years)?
• 9. Is your organization a registered charity with the Canada Revenue Agency, and is it able to issue official donation receipts for income-tax purposes?
• 10.a. Does your organization have a dissolution clause indicating that certified cultural property or cultural property acquired with a Movable Cultural Property grant will be transferred to another designated organization if your organization ceases operations? This criteria does not apply to units established within a public university or college (if this is the case, check N/A).
• 10.b. If your organization does not have such a clause, are you prepared to amend your bylaws or, if applicable, the legal document establishing the organization to include such a clause?
• 10.c. Is your organization committed to preserve for the long term certified cultural property or cultural property acquired with a Movable Cultural Property grant and does your organization commit itself to inform the Department of Canadian Heritage of any deaccession of these properties, if applicable?

C. What type of designation do you need?

Two types of designation are possible: Category A and Category B. Designation cannot be granted in relation to cultural property already owned by the organization.

Category A designation is granted indefinitely to eligible organizations that collect, preserve and make cultural property accessible to the public through exhibitions, research, publications or online.

Category B designation is granted indefinitely to eligible organizations that intend to apply to the Review Board to have a specific object or collection certified as cultural property for income tax purposes. Category B designation relates only to an already identified object or collection and not to any future acquisition. Category B designation is also intended for non-designated organization that wish to apply for a Movable Cultural Property Grant for the purchase of eligible cultural property.

Answer the following questions to find out which category best suits your organization.

• 11. Does your organization have a mandate to collect and preserve cultural property?
• 12. Does your organization actively collect items for the collection?
• 13. Is the collection available to the public through exhibitions, research, publications or online?
• 14. Does your organization have the appropriate staff, facility and budget to preserve a collection of cultural property over the long term?
• 15. Has your organization been in operation for at least two years?
• 16. Are you seeking designation with a specific object or collection in mind?
• 17. Does your organization have the capacity to ensure that the specific object or collection will be preserved over the long term?

D. What documents do you need to apply?

In order to be designated, applicant organizations must submit detailed information about their organization to demonstrate their capacity to preserve cultural property and make it accessible to the public. These include:

• Official charter documents, letters patent, legislation, or governing bylaws;
• Written, up-to-date plans and policies relating to collections, exhibitions, loans, fire safety, security and disaster management;
• Records indicating that the organization has been monitoring the relative humidity and temperature levels in its facility for the past twelve months;
• Detailed floor plans and representative photographs, clearly labelled and identified, of the exterior of each facility and of all areas within the facility where collections are exhibited, stored, consulted and conserved.

Conclusion

Now that you have completed the self-assessment tool, you should be able to determine whether you require designation and what documents you need to apply. The Heritage Policy and Programs Directorate is available to answer any questions that you may have.

If you are uncertain whether your facility meets designation guidelines, you may wish to contact the Canadian Conservation Institute before applying for designation.

Canadian Conservation Institute
Telephone: 613-998-3721
or toll-free in Canada: 1-866-998-3721
Fax: 613-998-4721
TTY/TDD: 819-997-3123
Website: Canadian Conservation Institute

Contact Us

Heritage Policy and Programs Directorate
Department of Canadian Heritage
25 Eddy Street (25-9-N)
Gatineau, Quebec
J8X 4B5

Toll free: 1-866-811-0055
Fax: (819) 997–8392
TTY/TDD: 1-888-997-3121
Email: bcmdesign-mcpdesign@pch.gc.ca
Website: Designation