Introducing the Expanded Catalogue
Since launching Museum Exchange more than five years ago, our catalogue has become the foundation of thousands of connections between donors and institutions. As our community has grown to include more than 400 museums and 75 hospitals and universities, so too have the ways our members want to offer, discover, and place works.
Today, we're excited to introduce the first major evolution of the Museum Exchange catalogue. These enhancements are designed to provide donors with greater control and flexibility, help institutions prioritize opportunities more effectively, and accelerate the matching process for everyone.
More Control
Donors can now tailor each offering to the audiences they want to reach. Instead of choosing between our museum or healthcare and education networks, listings can be offered to any combination of institution types—including museums, hospitals, universities, and other collecting organizations. When submitting a listing, donors select the audiences they’d like to reach, giving them greater control over how and where their work is presented while ensuring that institutions only see donation opportunities that they are strong candidates for.
More Flexibility
We've expanded the catalogue into three complementary formats, optimized for different outcomes.
Quarterly Catalogue
The Quarterly Catalogue replaces the previous Museum Catalogue, featuring a curated selection of highly desirable works that are available through a competitive proposal process.
New listings released on the first day of each quarter
Institutions submit proposals over a three-month period
Donors review all proposals together at the end of the quarter and select an institution
This catalogue format allows donors to attract wide interest while institutions are given the opportunity to make their most compelling case for the donation.
Rolling Catalogue
The new Rolling Catalogue is designed to accelerate placements through monthly listings that are first offered through a competitive proposal process and then transition to a first-come, first-served phase if no proposals are received.
Phase 1 – Accepting Proposals:
New listings released on the first day of each month
Institutions submit proposals over a one-month period
Donors review all proposals together at the end of the month and select an institution
Phase 2 – First Offer:
Unclaimed listings automatically transition to a first-come, first-served basis
Institutions submit interest at any time over a five-month period
Donors review interest immediately upon submission and select the institution
This catalogue format gives donors an opportunity to receive competitive proposals within a compressed timeframe while ensuring that unclaimed works continue to reach potentially interested institutions afterward.
Direct Catalogue
Not every donation requires finding a new institutional partner. The new Direct Catalogue enables donors to offer works directly to institutions with which they already have an established relationship.
Institutions add donors to their approved donor list
New listings released upon submission directly to selected institutions
Institutions submit interest at any time over a one-month period
Donors review interest immediately upon submission and select the institution
This catalogue format allows both donors and institutions to benefit from Museum Exchange's streamlined donation workflow while maintaining an existing relationship.
More Efficiency
Alongside the new catalogue formats, we've introduced several features to help institutions prioritize opportunities and maximize their success on Museum Exchange.
Proposal Counter
Every listing now displays the number of proposals it has received, providing institutions with greater transparency into the level of competition before they invest time preparing a proposal.
Automated “Post-Block”
When listings go unclaimed during their initial listing cycle—whether in the Quarterly or Rolling Catalogue—they will now automatically be offered on a first-come, first-served basis to institutions that saved them to their Listings of Interest or Curatorial Review pages. This allows institutions to revisit works that they previously identified as strong collection fits but weren’t able to submit a proposal before the deadline, contributing to more matches.
Continuing to Improve
These catalogue enhancements represent the first major upgrade to the Museum Exchange catalogue since our launch, but they won't be the last! We're committed to continually improving the platform to help donors place works more efficiently and enable institutions to discover meaningful additions to their collections and save time processing gifts. We hope you enjoy exploring the new catalogue formats and features, and we look forward to sharing additional enhancements in the months ahead.