I am going to suggest that unless any group they are donated to has sufficient funds, the item will likely never get public exposure or the proper handling. Proper archival treatment is expensive and most of the local groups are small non-profits. Many have suffered great over the last couple of years. If the people or families names have made significant contributions to the committee, your item may receive better handling.
My suggestion is if you want to go the donation route to find out how and where your donation will be stored and used. (eg. are they going to take the time and expense to treat it properly and do they have proper storage for the item). Some of the local groups do not even have rules for handling of items in archives.
Myself, I would likely use them, display them and pass them through the family. I would take the time and expense to make sure I did it in the way that was least likely to damage them.