For several years I was the chair of the computer committee for my church. We partnered with a nonprofit called Computers 4 Kids. This group took donations of computer equipment, refurbished it, loaded it with freeware applications, and gave the computers to school kids.
It was a real mixed experience. I don't think I ever picked up a computer that was less than 3 years old. Most of them were, to put it charitably (apologies for the pun), junk. The computers donated by individuals were very old, very slow, sixteen-bit machines that were too large even to be used for door stops or boat anchors. For these I had the problem of disposing them properly as junk.
Companies and organizations that donate computers consider it to be an easy way to dispose of junk. They get a tax write-off and you get the headache of doing something useful with them. Most corporate and large-organization computer donations I received were 3-5 year-old end-of-life-cycle surpluses. Anything that was still currently useful was stripped out of the computers and not donated. Computer monitors often were not at the end of their life cycle and therefore not donated with the computers. Although the computer was donated, the license for Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office were not donated. So most of these machines configured for kids had a free version of Linux installed. OK for school kids, but not very useful for organizational use.
If you look at the economics of the situation, you can buy a low-end off-the-shelf desktop for about $300-$500, complete with monitor. By the time you buy a current version Windows and Microsoft Office to put on a donated machine, maybe buy a monitor for the machine, you've almost spent that amount. Couple that with the value of the time somebody spends on making a donated computer functional and the cost is equal to or greater than the cost of a new computer. Also, you often you have the hassle of properly disposing of a useless donated machine.
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>>Does anyone know of nonprofits anywhere in the country that have partnered with for-profit companies to collect and/or distribute computers donated from said for-profit company? For example, all PC's that are being replaced from ABC for-profit after their 3-5 year life-cycle are wiped clean and then donated to XYZ nonprofit?>>
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