How To Donate Surplus IT For the Biggest Bang

Every time one of your clients replaces a notebook or desktop PC, it becomes surplus IT equipment. Instead of loading up landfills, used PCs and printers can have useful second lives -- if they are donated in proper working order to charities that need the refurbished PCs.Redemtech President and Founder discusses how to make PC donation a win-win strategy for you (or your customers) and the charity. — Jennifer Bosavage, editor

The relentless drive to make technology faster, smarter and more powerful has fueled dramatic gains in productivity. However, it has also shortened the lifespan of those PCs and printers, and they are more rapidly joining the ranks of surplus IT equipment. There is also growing awareness of the environmental impacts of rapid IT obsolescence – that today’s hottest gadget or PC is tomorrow’s hazardous waste.Enter PC donation.

Thanks to extensive media coverage most people have seen the toxic e-waste dumps that plague developing countries. Unfortunately, about 80 percent of used IT collected for recycling ends up there – and much of it comes from corporate users. As your customers become more focused on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability, it is important for them to have sound practices for IT asset disposition.

The best option is to not create e-waste in the first place – extending the useful life of equipment must be a fundamental part of the solution. When professionally refurbished, surplus IT can have a successful second life, and can provide a cost-effective option for VARs and solution providers, especially in departments that do not need the latest and greatest technology.

Donating surplus PCs to help people, schools and community organizations that desperately need technology – but can’t afford it – is a strategic alternative. In addition to reducing e-waste, donating surplus IT addresses a serious problem in our society: digital exclusion. For instance, our Serious Good initiative helps businesses refurbish and donate used computers to help people in underserved communities, and the organizations that are helping them, break cycles of poverty.

Often referred to as the ’digital divide,’ digital exclusion is especially critical at a time when IT provides a kind of gateway to individual prosperity and participation in modern civil society. One in four households in the U.S. – 28 million homes – lacks a PC. And more than 13 million PCs are needed by U.S. nonprofits to streamline operations and expand services.

The solution is apparent when you consider that U.S. businesses replace 40 million PCs each year – and 75 percent are four years old or less, meaning they have years of useful life remaining. Only 3 percent are donated, and many of these computers are ’gifted’ to charities without proper testing, repairs and legally-licensed software.

Donation Addresses Board-Level Priorities

Directing even a small portion of surplus IT to this cause through rigorously managed donation programs could have a dramatic impact on the digital divide – while delivering benefits on issues that a board-level priorities including:

• Environmental. In addition to reducing e-waste, reusing PCs through donation saves energy and cuts greenhouse gas emissions related to manufacturing new computers.

• Social. Donation of surplus PCs helps companies meet CSR and sustainability goals by helping people to advance in school and careers, access services, maintain social networks, participate in community, the political process and much more.

• Financial. Every dollar invested in refurbishing yields an ROI of $5 to $7 due to tax benefits and enhanced hardware value. Strategic donation can also strengthen or build new customer relationships, providing a commercial benefit to your business.

Seen in light of these goals, donations provide a new opportunity for corporate IT to make a strategic contribution to broader enterprise objectives.

Why IT Doesn’t Give

The conventional wisdom among IT professionals holds that donating surplus computers and other IT creates more risks than benefits. Their valid concerns – often based on experiences with unsuccessful donations – include potential data security lapses, environmental liability, illegal software licensing transfers, and others. Such donations, though perhaps well intended, literally transfer the corporation’s obligation for environmental disposal to the non-profit.

A well-managed donation program addresses those challenges – and yields far more value than other IT asset disposition options. As a result, perspectives on donation are changing. Gartner analysts Rob Schafer and Frances O’Brien recently commented in a recent research note that their organization ’has long advised enterprises to be cautious when donating used IT equipment to charitable organizations, because the process can be labor-intensive and requires careful planning, asset preparation and documentation.’ However, the research points out that with proper precautions, ’These relatively low-risk IT asset donations can be attractive to an enterprise’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) area.’

Making Donation Work

With the right expertise, these issues can be fully addressed to make donation a viable – and strategic disposition option. Keys to success include:

• Include CSR and Marketing departments in donations planning. When aligned with CSR goals, the donation counts towards company philanthropic initiatives. As a result, CSR, community affairs and marketing departments may have incentive to contribute budget and other resources to underwrite refurbishment costs and publicize the program.

• Refurbish the hardware to provide a reliable, quality experience. Donated hardware is a cost to the recipient – not a gift – if not in good operating condition. Fully refurbished hardware can be as reliable as new.

• Include legitimately licensed software. Consider engaging a Microsoft Authorized Refurbisher (MAR) that can inexpensively – and legally – relicense Windows operating system and Office software for secondary use. • Donate where the equipment will have the greatest impact. Historically, some IT donations have failed because companies give the equipment to community organizations that either do not need it or lack the resources to repair, deploy and maintain it. A third party can help target donations. For instance, at Redemtech we partner with several nonprofits, including Habitat for Humanity International, to channel customers’ donations effectively.

• Ensure adequate support for recipients. To ensure recipients have a positive experience with their donation, manage donations through a vendor who includes a warranty and support with its donations services offering. For instance, for computers upgraded through the MAR program, Microsoft provides free online technical support and software updates.

Donations: Aligning IT with CSR Goals Well-managed PC donations transform low-value, surplus equipment into a strategic investment in community renewal, yielding far more value than other options for IT disposition. For more information, download our free white paper, ’Giving: The Most Strategic Disposition Option.’

Redemtech President and Founder Robert Houghton is an expert in the field of technology reuse and recycling, including responsible e-waste management, sustainable computing and off-network security best practices.