TidBITS : Donating Old Computers

17 Jun 1991 | Print

Donating Old Computers

Now that System 7 is out and you're fed up with your old 512K or Plus, you've probably realized that the market for used old Macs is rather bad. You can't get much even if you can find someone to buy a used Plus - after all when you can get a Classic for around $750, it's hard to compete. There is hope though. A couple of charitable organization accept donations of old computer equipment and ship it to needy places. With at least one of these organizations, you can even deduct the fair market value on your income tax (which might even be a little higher than the price you could actually get, but don't worry, I won't tell the IRS).

The first of these organizations that I've heard of is the Wladyslaw Poniecki Charitable Foundation (and no, I don't know how to pronounce it, sorry). It is a 501(c)(3) corporation, which I think are the magic numbers meaning that it is a true non-profit organization, and its purpose is to provide educational and technical materials for Eastern European emerging democracies with an emphasis on Poland, as you might expect from the name. They are happy to take any used computer equipment that is in good working condition (no dumping that flaky old hard disk on them if it's got serious media errors), and will deal with transport and customs and all that adminstrative trivia. If you wish to give them some equipment, it's probably best to write to them for information, but they'll need a letter of conveyance that lists the serial numbers of the items and transfers title to them.

Another organization that we know less about is Global Technology. They accept "only functioning computer equipment that comes boxed with manuals and software," so they are a bit pickier than the first people. Their target audience is Native American communities and schools in developing nations. We presume that you need to make out a similar letter of conveyance, but call for details.

The Wladyslaw Poniecki Charitable Foundation
8637 Arbor Drive
El Cerrito, California 94530-2728

Global Technology
Boulder, Colorado
303/440-1115

Information from:
Chet Grycz -- CJGUR@UCCMVSA.BITNET
Jan Eveleth -- EVELETH@YALEVM

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Donating Old Computers

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