Programs and Activities

This is the scheme Free Geek uses to calculate how much time, space, and money are dedicated to what kind of activity when reporting how much of these resources go into program related and other activities.

Program Related Activities

Free Geek runs many programs, and sometimes we loosely refer to our activities as programs in an unstructured way. However, in order to analyze how well we are doing things, we often need to have a more formal definition. This page breaks down Free Geek's activities in a structured way

Free Geek's Mission Statement is "To recycle technology and provide access to computers, the internet, education and job skills in exchange for community service."

Let's break that down in a structured way:

To ...

1. recycle used technology, and
2. provide access to X in exchange for community service.
3. computers,
4. internet
5. education,
6. job skills training.

Some notes and definitions:

• From line 1, we assume these activities fall under the broad definition of the word "recycle"
  • reuse, re-using an item as is, in its current working state
  • refurbishment, re-using an item after repairing or upgrading it
  • recycling (more narrowly defined), re-using items as scrap materials, rather than as useful working components
• Line 2 contains an X. We can swap the items on lines 3, 4, 5, and 6 into that X to create a complete phrase, for example swapping in line 5 gives us "provide access to education in exchange for community service."

This then breaks downs to these phrases, which are grouped here with the activities that support each. Many of these activities fall into more than one category.

to recycle used technology

recycling, printers, build, laptops, macs, thrift store, A/V, servers, prebuild, testing

to provide access to computers in exchange for community service.

build, thrift store, adoption, hardware grants, laptops, macs, prebuild, testing

to provide access to internet in exchange for community service.

gap, adoption, build, thrift store, drop in access, support

to provide access to education in exchange for community service.

classes, build, library, tours, prebuild, support

to provide access to job skills training in exchange for community service.

internships, build, prebuild, testing, support

Administrative Activities

The IRS is interested in two other types of activities, both of which support program related activities, but more indirectly. These are fundraising activities and other administrative activities. For example running to the store to purchase paper clips is a necessary activity that can't be assigned to any of the mission related program areas listed above, but is nevertheless a necessary support activity. This would fall under the administration category. The fundraising category speaks for itself.

A coherent scheme

Now we turn to the programs that people at Free Geek commonly identify as programs and look at it that way.

Adoption

(recycle, computers, education, internet access, job skills training)

• adoption -- providing the means for volunteers to earn computers and skills to bridge the digital divide
• recycling -- an eWaste hands-on education
• printers -- hands-on eWaste refurbishment & recycling education option

Build

(recycle, computers, education, internet access, job skills training)

• prebuild -- hands on education in identifying and evaluating computers and computer components
• build -- hands-on education in computer refurbishment to ultimately build your own machine
• laptops -- post-build option to hone specific advanced computer evaluation & repair skills

Advanced Build

(recycle, computers, education, internet access, job skills training)

• macs -- post-build option specializing in mac refurbishment
• testing -- post build option using advanced skills to troubleshoot
• servers -- post-build option specializing in enterprise class components
• A/V -- reuse, refurbishment & recycling of audio-visual electronics

Reuse and E-Waste Diversion

(responsible recycling through maximizing the life of technology)

• thrift store -- active reuse of recycled & refurbished items, offering steep discounts for volunteer work
• hardware grants -- granting non-profits the tools to keep up with a digital society

Internet Access

(providing internet access to the community)

• drop in access -- providing on site Internet access resources to the public
• Geek Access Point -- providing Internet access resources in community spaces

Job Training, Education, and Related Resources

(education and job skills training)

• library -- educational materials accessible to all volunteer
• classes -- training and job skills to increase computer aptitude
• support -- ongoing support for new computer owners as they work with their new tools & skills
• tours -- educating the public & potential volunteers about FG, opportunities to earn tools & access resources
• internships -- job skills training & experience

Overhead

There are also activities that are not tied to any specific program, but are necessary parts of the operation.

• fundraising -- activities (such as grant writing) that may raise funds to support the activities above
• administration -- other general overhead activities such as hiring, bookkeeping, and the like