Hardware Grants

Free Geek has a hardware grants program in which we give hardware to organizations who request it. Our emphasis is on computers, but we are able to grant out other things as well. Hardware grants is overseen by Production.

Who receives hardware grants? Eligible Non-profit organizations Schools Churches Community centers Social change organizations Worker collectives Ineligible For-profit organizations that are not on the above list Partisan organizations e.g. 501(c)4, partisan Granting to partisan organizations would unduly compromise our 501(c)3 status. Individuals Free Geek prefers that individuals volunteer to earn a computer so we can have them involved in our community and so they can learn how to use their computer through the build program or adoption class. We de-prioritized pass-through grants (where an organization requests computers to give to clients) because of the technical support issues involved with providing people computers without training.

Pages related to hardware grants http://www.freegeek.org/grants/ Hardware Grants page on the website, including the application Hardware Grants Volunteer Intern Job description for volunteers and interns in hardware grants Template:Training Guide for Hardware Grants Internship Checklist for beginning volunteers and interns in hardware grants Using RT for Hardware Grants How to approve/deny grants A useful flowchart Hardware Grants What We Can Give Out List A comprehensive list of what we can (and can't) grant out Business registrars For verifying non-profit status Melissa Data Another non-profit lookup Hardware Grants Responses How to respond to requesters Policies Resource Packet For Grants Given to requesters who get systems Dead Trees Print outs

What we grant out The items we are able to grant out depend on our supply, which changes from time to time. What we grant out easily PCs Keyboards Mice Power cords Network cables Mousepads Short to medium length networking cable Headphones Uncommon items These items need to be requested from area supervisors, such as in advanced testing or in Mac build. Network devices Mac systems IDE Hard drives with greater than 40GB capacity RAM Limited Items LCD Monitors - 3 per 90 days (see [http://lists.freegeek.org/pipermail/rad/2009-November/000425.html]) CRT Monitors - 3 per 90 days Laptops - 3 per 90 days (see [http://lists.freegeek.org/pipermail/rad/2009-November/000425.html]) Because the laptop wait list is so long right now (it generally takes 2.5-3.0 months to get a laptop), we are starting the 3 month period at the initial request was made. So, an organization can request laptops, and three months after that request has been made, the organization can then be added to the laptop wait list again. Printers Cameras What we do not grant out We do not get enough of these items to grant out. Projectors Speakers Long network cables Wireless cards SATA Hard Drives Does the organization's location matter? Yes and no. We simply don't have the means to ship the types of hardware typically requested in grants, so we are limited to providing hardware grants to organizations that are able to pick up grants from us. However, we are more than willing to provide hardware to organizations in any location of the world as long as they can provide a local contact that can pick up hardware from us and handle the rest. How are grants approved/denied? In general, if an organization does not fit into one of the types listed above (e.g. an average for-profit business), its grant request will be denied. However, sometimes we receive grant requests from qualifying organizations that ask for more than we can provide in a given month, or have a need on an ongoing basis. In that case, it is necessary to contact the requester to discuss the details of the request and bring down the amount of requested hardware to a reasonable level. Hardware grants volunteers, interns, and Free Geek staff members work together to approve and deny grants. One "grant shepherd" is responsible for contacting and disbursing equipment to each organization.