Where the Money Comes From

How does Free Geek pay for itself? Where's the money go?

The Big Income Streams

Most of the ongoing income at Free Geek comes from four income streams:

• Sales in the Thrift Store,
• E-Waste Recovery,
• Monitor Fees, and
• Solicited Donations.

There are several other income streams -- some of which have a lot of potential for growth, and some that are more sporadic. Here's the rundown:

At the Front Desk

When people give us money at the front desk it usually falls into one of two categories.

Monitor Fees

In 2004, monitor fees account for $81,725, though a fairly large chunk of that needs to be deducted, since failed monitors cost us $15,728 in processing fees, leaving a better income estimate at $65,997. From that income we need to pay rent for monitor storage, part of the salaries for the folks who work in the store or train monitor testers, electricity to test the monitors and more.

Solicited Donations

In 2004, people giving us suggested donations accounted for $68,015. These are tax deductible donations that usually accompany gizmo donations.

Retail Sales

Most retail sales take place in our thrift store, but we're beginning to sell some items on eBay where there's a ready made market.

The Thrift Store

The thrift store accounted for $96,726 in 2004, but that cost us a small amount of overhead money (t-shirts, supplies, printer parts, etc.) leaving us $94,394. From that money we need to pay part of the salaries of the sales, printer and build coordinators, as well as an intern salary. The rest goes into the general fund for rent, utilities, and general staffing costs.

Online Sales (eBay)

Online sales is small but beginning to grow. In $2004, we raised about $2,497 this way.

In the Warehouse

Refurbishers

People buying stuff we expected to recycle in a last ditch effort to get it working account for $1,086 in 2004.

E-Waste Recovery

Selling recoverable materials (like circuit board for gold, etc.) brought in $36,422 in 2004, but associated costs (mostly transportation) bring that number down to $31,998. From this we need to pay Recycling and Operations Coordinators, rental for the warehouse, and contribute to the overall cost of staffing and operations.

Other Sources of Income

$16,775 total (after expenses are deducted). This is