Hardware Donations

This page is out-of-date and needs to be updated.--Elizabethwt 01:10, 10 November 2010 (UTC)

When someone wants to donate a computer or related item to Free Geek, they do so in the receiving, or hardware donations. This area is run by volunteers and overseen by staff. There is a Receiving calendar now available for pre-notification of hardware donations staff and volunteers.

What you can learn here

• Hardware identification
• Mouse, speaker, and keyboard testing

Assisting The Donor

1. Ask if they're here to make a donation. Direct them to the store or front desk if they are not.
2. Help them unload.
3. As they unload, fill out a tally sheet, indicating quantity of each type of item they are donating.
4. Give them the tally sheet and direct them to the donation desk.
5. Finally, thank them for donating! They are the first step to keeping e-waste out of landfills.

Talking To Donors About The Fate Of Their Stuff

These guidelines are from the NPA meeting on 5/27/2010.

1. General policy: don't tell donors that their stuff is going to be recycled unless they specifically ask. When donors learn that their stuff is going to be recycled, it can cause problems as donors are attached to their stuff.
2. If the donor asks, stay factual. "We try to use everything we can use, but if we can't we recycle it in an environmentally responsible way. 25% of computers donated get reused and this is a very high reuse rate for operations such as ours."
3. Direct them to Goodwill for things that are not part of of our mission and which the donor really wants to be reused: e.g TVs, vacuums, boxes of books

Items we accept

There are certain items that people might try to donate that we do not accept. You can suggest that people contact Metro Recycling Information Center at (503) 234-3000 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday for instructions on how to properly dispose of these items.

To see a full list of items that we do and do not accept see the Basic Intake Documentation page. http://wiki.freegeek.org/index.php/Basic_Intake_Documentation

What to do when times are slow

• Clean up. Often there are abandoned cardboard boxes to break down and put away, sweeping up to be done, etc.
• Move receiving boxes to their designated areas - e.g. advanced testing box to advanced testing, steel box to recycling.

For a complete list refer to the When Things are Slow page, http://wiki.freegeek.org/index.php/Slow_Time_Tasks

What about the big donations?

See Handling Corporate Donations at Receiving

Where do the boxes go when they're full?

See Where Full Boxes Go