In 2010, 501tech in partnership with the Tulsa Area United Way, surveyed Tulsa nonprofits in order to better understand the state of technology use (see survey results). Of the 128 responses received (60%), 118 organizations were classified as either small or medium, based on staff size of less than 100. The agencies in this group as a rule did not budget for IT on a line item basis and did not have much discipline around PC replacement.
The smaller agencies indicated that 60% of their PCs were more than 4 years old, while in medium-sized agencies, this number rose to 69%. 74% reported replacing PCs only as funding or in-kind donations were available, or when a PC became inoperable.
Since the survey, the breadth of 501tech’s direct interaction with agencies has expanded and, based on this interaction, we now know that many organizations operate using PCs that average between six and eight years of age. Conversely, Oklahoma’s largest corporations annually displace thousands of three to four year old working condition PCs.
It is in the contrast between these two worlds that 501tech has established its hardware redistribution program, with a growing network of corporate in-kind donors regularly donating all or part of their displaced PCs for redistribution to Oklahoma nonprofits. We have worked together to define processes that meet most of our donors’ asset management and data security requirements. While it is still far simpler and less time consuming for our in kind donors to dispose of their PCs in the traditional fashion (using for-profit recyclers), they generously support 501tech with their donations because of the positive impact it has on our communities.
Our hardware redistribution program began in 2011 with a series of in kind donations from Williams. 501tech has since tested, refurbished and redistributed more than 2,000 PCs and 1,900 LCD monitors. Our status as a Microsoft Registered Refurbisher allows us to load PCs with the Windows 10 Pro operating system (and Office 2010 if requested by a non-educational agency). 501tech charges an administrative fee of $125-$175 for a desktop PC and $150-$250 for a laptop PC to cover the operational cost of the program (the market value on these units ranges from $300 to $500). Every refurbished PC comes with an i3, i5 or i7 processor, 8GB of RAM and a new 128GB solid state hard drive.
With a simple vision of providing IT services to Oklahoma nonprofits on a shared services basis, 501tech offers a broad range of direct and indirect IT support services on both an hourly rate and managed services contract basis.
technology for good