5 Top Tips for Donating a Computer

When it comes to donating computers, there are several simple tips to follow that will help you make the right decisions.

  1. Tip#1 - Do it NOW!!! - Computers become obsolete at an alarming speed. Even 6 months can make a big difference in the fast paced world of technology. The longer you wait to donate your unwanted computers, the less valuable they will be. Non-profit organizations need equipment that is sophisticated enough to be useful. So, don’t wait until a “convenient” time. Donate your old computer, as well as any components that you upgrade (e.g. hard drive, monitor, etc.) as soon as you upgrade to the latest model.
  2. Tip#2 - Avoid Shipping Costs - Go Local - The best donation recipient is a non-profit organization that will actually come and pick up your unwanted computers. However, these are few and far between - and they often have a minimum number of machines they are willing to collect. Corporations that are upgrading their entire fleet of computers and getting rid of 50 hard drives might find an organization that is willing to pick them up.

    If you are an individual who is just offloading one or two computers, you will probably need to drop them off at the donation site. Check to see when a staff member will be available to accept your hard drive in person and give you a receipt. Your city may have information available on its municipal waste webpage about donating computers locally. Or, you can check one of the national sites that let you search by zip code.
  3. Tip#3 - Don’t Smash Your Hard Drive - If you do, it will only be worth the cash you could get for it as scrap. So, you might be cheating yourself out of hundreds of dollars in tax deductions by destroying your hard drive. Plus, the computer won’t be useful to anyone else. It will have to be recycled for its basic components/materials. Many smashed hard drives end up simply being dumped in a landfill. That’s what happens to one out of every 11 home PCs every year according to MetaFacts, Inc.
  4. Tip#4 - Keep it Together - Non-profit organizations need to save money wherever they can. You can help by making sure as many of the components and accessories as possible are included with your hard drive. Examples of items many donation recipients appreciate receiving are:
    • Keyboard & mouse
    • Modems
    • Cables & power cords
    • CRT monitors (17” or larger)
    • LCD monitors
    • Printers & scanners along with toner cartridges
    • Any software that came with the hard drive or that you installed later
    Clean up any items that have accumulated dust and grime (keyboards are often particularly icky). Double-check to make sure you haven’t left any disks in the drives. Ensure all the housing on your PC is intact (side covers, etc).
  5. Tip#5 - Wipe your drive, but MAKE A RECORD - You should always wipe your hard drives yourself before donating computers to any organization. This is the only way you can be really certain it is done right (or that it is done at all). You will want to use a product that is designed to completely erase all of the data on your computer - not just make it difficult for the average person to recover. For donation purposes, the best type of product to use is one that produces a permanent record of the system’s serial # and specifications. This is one of the important pieces of documentation that will help you in preparing your tax return when claiming a charitable deduction.