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Computer Donations
Frequently, a business will call a school and offer computers.
Businesses replace computers far more frequently than schools do, and they often
have excess inventory. They also reap a tax benefit from the
donation.
However, before accepting any computer donation, schools and principals need
to be aware of a couple of things:
- Often the computers arrive in a condition that requires set-up and
configuration; this can take as much as several hours per computer; it isn't
like taking a new machine out of a box; you need to consider who is going to
do this
- Legally, some license agreements will NOT allow a company to give you
copies of any software that they are currently using on the computer.
This is because a company often buys copies of the software in bulk, taking
advantage of huge discounts. When a machine is transferred to another
building or owner, the license does not automatically transfer. In the
case of Windows, if you get the software, the donor must also give you the
ORIGINAL paper work and disks. If they can't do that, they (and you)
are in violation of the license agreement. If the machine does not
have an operating system, you may be eligible to participate in Microsoft's
Fresh Start program. In June of 2003 Microsoft began a program called
"Fresh Start." As a part of the program Microsoft will send schools
necessary paper work and CDs to replace those lost or not included in the
donation. According to the letter I received (you
can get a copy here) the Microsoft web site is supposed to provide more
information and the necessary forms. That web site is
http://www.microsoft.com/education/freshstart/freshstart.asp
- Frequently, these computers have existed in a networked environment and
may be configured to continue to do so. Someone will have to either
delete that or change it to operate in your building.
It is important to ask the following questions:
- Is the machine in workable condition?
- Does it include an operating system (Windows '95, '98, 2000 or XP)? Are
the original disks and license agreements included?
- Is there a monitor, keyboard and mouse included with each computer?
Are they all in working condition?
- Will your company deliver the machines or will we have to pick them up?
- Is the company expecting a tax donation letter?
In general, my suggestion would be to expect that any donated machine have at
least the following:
- be of the Pentium II class
- have a hard drive no smaller than 20 gig
- at least 256 meg of RAM
- include a CD-ROM drive
- include an audio card
Computers that fall below this specification may still be useful as word
processors. But, will take time to set up and maintain.
Saying, "No thanks" to a donor is never easy. You might want to
look around for another place that can use the machines, if you can't. If you
are stuck, Per Schola in the Bronx takes donated computers and does refurbishing
work (1-800-877-4068).
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