How to find a charity/nonprofit to donate computer to?

Hi,

We recently upgraded our computer from a Dell Dimension 2400 with a Pentium 4 processor, 766MB RAM (out of 1GB supported) and a 40 GB HDD. Now I'm wondering what to do with the old computer. Donate on Freecycle? Craigslist? Local charity/nonprofit? I'd prefer to donate to a charity/nonprofit, but don't know how to find one in my area. Do you all think the computer is worth donating to a charity or should I just give it away? The HDD has been wiped with DBAN so it should be good to go, now I just need suggestions on what would be the most helpful way to get rid of it. Any suggestions would be appreciated, thanks.

 

You could just do a clean install of whatever it originally had and put it on CraigsList "Free for Single Parent with Children"

I used to do that but now I am associated with a non-profit that does the same thing through a church organization.

 

Assuming you're in the US, http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/ecycling/donate.htm

There's also this: http://www.recycles.org/

 

Don't forget the animal/pet hospitals/shelters - in my area, they are always crying out for help of any kind, including good/useable/free computers. Most of them will accept gifts at the door, no questions asked...

 

I agree that Craigslist if filled with creeps and weirdos but I think there are also a lot of people that browse looking for things that are legitimate. You just need to be careful what responses you reply to. If I don't get a phone number in a response, They won't hear back from me and I never put my phone number or direct email address in an ad.

 

shnerdly, you did not disclose your location.

Here is a great charity in Austin.

http://www.heliosinitiative.org/

 

In larger cities (like Houston and San Antonio), Goodwill now has Computer Works stores: All things PC, Mac and Networking and none of grandma's old clothes or dishes.

In Houston, Goodwill Computer Works will take any computer hardware, working or not. If it's worth fixing, they do vocational training and sell the refurbished units. If not, they sell it for scrap value.

You also can get a donation receipt for a charitable income tax deduction.

 

You could always keep it and use it as a home file server.