Computer and Networking Equipment and Software If you have used computers, networking equipment, or software to shake loose, please consider making a donation to our African Universities Linkage Project through the University of Iowa Foundation. Our volunteers will test and package the equipment and arrange to have it shipped to participating universities in Africa. The recipient universities are asked to pay for shipping, although donations to help defray shipping costs are, of course, welcome. We can use parts and pieces to upgrade computers as well as whole computers and equipment for networking and creating multimedia. Of course, we do not need the latest and greatest gadgets: just good functioning equipment or software that will get the job done. (Of course, the more documentation you can provide, the better.)
Stuff We Need/Can Use
Directions to the Communications Center Go to www.widernet.org/directions. There are directions, a map, special instructions for donors and office hours.
University of Iowa Departments UI departments can transfer surplus equipment to us to send to our partner universities in Africa. Here's how...
If your equipment is too old for our standards, environmentally-safe electronic waste disposal is now available at the Iowa City Landfill. Click here to learn more... Goodwill Stores in Eastern Iowa will also accept computers for
refurbishment and recycling.
Donations made to us via the University of Iowa Foundation may be tax deductible. Currently we have two different account possibilities. The first account is the WiderNet Project Fund (Account Number 30-260-015). Donations should be sent to:
The second account is the Drs. McNulty International Research Fund (Account Number 30-250-038). Donations should be sent to:
You can also donate online by clicking this link
How do I donate? You can bring your donation to The WiderNet Project at 201 Communications Center. For directions, please go to www.widernet.org/directions.htm where you'll find a map, our offices hours and special directions for parking while delivering a donation. Please note, there is a short form that needs to be filled out! If you call right before you come, someone can come down to assist you with unloading and to give you the form. Otherwise you need to come up to the office. Can I have an electronic copy of the Donation Form to fill out before I bring the donation? Yes. Click here to print the Donation Form. Please keep in mind - a value must be filled out. This is just a guess for tax purposes. You can itemize your donation or just provide a total. It isn't too important, just whatever you're willing to declare on your taxes (even if you don't plan to declare it) and ours. How do you ensure that no personal information goes to Africa with the computer I donate? The technicians at The WiderNet Project clean every hard drive with a software called "KillDisk", that completely erases and reformats the hard drive. UI transfer materials go through UI surplus where they use their own methods of completely erasing the hard drive. Our technicians use this automatically, but if you want to be absolutely sure, you can try one of the below sites and do it yourself. Please keep in mind, we don't guarantee the reliability of any of the software or links: Can I bring equipment that is broken? We do some refurbishing of CPUs, but at this time The WiderNet Project doesn't have the person-power to fix monitors, speakers and other peripheral equipment that doesn't work. Is my contribution tax-deductible? Equipment donations made to the WiderNet Project are reported to the University of Iowa Foundation may be tax deductible. You will need to indicate to us what you think the donation is worth (we have a chart of sample values if you need one) and we'll report this amount to the UI Foundation. What kind of books can you use? We can use manuals related to Windows, Microsoft Office Software and UNIX, but not materials for Macs or for specific computers/printers. We can use the majority of educational books and materials on any topic, such as literature, science, etc. Anything else is on a case by case basis. Do you accept/need old cellular phones? No, we don't currently need any cellular phones. Iowa City/Johnson County Senior Center does have a Cell Phone Recycling Project, though. Please see http://www.icgov.org/default/?id=show1113&navID=5&navEntry=1215 for more information. How to I donate online content? Please see http://www.widernet.org/digitalLibrary/content/suggestContent.htm. Thanks!! Is there any specific way you'd like the materials packaged? We don't really have a preference for this, but when get items like printers with a lot of small things like extra ink cartridges or installation CDs that would get lost, we put them in a large plastic bag, like a trash bag, tie it closed and label the outside with a shipping label so we know the exact printer type. If you still have the original box, though, that's fine also. We also put speaker sets in plastic grocery sacks so matching speakers stay together. You can also tape the power cord for CPUs to the outside with a small amount of clear packing tape or masking tape (but NOT Duct tape!) What kind of software can you use? In general, we prefer relevant materials online or on CDs (not floppies) that are in good condition (not all scratched up and hard for the computer to read). Sorry, we can't use software acquired under the university's Microsoft license, but can accept software that came with a computer or that was purchased separately. Here are some titles that we can use:
What other places might find my donation useful? If your donation doesn't meet our needs, try these other organizations. Please note that we aren't affiliated with these organizations and this information may not be completely accurate or up-to-date. Contact them for confirmation and/or clarification. Can you please make a donation to my organization? We don't generally make donations to organizations that we aren't currently working with on a project (i.e. a computer lab, eGranary, etc.) These organizations may be involved in providing donations. Please note that we aren't affiliated with these organizations and this information may not be completely accurate or up-to-date. Contact them for confirmation and/or clarification.
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