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 http://www.widernet.org/directions.htm. 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. Also try Neo Computers, Inc.; 702 South Gilbert Street, Ste. 105A, Iowa City; 319-338-4044; www.neocomputers.com. If you're part of the University of Iowa, you can send your equipment to UI Surplus.
Donations made to us via the University of Iowa Foundation may be tax deductible. The account is The WiderNet Project Gifts-in-Kind (Account Number 30-260-015). Donations should be sent to: The University of Iowa Foundation 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 http://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 proved 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, we could loan you a disk and could do it yourself before bringing in your donation. Can I bring equipment that is broken? No, at this time The WiderNet Project doesn't have the person-power to fix 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. 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. Also see http://www.widernet.org/shipping/organizations.htm.
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