There are things pretty much all organizations need. Computers are a great example. From communicating with constituents via email to keeping the books and inventory, most nonprofits rely pretty heavily on these technological marvels. Unfortunately, they can take a big bite out of any budget.

It’s a good thing, then, that nonprofit types are so resourceful and know all about leveraging donations. That’s exactly what TechSoup Stock has done. They’re collecting perfectly good computers from large companies, refurbishing them, and offering them to nonprofits at a fraction of the price of new machines. According to them, most of these computers are only a couple of years old, and each is loaded with a new operating system before being offered to 501(c)(3) organizations.

There are tons of advantages to this type of program, not the least of which is the fact that the majority of these perfectly-working machines would have ended up in the landfill. Now, they’re being put to great use helping the nonprofits of the US reach their goals. It’s sort of like a retirement programs for PCs…slave away in corporate America for awhile and then spend your golden years volunteering!

Nonprofit organizations are allowed to request an unlimited number of computers and up to ten monitors annually. If the organization has multiple locations that are all covered by the 501(c)(3), however, each can make a separate request. TechSoup Stock is also putting together a program to collect and recycle the very same machines once they have truly reach the end of their useful lifespan, again avoiding simply dumping them off in the landfill.

Check the TechSoup site for more information on their Refurbished Computer Initiative (RCI) Program.