Graham Jones (Vancouver, President of VANTUG)

I was recently contacted by Joanna Trebon of a non-profit organization (NPO) called the Electronic Recycling Association that refurbishes computer hardware for use by other NPO's. They were seeking my help on two fronts; finding hardware to recycle and volunteers for refurbishing the hardware. Naturally I did my best to help. Yet again I called upon my “VANTUG Army” who immediately responded which is very gratifying! I also connected them with Arthur Entlich, an MVP who is very passionate about eWaste (Stephen Ibaraki did an interview with Arthur).

One thing that became clear in my exchanges with Joanna was the changing hardware needs of NPO's. They are receiving an ever increasing number of requests for laptops and server and networking hardware. This is entirely consistent with my experience in running IT Volunteering. In order to make a paradigm shift in their efficiency/effectiveness many NPO's, even the smaller ones, are having to move to a more sophisticated and mobile IT environment. Many companies, like Microsoft, are generously helping by donating software through their various charitable schemes (eg. Unlimited Potential and TechSoup). Organizations like IT Volunteering and JDQ (I have blogged several times here about JDQ’s excellent 3Speres of Reciprocity™ program) try to provide the technical resources on either a pro-bono or volunteer basis.  

However, hardware is becoming an increasing challenge. Most NPO’s have a reasonable source for desktop hardware but that alone isn’t going to cut it anymore. Fortunately, laptops are beginning to become a little more available. In one current IT Volunteering project for the Surrey Food Bank (SFB) the only choice was to purchase a new server for several thousand dollars of their very hard earned (no government support) and valuable funds. When it comes to a choice between feeding people and buying new computer hardware that is very difficult. None the less they recognized the importance of the future, ie. being able to go on feeding people and in their case having to open more distribution points due to growing demand. Fortunately, I was able to get a decent discount thanks to Franklin Leung of Compu2000 who is one of VANTUG’s generous sponsors. Franklin delivered at his cost and also got a good discount from the supplier. He was pleased to help since he personally appreciates what NPO’s do. He is very grateful to the CNIB since he has a sight-impaired child.

Unfortunately, we are caught in a “pinch”. NPO’s need to become more sophisticated to meet their ever increasing demands but the hardware that they now need is not readily available in the “hand me down” chain. It is understandable that companies are less reluctant to donate Server hardware because of its value. In addition many are going through their own assessment phase of where to go in the future which delays the potential availability of equipment. For example, the potential of virtualization is appealing to companies since it at worst can delay server hardware upgrades.

Is it feasible for NPO’s to wait to see if the Server donation situation improves, if ever? I am very sure most will “manage” somehow but is that really enough? Something which often gets very little attention is the working environment for many of these people. Staff retention, especially with moderate financial rewards, can be another real challenge. A much improved IT environment may not solve all of those issues but it can surely help. If every day is filled with IT “frustration “ on top of doing what is very often difficult and stressful work then it is hardly surprising that staffing can become an issue. A visit to the SFB will very quickly demonstrate that! Every hour that is spent recruiting people is an hour not spent fulfilling the purposes of the organization.

If I had a ready answer I would be using it now in the IT Volunteering projects. Perhaps the server hardware suppliers may be able to offer refurbished hardware at very attractive prices. Obviously there is a big difference between donating software where the marginal cost of producing the next copy is quite small compared with hardware where there is a “hard” cost involved. However, if we want to further the cause of NPO’s (we must in my opinion) then we must find a way to solve the server and networking (more sophisticated firewalls for example) hardware challenges.