FREE GEEK PUBLIC DONATION HOURS: WEDNESDAY - SATURDAY | 11AM - 4PM.

Hardware Grants Program Temporarily Closed to New Applications

If you have questions about our programs please use our contact form to reach the Digital Inclusion team

Is your nonprofit in need of technology to help meet your mission?

Free Geek’s Organizational Hardware Grants program connects qualifying nonprofits with free and low-cost refurbished technology for organizational use. We serve over 150 different organizations every year.

Are you eligible?

Please read this criteria thoroughly to determine if our Hardware Grants program can appropriately serve your organization’s needs.

  • Must be a 501c(3) nonprofit organization, under fiscal sponsorship of a nonprofit, or a public entity. 
    • Please note that due to limited resources we are currently prioritizing organizations serving community basic human needs.
  • Must be located in Oregon or Washington.
  • Please note that laptops are only available to eligible organizations in Oregon and Clark County, WA. 
  • Pickup at Free Geek's location in Portland, OR is required.
  • Must comply with Free Geek anti-discrimination policy.
  • Must dispose of the hardware in an environmentally responsible manner when it has reached the end of its lifecycle.
  • Must be able to pick up the hardware in person from Free Geek’s office in Portland, Oregon. Grants are provided unboxed. We do not ship technology to grantees. Please note that shipping your granted technology voids the tech support warranty.
  • We ask that grant recipients cultivate a positive relationship with Free Geek, including posting about grants received on your newsletters and social media, to help raise awareness about our program.
  • Eligible organizations may not submit multiple applications within a grants cycle.
  • Eligible organizations must wait 6 months after the fulfillment of an organizational hardware grant to reapply.

 

Who is not eligible?

  • Individuals
  • International organizations
    • We rarely make grants to international organizations due to limited capacity.
    • Check out the World Computer Exchange or TechSoup for international alternatives.
  • We do not make grants to 501(c)4, 501(c)5, 501(c)6 or 501(c)7 organizations.

What do we grant?

Desktop

Tower Desktop PCs

  • i3 processor between 2.4 and 3.2GHz speed or faster
  • 4 GB of DDR3 RAM
  • 64-bit system
  • DVD R/W optical drive
  • On-board video
  • Onboard Ethernet (WiFi capability unavailable) - wireless adapters may be purchased separately
  • No webcam, microphone, or speakers
  • Monitor, mouse, keyboard, power cables provided

Operating system:

Is the Windows operating system currently available?

Due to changes in Microsoft's Registered Refurbisher program, Free Geek has limited capacity to grant computers with the Windows operating system installed. By default, PCs are being granted with the free operating system Linux Mint installed. Linux Mint can be used for typical office tasks, such as word processing and browsing the web, but will not run software specific to Windows. If your organization needs Windows, it may be available for desktop towers upon request for a fee of $50 per computer.

Are there application deadlines?

Applications for our standard granted items are reviewed on a rolling basis. For time-sensitive grants, please apply at least 3 months in advance to allow time for processing your application and fulfilling your grant. We cannot guarantee that grants will be fulfilled by a requested date.

Applications temporarily closed

 

"We at A Family for Every Child unconditionally support Free Geek; they serve an irreplaceable role in our community. Finding forever families for children who deserve them requires an incredible amount of coordination and access to a wide array of databases and online services.

The current COVID-19 pandemic further illustrates our organization’s dependence on technology, as a large portion of our workforce (interns and volunteers) are being forced to work from home. Were it not for the generous past donations of Free Geek, which have included more than fifteen desktops and monitors as well as numerous routers and webcams, we would neither be able to function during this health crisis, nor serve our mission as a whole."

- Andrew Hampton, A Family for Every Child