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

We provide necessary digital inclusion services directly to the community.

Whether being stranded with a dead cell phone, or visiting a small town where there just seems to be no place with wi-fi, we have all been in a situation where we lacked digital access. For most, it’s a temporary inconvenience and we’re able to resume our regularly scheduled social media stalking with relative ease. But for many, that lack of digital access is a perpetual problem they face, creating barriers between them and the digital world we often take for granted. 

As technology continues to advance and evolve, people from all walks of life are being left behind. The expansive canyon that we call the  “digital divide” threatens to segregate people with and without digital literacy and digital access. This lack of access is sharply stratified along lines of income, race, age, and education. Low-income families, immigrants, seniors, and children are deeply digitally under-connected, many with mobile-only internet access, which just isn’t enough.

For nineteen years, Free Geek has been committed to digital equity for all regardless of socioeconomic status, ethnicity, age, gender, ability, or any other factor. It is a right, not a privilege, and in the 21st century, it is a need as basic as education, telephones, or transportation. Since our inception in 2000, we have been at the international forefront of digital equity, becoming a community education hub by adding classes, internships, and outreach to our ongoing commitment to environmental sustainability. Our vision? To include EVERYONE in our digital future -- and to do so by championing digital equity through providing necessary digital inclusion services.

“Digital Inclusion” refers to activities that ensure all individuals and communities, including the most disadvantaged, have access to and the skills to use Information and Communication Technologies. We work closely with many community partners to provide a series of necessary digital inclusion services to our local community and to be a foundational player in the efforts behind Digital Inclusion activism. 

Our programs are founded on a unique circular model which points two existing societal problems - excess electronic waste in need of sustainable reuse and recycling, and lack of access to basic technology among vulnerable populations - back at each other. To fulfill our mission, we have come up with innovative programs, building upon our commitment to creating a community that empowers a greater world of people. 

Digital Inclusion Services

  • Hardware Grants: We provide free technology equipment and support to organizations working hard to make out community a better place. The Hardware Grants Program connects qualifying nonprofits, schools, and other community change organizations with refurbished desktop computers, laptops, printers, and other equipment.
  • Volunteer Computer Adoptions: We serve a diverse volunteer base including folks from underserved communities. We provide them with hands-on, experiential learning, access to free educational tools, and the ability to earn a refurbished computer; opening up new career opportunities for them, both at Free Geek and elsewhere.​​​​​​​
  • Plug into Portland: Plug Into Portland exists to help close the “homework gap” between low-income youth, who disproportionately lack in-home access to computers and internet, and their middle- and upper-class peers. K-12 students who volunteer for a total of 24 hours at any nonprofit organization in their community receive a free refurbished computer from Free Geek.​​​​​​​
  • Welcome to Computers: Welcome to Computers is a five-week culturally-specific digital literacy curriculum designed to bring these vital skills directly into the communities who need them most and have the least access to them.​​​​​​​
  • Community Education: We offer a wide and diverse range of free educational opportunities that demystifies technology and empowers our community with the technology skills they need to succeed. We help individuals reach their own goals with technology and build confidence that anyone can learn and work with computers.

These programs provide basic digital literacy, education, and skill building in an inclusive and supportive atmosphere-- as well as offering opportunities for individuals and organizations to gain access to the digital world by taking home a computer.

Our vision is to include EVERYONE in our digital future, and our digital inclusion programs work to put technology in the hands of the people that need it the most and provide digital literacy training to those who seek it. Together, Free Geek and YOU are making a tangible, lasting impact on our community and empowering people from all walks of life to succeed.