[Discussion] Sustainability: existing model

[Aaron Castle]

http://www.freegeek.org/

has a warehouse where a volunteer team accepts curbside donations, as well as processes business and commercial donations.

volunteers work in exchange for discounts at the thrift store store front, as well as hardware grants.

donations are sorted depending on hardware specs, with the nicest stuff set aside and grouped into grants to other non-profits, schools... 


mid-level stuff is built by/for volunteers and granted to individuals and households.


obsolete machines are stripped and sorted into plastic, pcb, metals, glass, etc. by volunteers overseen by a paid co-ordinator. this is where complete newbies are welcomed and volunteers beging building a skillset by disassembling computers... 


meeting and classroom space is available in the warehouse for volunteer-led educational activites.

income is from sales of raw materials for recycling, sales at the thrift-store, rental of meeting space to outside organizations or volunteer members for private events (no charge for free public events), cash donations, fund-raisers... 


expenses are paid staff and rent... 


I guess that the idea is that they are able to make "sustainable" hardware grants because of the sheer quantity of materials processed at the facility. 


and everybody is familiar with noisebridge.... 

My personal vision of sustainably closing the digital divide would be a marriage of noisebridge and freegeek. 


To pull this off in the bay area would be really difficult because you need so much space, and space is at such a premium. Possibly establish a charitable trust to buy a property, and then grant the space (or rent it inexpensively) to individuals and organizations... 


or maybe someone just happens to have a 10,000 sqft warehouse laying around empty. 





 
- Aaron Castle
www.canander.com
www.re-computer.org
650-898-4058


“I still believe that peace and plenty and happiness can be worked out some way. I am a fool.” 
Kurt Vonnegut


________________________________
 From: Grant Bowman <grantbow at partimus.org>
To: discussion at partimus.org 
Sent: Saturday, July 13, 2013 9:08 AM
Subject: [Discussion] Sustainability
 


Partimus has incredible potential, but we have not yet found the right combination to reliably offer our services sustainably despite heroic personal efforts. We need to do the right things very well. There are well understood ways to achieve sustainability for nonprofits like us if we choose to act. This White House challenge confirms there is incredible value in connecting kids with technology like we do.

http://kaporcenter.org/nominate-a-champion-of-change-for-tech-inclusion/

There is an African proverb that if you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far go together.

What are your ideas to help Partimus better achieve it's mission? Partimus provides learning opportunities for teachers and students using open technology.

I look forward to this conversation and especially input from our heroes who have gone quickly ahead and can help us all go better achieve our mission.

Regards,
Grant Bowman
Director, Partimus
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