You'd think it would be easy. But donating a PC is not as straightforward as many would like. I know of people who have preferred to throw away a decent PC rather than donate it, because donations are so complicated.

Whether you donate or dump, the first thing you should do is make sure you delete all personal information on your PC. You might even want to reformat your hard drive - the safest way to keep others from laughing over digital photos of your vacation or your attempts at poetry.

Here are some other things to keep in mind.

ASSESS YOUR PC: Anything older than a Pentium is harder to donate. Most organizations do no want hand-me-downs that can't handle newer software. The standards for a laptop are lower than desktops, because laptops are in greater demand.

COUNT THE COSTS: Some places will ask for payment if your PC is not in perfect working condition. Factor in shipping costs, too. Ask all this in advance.

HAVE YOUR LICENSE: Nowadays, many places insist you have your original software license if you want to donate. If you didn't save your paperwork, they may charge you an extra fee of $10 or $25.

TAX IMPLICATIONS: If you are doing it for a tax write-off, remember that the true value of a used PC is usually a small fraction of what you paid for it, so you will not get anywhere near the write-off you might be expecting.

THINK BEYOND YOUR PC: Think of donating, monitors, scanners, mice and other peripherals. Printers are especially welcome (though not that old dot-matrix one).

The bottomline is that there is probably someone out there who can use your computer, but don't think of this as an excuse to just get rid of the junk in your house.

RESOURCES:
NYC/NJ area:
Call John L. German at the Non-Profit Computing Inc
212-759-2368 (leave a message explaining what you have)
He will help try to match you PC with someone else's need.

Western NY (coming to Brooklyn)
Computers for Children
http://www.computersforchildren.com
kjhoffman@computersforchildren.com
716-843-8883

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