Donate Computers or Equipment to Us
We are always very happy to accept computers because we can turn them around and put them to good use for a good cause. We frequently receive donations from Cornell University departments, labs, individuals, libraries, independent groups, and many other organizations. The CCRA is an excellent way to:
- Support a good cause, which increases computer literacy around the globe
- Save money on the cost of recycling or throwing away older equipment
- Free your space of computers or equipment that is no longer needed
For all donation inquiries, please Contact Us.
Things We Accept
- Desktops and laptops (from any brand) from ~2015 and onward (the newer the better)
- LCD monitors of any size
- Mice, keyboards, hard drives, USB drives, cables (power, VGA, HDMI, etc.), speakers, headphones, etc.
- Other hardware such as scanners, printers, etc.
Things We Do Not Accept
- Really old computers and equipment that is well past modern use. As a rule of thumb, anything that does not support Windows 10 or MacOS 10.10 Yosemite or later would not be suitable for donation.
- CRT monitors
- Very large items like office copiers, large fax machines, etc.
If you have any items that we cannot accept, we recommend taking them to your local reuse or recycling center, such as Finger Lakes ReUse in the Ithaca, NY area.
Donors of Apple devices (Mac, iPad, etc.): Please make sure your device is logged out of your Apple Account before dropping it off with us. You can log out on the device itself (instructions), or remove it from your list of devices using another device logged into the same account (instructions).
This is because of an Apple security feature that would prevent us from setting up the device for a new owner if it is still tied to an Apple Account.
Data Destruction Statement
CCRA makes its best attempt to securely remove data from used hard drives given available resources and time. Most newer computers with solid state drives (SSDs) come with data erasure software as part of their firmware, such as Dell Data Wipe for Dell computers. If available on your computer, we will use such software to securely erase all hard drives prior to donation. In any case where secure data erasure is not possible, we will perform a standard “format” on your drive. This will still remove your data but won't render it unrecoverable to the same extent that a secure erase would.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us.