1. Overview
2. Location
3. Fiscal Analysis
4. Marketing
5. Logistics
6. Policies
7. Potential Partners
8. Notes
9. Online Resources
Recompute will be a nonprofit tax-exempt (501(c)(3)) corporation devoted to reusing and recycling computing equipment. We will collect old computers, extract the useful components, and sell the re-assembled and tested systems back to the community at a modest price. When components are broken, or too old to use, we will arrange for them do be recycled in an environmentally sound manner.
Companies and individuals will donate old equipment to Recompute in exchange for a receipt showing the "book" value of the equipment. We publish an extensive list of computers, printers, and other computing equipment that we accept for donation. Recompute offers free pickup (for over/under X number of systems?) within Wayne County, Indiana.
We will focus the sale of our re-assembled machines to non-profit organizations, technology disadvantaged segments of society, and individuals. Our pricing structure will compete very favorably with the both local and national sources of new computers.
Recompute will have our store-front operation in a small office in the new Innovation Center on Main Street in downtown Richmond. Our back-office operations (intake, testing, etc.) will be located next door in the back of the old infocom space. Their are a number of synergistic opportunities for the Innovation Center and Recompute which we plan to pursue.
Why donate your computing equipment to Recompute?
Why buy your computing equipment from Recompute?
Why volunteer your time at Recompute?
Critical success factors:
Enough input stream of hardware to support a sustainable output stream of sellable machines.
Enough volunteer hours to make the income and expense balance without ongoing capital support.
Some number of educational opportunities or other community events.
Volunteer opportunities abound during both the design and implementation phases of Recompute! Just get in touch with us via email.
Recompute will have two locations, a front-office for sales and demonstrations in the Innovation Center (near the rear door) and back-office operations (intake, disassembly, etc.) across the alley in the back of the old infocom space.
The separation of the somewhat dirty, workshop like atmosphere of the backend operation from the sales side will help us in a variety of ways.
The Innovation Center is key in a variety of respects: potential phone coverage, synergy with Main Street and other tenants, easy access to workshop space, long-term storage in the basement, etc.
The old infocom space will require gutting, cleanup, and then a modest buildout in the form of warehouse shelving, workbenches, etc. Tom Amix may be willing to trade credit towards rent for the demo and cleanup. The Innovation Center space comes ready to use with ethernet, phone hookup, desk, etc.
Hardware drop-off and pick-up can be done in the Sailor Street alley. There is just enough space there most of the time for a quick transaction. Complications are deliveries to the Innovation Center and Tom's Deli, and traffic from the bank's drive-through.
The old infocom space is available fairly soon, say by Nov 1, 2003. The Innovation Center is likely to be available Jan 1, 2004. Since we can't support sales until we have an inventory this timing works-out for the startup of Recompute.
Visability is an important part of getting the word out and generating an input stream of hardware. The Innovation Center gives us this visability. Nice signage in the alley will also help here.
N machines per month
Some percentage of each type of part is re-usable on average over time by brand?
Cost of assembly and testing, volunteer vs paid
Cost of post-sale hardware support, volunteer vs paid
Breakdown
Image
Blue, green and white (Standard Recycling Colors)
Recycling logo (triangle of arrows) incorporated somehow
Pickup/delivery vehicle emblazoned with image (on a magnetic sign to start with)
Read Guy Kawasaki's book. Is competition the focus of our marketing or education? Seems like the latter, enough so that Guy's book may not be completely useful.
Pamphlets in small displays at local computer stores, schools. Direct mail to appropriate people at mid-size and large area businesses.
Presentation to Main Street folks at one of the Wednesday do-dads.
Signage for store-front and exterior of old infocom space in the alley, Pal-Item, WayNet, etc.
Explore either a big decal or some other way of making machines easily identifiable as having come from Recompute.
Logistics are key.
Hardware collection and/or drop-off. Recycle fee determination should be made at this point and payment received.
Disassembly, inventory, component test, and sort. Order is important, we only build useful stats long-term if we inventory everything we bring in, then component test and weed-out the DOAs.
Build and system test. Most inventory will be kept in component form although a couple of machines (of each basic configuration) will be built and ready to go at any given point.
Sell
Every component gets a Recompute barcode which is generated during intake. This would be in addition to any manufacturers barcode which may or may not be present. If there is a manufacturers barcode it to is scanned
Each stage has a start and end timestamp, scanned in (machine, stage) and out.
An experienced staff member should be available to answer any questions, help, etc. whenever volunteers are working on machines.
For each Machine, it must be easy to:
Intake process
As each component is categorized the warranty information for it should be captured. Design an easy to use RMA process so that we can exchange any bad hardware up-front if it's still covered.
A machine is made-up of some or all of:
Build process
Machine delivery (installation and setup as well?)
Hardware support
Software support
Recycle. What is the best way to handle each type of what's left Broken or ancient monitors, keyboards, cases, motherboards, disk drives, printers, etc.?
According to Carol at Richmond Sanitary a Richmond business can take a maximum of 220 pounds/month of "computer parts" to the landfill. This is regulated by IDEM. For Richmond businesses it costs $28.50/ton to take refuse to the landfill.
Consider using trailers to store monitors, motherboards, cases, etc. until we have enough to make it worth recycling them. Consider those metal baskets that Alan and I looked at for handling large quantities easily.
Only items from our approved list in exchange for a letter of donation. If an item is not on the list then we will accept it only with payment of a recycling fee. The recycling fee is determined by the type and amount of the components that need to be recycled.
First thing we do with recordable media (i.e. disk drives) is scrub them, make this clearly stated in our collateral.
No cash or checks, only credit cards for any transaction. This is hard for some businesses and many people (particularly in the market segments we may focus on) but it makes for a much easier business to manage. Cash is hard to deal with for a variety of reasons: trips to the bank and fraud among them. Checks also require a lot of handling that credit cards don't. A compromise might be credit cards and checks, with a subscription to a service that guarantees payment.
An experienced staff member will always be present when we are open (either to the public or just working on machines.)
All volunteers will sign a release form before working at Recompute. Release forms are filed in the locked cabinets.
There are a number of different ways we can see Recompute working with area organizations, schools, businesses, individuals, etc.
Equipment donations
Volunteers
Synergistic programming
Grants
Some entities we plan to speak with are:
Richmond High School
Earlham College
Cope Environmental Center
Solid Waste District
Parallax
County of Wayne
City of Richmond
Morrison Reeves Library
Summersault
People to get feedback from:
Basic 501(c)(3) info:
http://www.joshuaventure.org/resources/501c3.html
IRS information specifically for charitable organizations
http://www.irs.gov/charities/charitable/index.html
Ohio Technology Access Project
http://www.otap.org/
PEP National Directory of Computer Recycling Programs
http://www.microweb.com/pepsite/Recycle/recycle_index.html
NY/NJ
http://www.microweb.com/pepsite/Recycle/Indiana.html
IN
http://www.microweb.com/pepsite/Recycle/Ohio.html
OH
Computer Recycling Center
http://www.crc.org/
http://www.micro-cycle.com/
http://www.backthruthefuture.com/ *
Christina Foundation
GeekCore
Compumentor
If you are reading a paper copy the most current version of this document should be located at http://cluster.earlham.edu/project/recompute.