How did you get started?
Did you need non-profit status?
How did you acquire non-profit status?
How do you find beneficiaries and how do you know they are legitimate?
Where do you get your computers?
Do you accept hardware donations from individuals?
What kind of hardware do you accept and why?
How do you keep track of the hardware?
What about software licensing?
Who does your refurbishing and how?
Where do you get parts for refurbishing?
How do you pack the computers?
How do you transport the computers?
How do you document the shipment?
Who receives the shipment?—the consignee
Who pays for shipping and how?
Who pays duties/taxes?

How did you get started?

We started with a pilot project, collecting computers from friends and businesses, refurbishing them at a high school, and shipping a half-filled 20-foot container to Uganda. We made our mistakes on a small scale and got a feel for what a continued program would entail. You might want to try something even smaller. Pay a little more, use air freight shipping, and send only a few pallets of computers.

We also investigated the international digital divide (see our links page). Delivering hardware is only one piece of the puzzle. We needed to get a feel for the big picture and to learn from those who have studied the issues in order to minimize unintended negative consequences. Research also challenged us to ask ‘How will we follow up to know the real impact of this work?’

Did you need non-profit status?

Yes. We found out very early that we needed 501(c)(3) status, independent of any religious organization, to receive donations from businesses. Publication 4220 "Applying for 501(c)(3) Tax-Exempt Status" is available on line at www.irs.gov.

How did you acquire non-profit status?

Tim ordered the book, "How to Form a Nonprofit Corporation" by Anthony Mancuso, (under $50 at www.nolo.com). He followed the step by step directions. Below are major steps to form a non-profit as CFA experienced them. Our corporate documents are available as PDF files in the red links below. They are public information and could serve as examples for formulating your own vision. This information is provided as a guideline only. It is not professional legal advice. Please consult your state government agencies or the book above, for additional help.

1. Find a Board of Directors
   Find people willing to serve on a Board of Directors and get their commitment.
2. Name the Non-profit
   Your state office should have a department that will check to see if the name is taken. The service was free in Nebraska. They also did a nationwide check for the proposed non-profit name.
3. Create Articles of Incorporation
   Create the Articles of Incorporation. Part of this document will identify the board of directors.
4. Register with the State
   The Incorporator, the person starting the non-profit, signs the Articles of Incorporation and files them with the Secretary of State. Tim signed ours, and took them directly to the state office in Lincoln, Nebraska, where he immediately received a certified copy. Filing and copy fees were $35.
5. Register with the IRS
   Download the SS-4 form from the IRS web site. Instructions attached to that form should have the phone number (currently 1-800-829-4933) for getting an EIN, an Employee Identification Number, from the IRS. All corporations must have this. It’s like a social security number for a corporation. Fill out the form, including your EIN number and corporate name, and then mail it in.
6. Publish a Notice in a Local Trade Journal
   Publish a Notice of Incorporation (see book above for example. It’s really simple). We published in the Midlands Business Journal for 3 weeks. When you set up the notice, request that an "Affidavit of Publication" be sent to the Secretary of State and a copy be sent to yourself. Publishing was $23 and the filing fee in Nebraska was $5.
7. Draft Bylaws
   The Board of Directors meets informally to draft Bylaws, including the Mission and Objectives of the non-profit.
8. Purchase Book and Seal
   Purchase a Corporate Records Book (can be a ring binder) and Corporate Seal (see book above. An embossing seal costs about $30).
9. Hold First Formal Meeting
   At the first formal meeting of the organization, the bylaws will be edited and adopted. Also, officers will be elected for specific roles, i.e. President, Secretary etc. File the Minutes of the first meeting in the Corporate Records Book.
10. Apply for 501(c)(3) status
    Download the 10-page Application for Recognition of Exemption (for 501(c)(3) status) from the IRS web site. Complete and submit forms 8718 and 1023 (the application) along with $500, and copies of the Articles of Incorporation and the Bylaws to the IRS. It takes 2-4 months to receive 501(c)(3) status, also called a "Recognition of Exemption Letter."

How do you find beneficiaries and how do you know they are legitimate?

Trusted leaders in districts in which CFA is working recommend candidate schools. CFA personnel then visit the institutions to verify authenticity and readiness for a computer program. See Qualifying Beneficiaries.

Where do you get your computers?

The CFA program is attractive to big donors like banks, hospitals, universities, insurance companies and the military-organizations with a large quantity of used computers to dispose of. For-profit companies may receive a tax benefit for donating hardware to CFA. CFA is also attractive to local refurbishers and resellers, who are often asked to receive these large lots of used computers, lots too large for them to resell. They can receive the computers in large lots, take what they can realistically use, and donate the rest to CFA for a potential tax benefit.

Often our organization fills a niche between what is too good to recycle and what is not good enough, either to sell on the U.S. market or to be used in a local charity.

Do you accept hardware donations from individuals?

Generally, no. Collecting "one-sy two-sy" computers from friends and neighbors is easy. Refurbishing them into labs is not. On the African side, it is difficult for low capacity communities to find and afford parts for a lot of different model computers. When all the computers are the same, computer parts can be interchanged to extend the life of the hardware. Almost all our donations come from non-profits or businesses donating at least 5 computers of the same make and model.

What kind of hardware do you accept and why?

The hardware we accept must support the operating system and software and not be too old. Our minimum specification for donations is as follows… 

• Pentium II - 400Mhz (or Celeron, Duron, Athlon, K6-2), 64MB RAM, 2GB HDD, CDROM
• Monitors (15 or 17 inch only) must be bright, not dim or fuzzy, and not more than 6 years old.

It takes money, time and energy to handle hardware we cannot use. Setting standards helps us and ensures quality goods for our African beneficiaries.

How do you keep track of the hardware?

Serial numbers on tested monitors and computers are scanned. Two labels with their make, model, and serial number are generated. These labels are fixed on the hardware and the packing boxes. They will provide the required international shipping documentation.

What about software licensing?

Businesses in the USA generally have site licenses which cannot be transferred with donated computers. Communities in Africa can rarely afford the price of a software license. Left to their own limited resources, African communities and businesses often disregard copyrights and licensing restrictions. Software and hardware manufacturers will, understandably, challenge this practice eventually.

Microsoft recently opened its Microsoft Authorized Refurbisher (MAR) program to non-profits serving international beneficiaries. If you refurbish at least 50 computers a year, and meet other requirements, you may be eligible for very low cost Windows operating systems (Windows 98 or 2000) with a Certificate of Authenticity (COA) and license stickers. Check out www.techsoup.org/mar for details.

Another option is the Linux operating system. GNU-Linux is "open-source" software with a GNU general public license that can be distributed freely. Visit www.linux.org.

Besides the operating system, we install the "OpenOffice.org" application suite for word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation. Visit www.openoffice.org. OpenOffice.org has a general public license and can be distributed freely. On-line manuals are installed with the software.

Who does your refurbishing and how?

Students at the following high schools in Omaha, Nebraska, refurbish CFA computers:

• Creighton Preparatory High School
• Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart
• Marian High School

The process has been greatly simplified using CDROMs developed by CFA volunteers and disk duplicating utilities. Using a school facility gives CFA the advantages of security, heat, light, insurance, and proximity to the volunteers. It offers the school a built-in international service program with hands-on experience in technology. The program also regularly creates goodwill and publicity for the school. The challenges in this environment are finding a dedicated adult moderator, ensuring quality control, and transporting computers between warehouse and school.

Where do you get parts for refurbishing?

Your local refurbishing company or recycler may be the best resource. You can also search the internet using the name of the parts you need, for example, a www.google.com search for memory, hard drive, or video card to find computer supply sources. Sometimes computers that are unusable may still contain parts that can be taken out and used for other computers.

How do you pack the computers?

We pack monitors face down with a thin layer of packing peanuts beneath the glass. If practical, we pack the computer in the same box, on its side or bottom, using packing peanuts between items as needed.

Packing peanuts compress and settle. If the top of each shipping box is supported by the case of the computer and/or monitor inside, boxes can be stacked without sagging. Bubble-wrapped keyboards and bags of Mice, mouse pads, cords and cables, are packed in bags in the same box as the monitors. Hubs, manuals, spare parts are put into a support box for each community. The main thing is to safely maximize space in the container. Space is money.

Each box is labeled with the make, model, and serial numbers of major components. Each box is also labeled with the name of the specific beneficiary community. [Note: the entire shipment, the loaded container itself, is received by a single consignee who guides it through customs and then distributes the boxes to these communities.] Your international shipper may also require you to give each box an identification number. For example, the labels on the outside of the first box for Kalungu might read:

• KALU Box 1 of 12
• Monitor, Dell D1028L, s/n 1426475
• Computer, Compaq DP4000, s/n 08978675

Boxes for each community are kept together and stacked in the container with labels showing. When loading the container, the boxes must be packed together well to minimize shifting during transport.

How do you transport the computers?

We do not try to "do it ourselves." We’ve heard too many horror stories. We use an experienced transportation company who takes care of all the logistics between different modes of transportation. Trucks, trains, planes, ships might all be needed to deliver goods to a landlocked country. An international transportation company has more security, contacts, and clout than a small non-profit. We have used UPS Supply Chain Solutions, www.ups-scs.com and Target Logistics, www.targetlogistics.com. Ask the shipper about insurance against theft or loss. The fee is reasonable.

There are two basic ways to transport computers: container shipping or air-freight (see below). You may also be eligible for free shipping through the Funded Transportation Program www.dentonfunded.com. Read their frequently asked questions to see if you qualify.

Container Shipping
Container shipping is economical and is less susceptible to damage. Costs will vary greatly depending on origin and destination cities. Our last shipment from the landlocked city of Omaha to the landlocked city of Kampala, Uganda, took 3 months to arrive and cost approximately $44 per computer for shipping alone. This was a 20-foot container. You can get a free on-line quote from most shippers. Be sure to note that you are renting the container, not purchasing it.

There are only two sizes of standard sea-going shipping containers. Here's the scoop on each:

• 20-foot container
  • Inside container measurements are 92W x 94H x 232L inches
  • We get 10 pallets in this container
  • The dimensions of these loaded pallets are 40 x 48 x 92 inches
  • These pallets will each hold from 16 to 20 computer systems depending on the size of components, especially the monitors, and how you pack them
• 40-foot container
  • Inside container measurements are 92W x 94H x 475L inches
  • We get 20 pallets in this container
  • The dimensions of these loaded pallets are 40 x 48 x 92 inches
  • These pallets will each hold from 16 to 20 computers depending on the size of components, especially the monitors, and how you pack them

The measurements above assume three things when you pack the container:

1. You do not shrink wrap the last 12 inches of the pallet. After the pallets clear the 89 inch door height, the top boxes can be hand loaded into this space.
2. You use pallets that can be fork-lifted from either side because...
3. You will alternate the orientation of the pallets as you load them. The width of the first pallet will be 40 inches. Turn the second pallet so its "width" will be 48 inches. This will ensure a snug fit in the container and minimize any sideways rocking of pallets during shipping. The load should look like this:

Air Freight Shipping
Air freight shipping is faster than container shipping. It is also 2 to 3 times more expensive than container shipping. To ship one pallet by air from Omaha to a city in East Africa will cost from $1200 to $1500. Contact your transportation company for a quote. Here's the scoop on air-freight:

• Pallets for air freight must be less than 58 inches high (including the 5 inch pallet) because of the 60 inch door height. Check with your logistics company for details.
• Currently pallets require 747 size aircraft that land only at major airports (most capital cities of countries in Africa have long enough runways).

How do you document the shipment?

If you use an international transportation company you will need the following documents (red links are example CFA documents in PDF format):

• A Cover Page with the name, address, telephone number and fax number for A) the shipper (your organization), B) the freight forwarder (the logistics company you hired) and, C) the consignee. Fax numbers are especially helpful for sending document copies ahead rapidly.
• A Shipment Cover Letter stating that A) you are not a business, B) the items in the shipment are donated, and C) the goods are not for resale.
• A Statement of Value describing what the goods are worth, for example, 100 computer systems at $100 each. Get a quote from a refurbishing or recycling company that sells used equipment. Make sure the quote is on their business letterhead. Customs will likely NOT believe the "blue book" value, and will create a higher one they like better.
• A Packing List with A) the names of the communities receiving the goods, B) the box numbers for each community and the make, model and serial numbers of the major items in each of those boxes. (See packing information above) Note: it is VERY important that labels on boxes match the contents of those boxes. Customs is usually very strict about this and will spot-check for inaccuracy.
• Complete, professional, official-looking documentation reduces the likelihood of problems. Consider using an official embossed seal or a stamp on documents. It seems to help.

Who receives the shipment?—the consignee

We hire a single responsible party at our destination city to pick up the computers, clear customs, and pay the full duty for all the CFA communities. In Uganda, this is a non-profit organization in Kampala called Interservice. You and your beneficiaries must be official non-profit organizations to use this service. Interservice also receives air freight shipments. They charge a reasonable fee for their services.

Who pays for shipping and how?

A CFA Services Fee paid by beneficiaries covers the costs of shipping and handling. A local logistics company (Interservice in Kampala) collects this fee for us about a month before the shipment leaves the USA.

Who pays duties/taxes?

Beneficiaries reimburse the local logistics company for customs clearance, handling, and any customs duties or government taxes. They pay this as a services fee when they come to pick up their computers. East African duties and taxes on computers vary greatly between countries: from 0% to 21% of the official statement of value.