How do I get a Mac donated to a small nonprofit?
I'm not sure whether this should go into General Discussion, or AO -- moderators please feel free to move this thread if I put it in the wrong place.
I volunteer for a small nonprofit educational organization that puts on a yearly convention http://www.midsouthcon.org. For years we have been using our personal Macs and filemaker pro to run things, but it has finally come to the time where we really need at lest one dedicated computer for the organization.
The problem is that the organization has very little money to spend on a computer (there are no paid positions, and any money taken in goes to other good causes). There is enough money to get a cheap PC, but not enough for even a refurbished eMac.
Switching over to the PC is something I am fighting against with all my might, and I am trying to come up with an alternative.
Since we are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and donations are fully tax deductible, I would like to try to get Apple or another company (or individual) to donate a Mac to Midsouthcon -- but I have absolutely no idea of how to go about it. Does anyone have any idea of who to contact? Or some information on how to go about this sort of thing?
What would really be great would be a donation of three iBooks, iMacs, or eMacs (each with Filemaker Pro) that we could have set up at registration --but a donation of just one old Mac would be a life saver and let us stay with the Mac as our platform.
Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
I volunteer for a small nonprofit educational organization that puts on a yearly convention http://www.midsouthcon.org. For years we have been using our personal Macs and filemaker pro to run things, but it has finally come to the time where we really need at lest one dedicated computer for the organization.
The problem is that the organization has very little money to spend on a computer (there are no paid positions, and any money taken in goes to other good causes). There is enough money to get a cheap PC, but not enough for even a refurbished eMac.
Switching over to the PC is something I am fighting against with all my might, and I am trying to come up with an alternative.
Since we are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and donations are fully tax deductible, I would like to try to get Apple or another company (or individual) to donate a Mac to Midsouthcon -- but I have absolutely no idea of how to go about it. Does anyone have any idea of who to contact? Or some information on how to go about this sort of thing?
What would really be great would be a donation of three iBooks, iMacs, or eMacs (each with Filemaker Pro) that we could have set up at registration --but a donation of just one old Mac would be a life saver and let us stay with the Mac as our platform.
Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Comments
It's all about networking.
Escher
You'll need to argue your case well. And they have particular causes they support.
Good luck, I hope you can get apple to be the sponsor...
Escher - Thank you for your offer and it is truly appreciated, but I don't think it would be able to handle the job. We need a Mac running OS X that is fast enough to let someone enter information into FileMaker Pro while serving the database to the other Macs brought in by the volunteers and printing out full color badges on a usb printer.
From experience we have found that a 300MHz powermac would not quite hack it, and that an 800MHz powerbook handled the load without a problem. I imagine that something in-between the two would work as well.
crazychester - Thanks for the tip, I'll try to contact them. A current model is not necessary -- something from a generation or two ago would be fine.
Mac_ken_Cheez - If I had the money I truly would just buy a Mac and write it off. Unfortunately, my funds are very tight right now and I just can't afford to do so. If you know of anyone who would like to buy or give midsouthcon a Mac for the tax write off, please let me know.