Rules concerning charitable donations

[diehlr]

I was wondering if it would be OK to post a thread asking for donation of a low-end computer, either desktop or laptop (preferably laptop for shipping reasons), for a charitable foundation (R. Gene Smith Charitable Foundation, in Louisville, KY). I know on some forums this is frowned upon because it is hard to prove the organization is legitimate.

I would provide a detailed writeup of the mission of the program, but my friend who is in charge of the program would do a much better job describing their role. The short story is, the foundation takes care of inner city kids and helps them make it through school. The main sponsor who provided funding ironically went bankrupt, and to top it off he is having serious health problems and will probably die in a few weeks.

One of the few kids remaining in the program is in need of a computer to do word processing and basic e-mail (in the neighborhood of a 200 mhz machine with 64-128 megs of RAM would be just fine). A laptop would be ideal since shipping is much less and the monitor is built-in. Since this is a foundation, any donations should be able to be written off on taxes, but I would have to double-check on that since I am no expert in that area.

Would this be allowed or have their been too many scams to allow this kind of thread to be posted? If it is allowed, I can and will provide specific information on the foundation including contact telephone numbers to my friend who is in charge.

Thanks

 

[Zim Hosein]

diehlr, IMO I think you should make a post asking for a charitable donation in OT, there's a bunch of great guys & gals who will be more than happy to help out a needy child, myself included

Cheers for doing some good in this world diehlr :beer:

 

[diehlr]

OK, cool.. so I should post it in Off Topic, and not in the For Sale / Wanted group?

 

[DannyBoy]

Heck I would be suspicious if you were trying to fund an Athlon 64 3800 with 2gb Ram & a 6800 Ultra, but for a 200 mhz machine with 64-128 megs of RAM heck, I think most of us have a few of those sorts of machines lying around in our closet's / garage's etc being completely unused (unless of course you are an absolute Distributed Computing Nut)...

I don't think there should be any problems provided you explain what it's all about and try and give some sort of recognition to the people who have helped out, even if that's just in the form of a thank you.

The community here is very strong, very friendly and most importantly very supportive and I don't see there being any problems with your request for supporting a good cause, most here would feel honored to help.

Best Regards to yourself and the less fortunate.
Dan

 

[DannyBoy]

Originally posted by: Zim Hosein
diehlr, IMO I think you should make a post asking for a charitable donation in OT, there's a bunch of great guys & gals who will be more than happy to help out a needy child, myself included

Cheers for doing some good in this world diehlr :beer:

I spent too long typing my reply

diehlr Off topic would be a good place to start

 

[diehlr]

Thanks, I posted a thread in Off Topic. Hopefully it get some responses..

 

[Trey22]

Check the freebies thread in FS/FT... personally I've given away 2 PC's in the last month or two.

If I had another beater laying around, I'd send it to you. Actually, let me check my closet, if I have an old PII or PIII hidden in there, I'll PM you.

In the freebies thread, it would be great if you had something to offer in return, any old hardware/software will do. As you read the thread, you'll see it's based on the spirit of giving, not so much on the quality of the parts.

Cheers,

Trey