Does your office have unwanted old but useable office furniture, supplies or equipment? Don’t dispose of them as waste. Donate them instead. All you need to do is make the connection – find an organization out there that is looking for what you have. Below are a few places to start.

Contact your Great Forest representative for additional information, or read our handy how-to: Transforming Waste – A Guide To Donating For Reuse, Avoiding Landfills.

NOTE: The organizations listed below are not affiliated with Great Forest. We are listing them as a helpful resource. Please contact us if you have any updates to this list.

See the Sustainability 101 blog for donation assistance stories, including how we helped clients “recycle” an entire gym full of equipment, donate several thousand tons of old wallpaper, spring clean their office basement, donate furniture to a school, channel amenities to the Rescue Mission, set up an ongoing partnership with a nonprofit, and more.

General Donations

• PENCIL (Public Education Needs Civic Improvement in Learning)
  www.thepencilbox.org
  Donate to New York City Public Schools. Acceptable items include furniture, books, computers, office equipment, science equipment, gym equipment and musical instruments. All gifts are fully tax deductible.
• Wa$teMatch
  www.wastematch.org
  NYC online materials exchange service that matches donors with recipients for a variety of materials, including building materials, office equipment, plastics, textiles, rubber and wood. Businesses and individuals can search for items or put up postings for material they wish to donate.
• Freecycle™ New York City
  www.freecycle.org
  A free online gifting network open to individuals, non-profits, businesses and anyone in the NYC area who wishes to find a new home for unwanted items. One person’s trash can truly be another’s treasure! Simply log on to post what you are giving away or list an itme that you are seeking. As the name suggest, all items are given and received at no cost.
• The New York Craigslist “For Sale” Forum
  newyork.craigslist.org/sss/
  Another popular place for businesses and individuals to offer items for sale or free to avoid throwing out useful items.
• Materials for the Arts
  www.mfta.org
  This organization accepts almost anything (except clothing, bedding and food), and they are always looking for office supplies. Items are stored in a warehouse and non-profit arts groups can “shop” for free. They have their own truck for pickups and provide tax-deductions. For some larger items like copiers, they do a direct donation where an organization in need of your item can arrange to pick it up directly from you. They are generally only able to pick up materials in excess of 250 pounds or over $1,000 in value.
• New York City Stuff Exchange
  1-877-692-7883
  City of New York Service in conjunction with non-profits. Call their toll-free number for an automated search of donation centers as well as to look up donors for all types of materials by zip code.
• Housing Works Thrift Shops
  143 West 17th Street
  New York, NY 10011
  212-366-0820
  www.housingworks.org/thrift/index_flash.html
  This organization supports individuals with AIDS/HIV by running resale/thrift shops. They accept donations of electronic equipment including working computers, office supplies and clothes at any of their four locations in Manhattan during business hours and will provide their own transportation for furniture items like couches. They generally do not accept office furniture unless it is suitable for a residence.
• Gifts For Sight Donation Program
  www.giftsforsight.org
  The non-profit organization Center for Keratoconus (Gifts for Sight) supports medical research, education and public awareness of this eye disorder. List your items for donation with contact information on their website. They will contact you if interested in picking it up.
• Institution Recycling Network
  www.ir-network.com
  For large quantities of reusable goods including office furniture, reusable ceiling tiles, doors, windows, etc., this Massachusetts based organization is able to arrange for a 40-yard shipping container to be stationed at the building for removal and reuse. The container will be shipped directly to an organization in need within the Gulf region or South America. The cost of disposal is $1400, which is often comparable or less than the cost of landfill disposal of the items.
• New York City Rescue Mission
  Food, clothing, personal care products and more. (See “Rescue Mission Helps Hotel Avoid the Landfill”)

Furniture

• Tools for Schools
  www.toolsforschoolssolutions.org
  718-861-4600
  This non-profit distributes used office furniture, computers and supplies from businesses to cash-strapped public schools and community-based non-profits around NYC. While they do not have their own trucks, many of the groups their donations go to can either arrange their own transport or have connections to do so.
• A Wider Circle (D.C. area, MD)
  www.awidercircle.org 
  A Wider Circle serves individuals and families transitioning out of homeless shelters, escaping domestic violence, or simply living in poverty.

Working Computer Equipment

If you wish to dispose of non-working or very old electronic equipment, please contact you Great Forest representative for information on how to do so.

• Per Scholas
  1231 Lafayette Avenue
  Bronx, NY 10454
  (800) 877-4068
  E-mail: ” info@perscholas.org”
  www.perscholas.org
  Per Scholas is a non-profit organization founded by a consortium of leading foundations and corporations to provide computers to schools and other not-for-profits at the lowest possible cost. Provides an opportunity for people to participate in computer technician training programs. Computer equipment can be picked up at low cost (generally $10 per item) and is guaranteed to be properly recycled if it cannot be refurbished. The use of Per Scholas’ services is fully tax deductible.
• Share the Technology
  www.sharetechnology.org
  This website contains a computer donation database where donors can find direct recipients looking for specific equipment and post offers to donate equipment.
• National Cristina Foundation
  www.cristina.org
  A “matchmaker” company that will place used computers with recipients. This company accepts a wide variety of material. Look under FAQ’s on the website for information about tax deductions. Both corporate and individual donations are accepted.
• PC Garage
  www.cfsg.org
  E-mail: ” selsok@yahoo.com “ This non-profit organization teaches kids how to fix computers and install and use GNU/Linux. They will pick up working computer parts, including monitors regardless of age.
• Non-Profit Computing Inc.
  67 Wall Street Suite 2411
  New York New York USA 10005-3198
  (212) 906-0066
  This company places computers and other office equipment with nonprofits, schools and government agencies worldwide. Pickups can be arranged, usually at little or no cost.
• New York Technical College “Dare To Dream Program
  (212) 594-4000 x. 5338
  The “Dare to Dream” program offers computer classes to disabled veterans, hospitals and people in need in NYC and offers computer equipment to people at the completion of the course. They accept many types of equipment, which the students repair and upgrade.

Building Materials