Compudopt releases performance results for first half of 2024, celebrates 17 years

Compudopt, a Houston-based electronic device reuse nonprofit, has released performance results for the first half of 2024, which it says solidifies a successful start to the year.

Developments include an expansion into new service areas, securing funding to expand existing offerings and adding to its executive leadership team, and the organization also is celebrating 17 years of service.

Compudopt accepts donations of used electronic devices that otherwise would go to landfill. Devices are reconditioned and distributed to people in under-resourced communities at no cost to the individual.

“We believe that device access, [computers, in particular], is key to economic mobility,” Compudopt Chief Operating Officer Allison Katarski says. “Owning a device in the home sets a family up for greater success than if they don’t, and we don’t believe that work-based or school-based devices are the same thing because [these] devices are often content restricted.”

The organization employs a four-pronged reconditioning process, which includes analyzing devices for reuse to determine if they can be reconditioned; using devices not suitable for reconditioning as programming education opportunities for students; selling used parts from devices that cannot be reconditioned through a nonprofit eBay storefront; and sending any remaining end-of-life materials to an R2 certified electronics recycler. 

Apart from device reuse and recycling, the organization also provides technology education, digital literacy and internet connectivity services to the communities it operates in.

First-half results

In H1, Compudopt partnered with national organizations to secure more than $15.2 million in funding for national and local programming, including 11,600 individual gift-in-kind donations of electronics, as well as donations from corporate partners such as The Santander Consumer USA Inc. Foundation and Houston Methodist. The Alliant Credit Union Foundation also contributed a $250,000 donation.

Compudopt says this funding will enable the organization to round out its suite of comprehensive digital solutions in Chicago by offering free and low-cost internet to the community.

The organization’s partnerships also contributed to its service area expansion.

In April, Compudopt launched it services in San Antonio and the surrounding Bexar County. Its partnership with Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas will allow Compudopt to provide 5,000 free computers to eligible families, connect 2,500 households to free or low-cost internet, offer digital literacy training to 18,000 individuals and equip 300 students with workforce-aligned tech education opportunities within the next two years.

In addition to reaching a key milestone of 610,000 individuals impacted, 52,186 of which were in H1, the nonprofit also celebrated 17 years of service, surpassing local milestones, including 1,000 free devices distributed in Dallas and 2,500 free devices distributed in Chicago.

“Every day, Compudopt bridges the digital equity gap through holistic solutions that make a meaningful difference in the communities we serve,” Compudopt CEO Megan Steckly says. “To look back on the first half of the year and see the incredible progress we’ve made in such a short amount of time is a testament to our hardworking team, collaborative partners and collective belief that a more equitable future is possible. The second half of 2024 is brimming with opportunity, and I’m inspired by all that’s possible.”

Compudopt recently welcomed Marie Arcos to the executive leadership team as chief government affairs officer. The organization says Arcos’ 20 years of experience in the nonprofit space and time spent on Compudopt’s board of directors will enable her to collaborate with local and national government bodies.

Looking ahead, Compudopt currently is working alongside corporate partners to prepare students for the 2024-2025 school year. The nonprofit recently launched its Connected Learning Campaign with corporate partner AT&T, which will provide free computers and backpacks to 13,000 students across Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas and Washington D.C. through September.

Seventeen years of Compudopt

Founded in 2007 by Jonathan Osha, Compudopt began as a device reconditioning initiative primarily serving the Houston area.

The organization expanded in 2020 and currently serves 57 cities in 22 states with five physical locations in Mesa, Arizona; Houston; Dallas; Chicago; and Atlanta. Compudopt employs approximately 150 people, 20 of which are associated with its device refurbishment operations.

Where many businesses struggled during the COVID-19 pandemic, Compudopt saw major growth.

“When [the pandemic] first started, all the conversations were centered around distance learning,” Katarski says. “Even now, post-COVID, you’ve got things that never went back to the way they were.”

Remote work and distance learning suddenly were thrust into the spotlight, and the demand for computers and tablets only increased.

“With the pandemic and all of the attention that was put on the need for technology, our growth went hand in hand with that,” Katarski adds.

Individuals interested in receiving devices can apply online; the only requirement being they do not currently own a computer or similar device. Katarski says Compudopt serves 200 percent of the federal poverty line or below, and the organization selects from its list randomly based on current inventory. Those not selected remain on the list.

“Our ultimate goal is to clear the list,” she says.

Compudopt accepts personal and corporate device donations at each of its physical locations and provides free pickup of donations of more than 25 devices within a 50-mile radius of any physical location. Accepted devices include laptops, desktops, keyboards, computer mice, monitors, tablets, cellphones, networking equipment and technology components. Compudopt does not accept cathode ray tube (CRT) monitors, large televisions, printers, copiers or household appliances.

Upon receiving donations, Compudopt wipes each device with a service called Blancco, which employs a three-pass wipe and a one-pass verification wipe.

As previously reported by Recycling Today, Blancco Technology Group, based in Austin, expanded its Blancco Drive Eraser service to support Chromebook data sanitization in 2022. Like Compudopt’s growth during the pandemic, the Chromebook’s popularity boomed as remote work and distance learning became necessary. Alan Bentley, who served as Blancco’s president for global strategy until 2022, said the Blancco Drive Eraser enables a quick and safe data sanitization option for those looking to reuse or recondition a Chromebook.

“All the devices that come in go through that process, and then they are reimaged and go back out,” Katarski explains. “Before they go back out, there are several different checks and balances that they go through to ensure that everything is how we expect it to look and everything’s acting the way that we think it should.”

Compudopt is in the process of obtaining a National Association for Information Destruction (NAID) certification, which she describes as the gold standard for information destruction.

Although Compudopt’s primary focus is reuse, the company collaborates with R2-certified electronics recyclers, such as Houston-based Technocycle, to recycle end-of-life materials.

In 2023, the nonprofit recycled 167,302 pounds of used electronics and reused 182,000 pounds. Katarski notes that as more of Compudopt’s donations become light-weight items, like laptops, the weight associated with reuse increases, while the weight of recycling decreases.

Compudopt’s front-facing mission is to provide technology access and education to under-resourced students and their communities; however, sustainability is still one of its core values.

“[Sustainability] oftentimes is overlooked because the spotlight shown on the digital divide doesn’t talk about the fact that [reconditioning these devices] is helping keep things out of the landfill,” Katarski says. “But core to who we are is [the question]: What are we doing on a day-to-day basis to ensure that we are good stewards of the resources that we raise and also of the planet?"