Technology For All Becomes Microsoft Authorized Refurbisher
Services to be expanded to corporations and non-profits

Houston, Texas - (March 11, 2003) – It was announced today that Technology For All (TFA) and its local affiliate Technology For All-Houston (TFA-Houston) have received approval and recognition as a Microsoft Authorized Refurbisher (MAR). This designation will allow TFA to expand its services to corporations and to nonprofits providing community technology services to low-income and under-resourced communities.

What does this mean for corporate community relations executives and CIOs who are looking for a higher ROI or to do more with less in a difficult economy? TFA-Houston can assist corporations replacing technology assets by re-deploying those computers and other hardware into community-based organizations serving the underserved. TFA can wipe corporate data, certify its destruction and install a new licensed Microsoft operating system. In the past transferring operating system licenses was cumbersome. Now, as an MAR, it is even easier for TFA to work with corporations to save money, create tax benefits and create goodwill in local communities.

What does this mean for the nonprofits that TFA serves? To date over 150 community-based organizations across Houston have been assisted by TFA-Houston in the establishment of community technology centers (CTCs) serving low-income and underserved communities. CTCs are facilities that provide public access to computers, training in computer basics, educational programs using technology and workforce training programs to assist persons in gaining the skills they need to obtain a job with a livable wage. Many of these organizations have received computers and other technology assets through TFA-Houston, which has served as an intermediary for corporate donors of those assets. Now, instead of the cumbersome and sometimes unavailable process of transferring licenses from the corporation to the end-user community-based organization, TFA-Houston will provide a fully licensed Microsoft Windows ® operating system for a minimal fee of less than $15 per computer. Documentation of the license will be easily verified and community-based organization end-users will be able to upgrade easily in the future.

For information regarding making a corporate computer donation, contact Dr. Douglas Caldwell at 713.961.0012 or go to http://houston.techforall.org. Community-based organizations are encouraged to go to http://houston.techforall.org/submenus/ctc_development.html.


About Technology For All
Technology For All (TFA) is a national nonprofit initiative focused on bringing technology and the opportunities it provides to underserved communities. Using a network model to bridge the digital divide, TFA is creating educational, economic and personal opportunities for America’s underserved. In Houston, Technology For All-Houston has helped create and develop over 170 community technology centers (CTCs) in collaboration with community-based organizations across the region. Corporate sponsors include SkillSoft (formerly SmartForce), FYI-Net, C-TREC, Shell, Washington Mutual and BP. Program partners include HUD’s Neighborhood Network Initiative, the America Connects Consortium, local TFA initiatives and over 350 individual CTCs across the US. Local TFA initiatives or supportive CTC relationships exist in forty-two US cities. TFA offices are located at 109 North Post Oak Lane, Suite 425, and Houston, Texas, 77024. Phone: 713.316.5764 or 713.961.0012.
Web site: www.techforall.org

Technology For All and the Technology For All logo are trademarks of Technology For All. All other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.