reBOOT Canada: Transforming Electronics Donation Management
reBOOT Canada refurbishes donated electronics to expand digital access. For nearly 30 years, they've provided computers, training, and sustainable e-waste solutions, processing 24,000+ donations. See how Givvu helped streamline operations and boost impact across Canada.
reBOOT Canada is a Canadian registered charity based in Toronto with offices in Peterborough and Vancouver. Since 1995, reBOOT Canada has worked to address issues of digital equity by increasing access to computers, the internet and skills development for low-income and vulnerable communities while operating on a funding model that relies primarily on the donation of retired IT assets. reBOOT Canada runs programs such as reSTART, which offers low-cost computers, and reLAY, which partners with communities to enhance digital connectivity and inclusion. Over 24,000 donations from individual and corporate donors have been received and assessed by reBOOT Canada, comprising more than 400,000 unique items over 30 years and cumulative total over $12,530,000.
The Challenge: Manual Processes and Limited Resources
Before implementing Givvu, reBOOT Canada managed donations through multiple spreadsheets and manual processes, resulting in inefficiencies and data inconsistencies. This labor-intensive approach hindered reBOOT's ability to track inventory, slowed donation processing, and strained staff resources. In 2021, amid reduced staff availability during the COVID-19 pandemic, reBOOT's need for an efficient, remote-friendly system became urgently apparent. They explored the market but found most donation software catered solely to cash donations, highlighting a gap in solutions designed for in-kind donations. These gaps have a consequential effect on a charitable organization's ability to fulfill its mission and optimise impact.
- No automation: No auto-populate, no process stage tracking, limited to linear, sequential donation processing (only one donation could be processed at a time), any automation provided through Excel macros were slow, sensitive and complex
- Accuracy risk: Each record has to be entered discretely, with no normalization of fields or table lookup functionality, multiple versions of field entries and no single source of truth
- Limit to growth: Due to the sensitivity and complexity of the shared spreadsheet method, access can not be broadly distributed among many users, and in fact was restricted to a single senior manager. This led to an over-concentration of expertise in one person for the end-to-end process. This constrained the number and value of donations that could be processed in a given time frame, created long wait times for completed official tax receipts and made the senior manager unavailable for other activities.
The Solution: Givvu's Tailored Approach for Nonprofit Needs
reBOOT Canada undertook a search to evaluate available tools in the market to address their operational needs and replace their legacy spreadsheet system. After dozens of free trials and demos, they conclude that the market of available solutions were designed for cash-based donation management and did not have the feature set to process donations of gifts-in-kind. An entire group of charities were underserved by existing solutions and an entire category of revenue generation was made unavailable to the sector.
The unique nature of reBOOT Canada's work— receiving, refurbishing and redeploying over 90,000 computers and peripherals to families and individuals living with low-income since 1995 — required a tailored approach that existing software platforms could not support. Leading them to seek a partnership with Givvu for a customizable and scalable solution.
Recognizing this gap, Givvu team developed a platform specifically for in-kind donation management, providing reBOOT with the automation and flexibility they needed. Givvu streamlined processes, enabling staff to process donations in minutes rather than hours. The platform's integrated tracking, reporting, and overall donation management features ensured that reBOOT could manage donations with minimal manual intervention, even when operating remotely across multiple locations in Canada and expanding to a new location in Vancouver.
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2 Admin hours are estimated based on the average monthly hours saved over the same period.
Impact: Increased Efficiency, Growth, and Accountability
Givvu's initial version and approach was developed with input from thriving nonprofits like reBOOT Canada, recognizing the gap in the market for tools that catered specifically to in-kind donation management. Givvu enables nonprofits to increase efficiency and apply resources to their mission of supporting communities, families and individuals.
Francisco Rota, the Executive Director at reBOOT Canada, shared the transformative impact that Givvu had on their operations: “Before Givvu, receiving, processing and evaluating donations was a lengthy and cumbersome task that would tie up one of our most senior managers for hours. Givvu is a solution that simplifies how nonprofits handle in-kind donations, helps to spread the work around, improves the quality of the data your working with and supports a better experience for donors. It's smart, impactful, and addresses an important need within our sector.”
Before Givvu, processing donations was a lengthy and cumbersome task that took hours. Givvu is a solution that simplifies how nonprofits handle in-kind donations down to the minutes. It's smart, impactful, and exactly what we needed and the sector needs.
Rota continues, "Moving to the the Givvu platform in 2021 was driven in part by reduced staff availability due to the COVID pandemic and a need to do more with less. Migrating almost a decade's worth of legacy data to Givvu was smooth and onboarding our already taxed staff was straightforward and quick. With remaining staff we were able to receive and assess in-kind donations and allowed a significant portion of the workflow to be completed from virtually anywhere, ensuring our operational continuity with no loss in productivity. An unexpected bonus was how it made receiving donated IT equipment, evaluating and redeploying it easy so that anyone - from volunteer to board members could help out in minutes. This all made catching up to COVID related backlogs possible, reflected in a staggering 70% increase in donations processed in the first year after migration, showcasing how Givvu's platform empowered us to handle significantly more donations.
As a registered charity our size, we conduct a financial audit annually and file returns with the CRA. The integrated Givvu platform quickly provides the reports and documentation required to consistently satisfy regulatory requirements with ease. Comprehensive reporting, archive and query tools enable reBOOT Canada to quickly and easily demonstrate transparency and compliance without the burden of manual reconciliation. This process is a serious and significant factor in a charity's ability to operate properly in Canada and Givvu is a vital tool in supporting it."
| Fiscal Year | Donation Fair Market Value3 | Avg Revenue per Donated Item | Charitable Impact (Computers Distributed) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $204,470 | $20.70 | 600 | |
| 2021 | $288,955 | $22.70 | 650 | Givvu Deployed Here |
| 2022 | $393,088 | $39.04 | 725 | |
| 2023 | $492,850 | $67.94 | 825 | |
| 2024 | $597,278 | $72.13 | 1012 |
3 Figures are based on the year before Givvu in FY2021 compared to after in FY2024.
Despite fluctuations in donor engagement and total value, after implementing Givvu, reBOOT Canada saw an incredible avg 19.9% YoY increase in donations processed, a leap that would have been impossible with their previous system. This growth reflects reBOOT's expanded capacity to serve communities and fulfill its mission. In 2022 alone, reBOOT processed over 58,000 items—a staggering 319% increase compared to pre-implementation numbers. This efficiency allowed reBOOT to serve more people and respond to a wider range of community needs without sacrificing operational accuracy.
Results & Impact
Looking forward, reBOOT Canada and Givvu are exploring new features to further enhance the platform. Planned updates include advanced inventory management tools and improved data analysis capabilities, designed to help nonprofits like reBOOT better manage resources and gain insights into donor trends. By incorporating ongoing feedback from reBOOT and similar organizations, Givvu is truly committed to building solutions that align closely with the evolving needs of nonprofits handling in-kind donations.
“Givvu's commitment to understanding our unique challenges and the operations inside out has been invaluable. This collaboration ensures that nonprofits can rely on a tool built specifically for them, one that grows and adapts alongside our needs,” said Francisco Rota.
Empowering Nonprofits to Focus on Their Mission
Through Givvu's platform, reBOOT Canada transformed its donation management process, enhancing efficiency, transparency, and growth potential. Givvu enabled reBOOT to not only meet but exceed its operational goals, helping bridge the digital divide in communities across Canada. Nonprofits facing similar challenges are invited to join reBOOT Canada in leveraging a platform that supports their mission and amplifies their impact through smart, tailored technology solutions.
