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I found a small homeless youth advocate non-profit that needed a lot of computer help. Since they were small I spoke directly to the Executive Director and convinced her to let me solicit donations for old computers and fix em up. She even gave me a budget [...]

Pillohead here has an idea that he has initiated (and one that you might consider emulating), and perhaps forming a non-profit to help it scale is the next level. Perhaps not.

I've been employed by, contracted for, AND been on the board of directors of several non-profits. The ones who have consistently been the most successful are the ones that have a strong vision of what they want to accomplish.

Take the time to figure out what kind of services you want to provide, and to whom. Sure, you have lots of skills, but which ones to you really want to use all the time? Would you rather build and maintain computers and networks for charities (like Pillohead's example)? Maybe you'd enjoy teaching elderly nursing home residents about accessing the internet? You mentioned "repairing computers donated by businesses for schools". If that's what you want to do, why not contact some existing non-profits who do similar work in other parts of the country, like CompuMentor or the Philadelphia Reuse Collaborative and ask them about what it takes to do what they do? You should also think about whether you want to be the one getting your hands dirty (string cable, swap boards, install software, teach users, etc.), or whether you want to be the visionary who is in charge of everything like an Executive Director or Board Member (write by-laws and policies, do grantwriting and other fundraising, maintain press contacts, etc.).

As to your last question " how do you, as a tech, give back to society and aid in social programs?", what *I personally* do is work as a consultant for non-profits and give them whatever kind of computer help they need that I have the skills for. I charge slightly less than the going rate because I know their budgets are not large. Often I do some small amount of work first in a volunteer capacity. This allows me to create good will and familiarity between us, and lets me understand more about their needs and how my skills might or might not fit. I tend to lean toward social justice issuses, so my local Community Shares federation has been a terrific starting point for finding organizations that could use my help.

I work for NPower, a nonprofit that works with other nonprofits to help them use technology. We do all sorts of things around technology: training, planning, building networks, building applications--all at heavily subsidized rates.

We also match volunteers with nonprofits that need help and don't want/can't pay consulting rates.

I don't know where you are, but there are 9 NPowers nationwide [check our site] plus a number of "sister" organizations of ours do similar work in cities we don't have a presence in, like Compumentor in San Francisco.

Check us out. Also check out N-TEN, a national membership organization of nonprofit technical assistance providers.

Although i don't quite get how volunteering outside of your country is "lowest common denominator" i do agree that there are lots of opportunities to volunteer at home. There are lots of local community technology groups that do work around issues like bringing open source to the community like . Others like digitaldividenetwork/benton do work around bridging the digital divide. There are groups for people who want to volunteer tech services for schools and nonprofits like CompuMentor. And we can't forget the work that local User Groups have done for schools, nonprofits, and individuals over the years.

Although techie volunteer programs abroad are wonderful experiences (i've been fortunate to do community technology work in S. Africa and China), you don't have to travel thousands of miles away to do some tech good.

There is a web site www.TechSoup.org which provides all sorts of technology support to non profits, including a recycled and refurbished hardware resource list. Not all of the organizations are non-profits accepting and distributing donated computers (IBM's on there!) but many are. If you're looking to donate this is a useful list.

TechSoup is also attempting to push open source solutions as a low cost alternative for non profits. They currently have links to the StarOffice download on the front page as well as an open source message board. Unfortunately, for many of the same reasons as threads on Slashdot have mentioned, it's not a great solution for most non profits yet.

CompuMentor (who run TechSoup) also offer Microsoft software to non-profits at low rates through their software program. There are some restrictions (3 products, 10 license limit per fiscal year, some broad restrictions on limits). But if you know a small non-profit struggling for MS software forward the link.

There is a web site www.TechSoup.org which provides all sorts of technology support to non profits, including a recycled and refurbished hardware resource list. Not all of the organizations are non-profits accepting and distributing donated computers (IBM's on there!) but many are. If you're looking to donate this is a useful list.

TechSoup is also attempting to push open source solutions as a low cost alternative for non profits. They currently have links to the StarOffice download on the front page as well as an open source message board. Unfortunately, for many of the same reasons as threads on Slashdot have mentioned, it's not a great solution for most non profits yet.

CompuMentor (who run TechSoup) also offer Microsoft software to non-profits at low rates through their software program. There are some restrictions (3 products, 10 license limit per fiscal year, some broad restrictions on limits). But if you know a small non-profit struggling for MS software forward the link.

• CompuMentor -- does just what you need, hooking up needy nonprofits with volunteer consultants for specific short-term needs
  www.compumentor.org

• Charity Focus -- creates free Web sites for nonprofits
  www.charityfocus.org

• Compass Point -- general nonprofit resources, including consulting services and links
  www.compasspoint.org

• Nonprofit Tech -- consulting with a social conscience, not free but cheap
  www.nonprofit-tech.org

adam

Try CompuMentor. They are based in the San Francisco Bay Area, but they work around the U.S. as far as I know. My wife and I have both worked with them in the past -- basically, they serve to match up the technology-savvy with the non-profits that need help. They keep a profile on you with your skill sets, and may contact you when they find a non-profit that can use your skills. The only drawback is that you may register, but then not find a "match" for quite a while. Still, I'm pretty happy about them, and I've felt good about the projects I've taken on.

http://www.compumentor.org/

From their web site:
"CompuMentor is a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization whose mission is to act as a bridge to the information age for schools and organizations serving low-income communities."

How about teaming up with CompuMentor? I did a project with them in Colorado a few years ago. I though their organization was alright.