About Nerds Abroad
Nerds Abroad is a locally-focused registered 501(c)3 organization (Federal Tax ID is #47-4393638) that refurbishes and distributes technology to community members in the Willamette Valley. Our aim is to provide quality technology and educational resources to local community members and organizations, while saving e-waste from going into landfills. Since 2014, we have refurbished over 250 laptops, desktops, tablets, and more. These pieces of technology have found their new homes in Jamaica, Mexico, Kenya, Haiti, Ecuador, Uganda, and across the United States.
While our mission has not changed, Nerds Abroad is now focused on serving the local communities of Albany, Oregon, and surrounding towns. Since 2020, we have placed technology with students who shifted to online school during the start of COVID-19, with entrepreneurs getting off the ground, and other nonprofits making an impact in the area.
Our mission
Leveraging technology and education to support computing needs in communities around the globe.
Our Vision
Nerds Abroad envisions a future of technology literacy in communities across the globe. We see technology as a catalyst where individuals can build community with their own creativity, capacity and capability as a tools for sustainable long-term self empowerment for a more productive future.
Accountability
Nerds Abroad, Inc., is a registered non-religious 501(c)(3) organization in the United States. Our 990 tax forms are submitted to the properly IRS. We are also a Domestic Nonprofit Corporation registered in the State of Oregon, and our bylaws have been approved by the Oregon Department of Justice.
Neutrality Statement: Nerds Abroad will not discriminate against individuals or groups on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, legal citizenship, national origin, income or political affiliation in any of its policies, recommendations or actions.
Our History:
Nerds Abroad was founded in 2014 as an organization to support other non-profits around the work through sourcing technology and educational resources, as well as help strategize unique programming through human-center design thinking.
Together, we partnered with organizations around the globe to serve transitional youth and create economic opportunity in underrepresented communities globally. The organization was founded by our current President CEO, Stephen Hodges, when he noticed a lack of technological “know-how” in missions and NGOs around the world. After going on several trips to repair, maintain, and consult with organizations, he sought to find a long-term solution to technology support abroad. Thus creating, Nerds Abroad.
After moving from the Portland area to Albany, getting involved in the local business community showed a need for technology for new start-up companies, students in the area, and other non-profits looking to grow. During the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we placed 30 computers in 30 days to students who suddenly found themselves in an online educational environment – this spurred discussions for transitioning to a locally-focused non-profit.
We are confident our experience in the global community will be just as impactful in the local community. We are glad to be living in our beautiful state of Oregon, and call this place our home.
Our Past Projects
Here are three of our most recent projects both locally and abroad. Click on each to learn more!
COVID-19: 30 Computers in 30 Days
At the start of the COVID-19 global pandemic, we placed 30 computers with 30 different students in the first 30 days of online school. We continued to place an additional 12 computers in the following month.
Nepal Medics Cell Phone Partnership
Nepal Medics is an organization dedicated to providing training and tools for the Nepali EMS system. After the 2015 earthquake this organization saw an opportunity to build a dispatch system. We provided 22 cellphones to be used in this system in 2019.
Haiti Tablet Project
Working with NCompass and the Maranatha House, we worked with transitional youth preparing for their next steps after high school. We devised a plan to subsidize the sales of Android tablets that students would sell at a profit, while also seeing how these tablets would assist in the local business community.