This month, Tech-takeback has seen an 800% increase in urgent appeals for devices. We need your help. Donate or fund a laptop and receive up to £43,000 of social value per device.
Tech Takeback: How We Create Social Value
Tech Takeback is a Brighton-based not-for-profit organisation that enables secure and responsible device reuse. According to Ofcom, Age UK and Lloyds Bank, more than 7.9 million people lack basic digital skills and 1.6 million adults do not have access to a device such as a smartphone, tablet or laptop. In Brighton and Hove, one in five residents lacks adequate internet access.
Over the past month, we have witnessed an 800% rise in urgent applications from people who cannot get online. Without a functioning device, individuals cannot complete job applications, participate in online education, access healthcare portals, manage financial services, or stay connected with loved ones. The Good Things Foundation reports that 31% of those offline cannot access health services and 29% cannot use online financial services at all.
At Tech Takeback, we collaborate with large corporations,
banks, and SMEs to collect their unused laptops. Our team
performs in-house, certified data erasure on every device. We then partner with trusted charities and community organisations that support vulnerable groups, including: care
leavers; refugees; young adults; and the homeless. Although our roots are in Sussex, London, and the Southeast, we operate nationwide so that no one is excluded from digital life.
From our research and independent assessment, one refurbished laptop can generate up to £43,000 in social value. A single device can unlock access to employment opportunities, education platforms, healthcare appointments, benefit applications, social support and digital communication. We also provide guidance on digital skills to help recipients use the internet safely and confidently.
Tech Takeback measures social value using three established tools: HACT, TOMs and LOOP. Each methodology captures different forms of social, economic and well-being impact. Together, they provide a verified, evidence-based calculation of the value generated by every reused device in the community.
Across the UK, an estimated 20 million unused laptops are sitting in homes and workplaces. If reused, they could generate up to £44 billion in social value. Together, we can unlock this opportunity.
Digital exclusion among our neighbours
One in five residents of Brighton and Hove is digitally excluded. That is 21% of our community unable to apply for work, attend virtual classes, manage healthcare or contact family and friends. At Christmas, when connection matters most, digital exclusion becomes even more isolating.
We receive applications directly from individuals as well as through partner organisations supporting care leavers, refugees, older residents, and people experiencing homelessness. Every eligible applicant receives a device, but demand has increased rapidly, rising 800 percent this month alone.
Behind every request is a real person.
James, age 15: “My homework is all online. I get into trouble because I cannot do it.”
Neema, age 15: “My family is in Ukraine. I wish I could video call them. I miss my mum.”
Connected by Christmas Appeal
To meet urgent winter demand, Tech Takeback has launched the Connected by Christmas Appeal. We aim to deliver 300 laptops by Christmas.
Each donated device receives:
- Certified data erasure
- Repairs and installation of required hardware
- Installation of Windows 11 or Chrome OS
- Essential productivity software
- Delivery to a local recipient
- Optional support with internet access
- One-to-one digital skills guidance
All business donors receive a full social value and community impact report with specific case studies from devices your organisation donated. The reporting provides clear evidence of how your support has improved outcomes for people in your local area.
Devices are distributed to people in the donor’s own region, strengthening the organisation’s community footprint.
Digital exclusion weakens social and economic outcomes. By donating or sponsoring devices, businesses can support local people while advancing measurable social value commitments.
Why businesses should act now
Tech Takeback provides a secure, straightforward and socially impactful route for businesses with unused devices. We understand that concerns about data security often prevent reuse, which is why all devices undergo certified GDPR-compliant erasure and refurbishment by our in-house team.
Our previous projects demonstrate the scale of impact. A CIWM-funded pilot found that reusing 60 laptops generated £2.3 million in verified social value, a return on investment of 83 to 1. The same model applies to every device donated or sponsored today: up to £43,000 in social value per laptop, measured through independently recognised frameworks.
How companies can help
- Donate unused or unwanted laptops. We provide data erasure, refurbishment, redistribution and full reporting.
- Sponsor laptops. Each sponsored device generates up to £43,000 in social value and supports people in your local community.
- Please contribute to our Connected by Christmas JustGiving campaign.
- Share this appeal to help us reach more potential donors.
- Use our free business collection service or attend one of our Monday pop up donation events.
Join us
Together, we can ensure more people in your community feel included and connected this Christmas. Your organisation can turn unused technology into opportunity, dignity and hope.
Contact us on whatimpact.com: https://app.whatimpact.com/social-enterprises/10670889.
By matching at whatimpact, we will report back to you by using comprehensive, qualitative social impact reporting on the platform that works as a verification for TOM System Measures, GOV Social Value Model and other frameworks. We topped up whatimpact reporting with monetised values (HACT, TOM System and LOOP measurements).
You can also email: hello@techtakeback.co.uk
Website: https://www.techtakeback.com
Business collection form: https://www.techtakeback.com/corporate.html
