Reduce. Reuse. Raise $110,000.
Sustainability and creative problem-solving combine to mobilize employee fundraising.
When Dave Schoenberger recognized an opportunity in 2018 to centralize AIMCo’s corporate cellphone program, he did more than save the organization money and streamline operations. He kickstarted a new avenue of fundraising to rally his colleagues and empower prosperity in Alberta.
Due to strict security requirements, AIMCo ensures colleagues have compliant, up-to-date devices that allow them to work safely and efficiently. This means every few years, eligible AIMCo employees must upgrade their corporate-issued cellphones to a newer model.
Through the Technology Buyback program created and championed by Schoenberger, colleagues who are due for an upgrade are given the option to purchase their old device with the proceeds of the sale going directly to the AIMCo Foundation.
“The way I see it, we’re solving three problems at once,” says Schoenberger, who recently celebrated his 30th year with the organization. “We’re reducing our waste, people are getting to keep a device they want and we’re supporting the community. It’s a win-win-win.”
Collegial Competition Supercharges Community Giving
After observing the success of the buyback program, Schoenberger thought: why stop there? Phones and tablets were not the only items that needed periodic upgrading to ensure AIMCo employees could do their best work securely.
That’s how the Global Technology and Data (GTD) team began contributing the most in-demand items of the AIMCo Foundation’s much-loved annual silent auction: refurbished laptops.
Selling for anywhere from $300 to $500 each, these laptops are known to inspire fierce (and friendly) competition as people from across AIMCo bid to secure coveted holiday gifts for friends and family.
These days, the buyback program and auction contributions are being implemented by members of the GTD team including technical analysts Mohammad Arslan and Doug Huget.
“Seeing the competition between AIMCo colleagues is really fun,” says Huget, who coordinates the preparation of the devices that will be auctioned off. “While we never would have thought people would be so enthusiastic about preloved technology, our colleagues have proved year after year the immense value they see in these programs.”
“The upgrades have to happen regardless to keep everyone compliant with security standards,” says Arslan. “These initiatives have been a great way for us to meet that need while creating an opportunity for colleagues to give back to a cause that’s important to them.”
The Impact of an Idea
Since their conceptualization in 2018, the Technology Buyback program and tech donations to the Foundation’s silent auction have mobilized more than $110,000 in employee contributions.
That’s the equivalent of the average cost of four community grants.
The initiatives exemplify a popular adage: it all adds up.
With each device being rehomed for between $100 and $500 depending on its market value, age and functionality, no one person is paying big money for an individual item. Instead, more than 450 donations over six years have collectively ignited change for community partners and students in Alberta.
“It’s mindboggling, the impact this has had,” says Schoenberger when presented with the aggregate numbers for the first time. “Though in some ways, it’s not surprising. It’s like how a small investment grows over time — it’s many small hands coming together to lift up one big thing.”
