Crestron has become the first founding partner of GivingBack.tech, a new not-for-profit platform connecting surplus AV equipment with UK charities and community interest companies.
GivingBack.tech was created by Ian Morrish, who identified the opportunity while running Together for Cinema, a community interest company that installs cinema rooms in children’s hospices across the UK free of charge. Having observed AV companies retiring equipment that still had usable life, he created a platform to connect donors with verified charitable recipients.
Manufacturers, distributors, integrators, and other organisations can list surplus, B-stock, or discontinued equipment on the site. Charities and community interest companies can then apply to receive it. The platform says the scheme is also designed to help the industry reduce WEEE disposal costs and work towards the UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
Dan Feldstein, president and CEO at Crestron Electronics, said community partnerships were fundamental to the company’s ethos. “By partnering with GivingBack.tech we are underlining our commitment to the people that really count in our community and hopefully making their work a little easier to do,” he said.
Annelies Kampert, vice president and general manager of Crestron Europe, added: “We are committed to acting with purpose and integrity, extending our impact beyond our business.”
Morrish, founder of GivingBack.tech, added: “All the AV businesses will have to do is list their available equipment on the website and then pop it in a van when a recipient requests it.”
GivingBack.tech is currently calling on AV businesses to register as donors or partners ahead of a planned charity-facing launch in May. Further information is available at www.givingback.tech.
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