Tech Dump wins Community Impact Award from Twin Cities Business

It’s time to celebrate! We are honored to be a recipient of the Twin Cities Business Magazine 2022 Community Impact Award and to be in such excellent company with other worthy organizations. Our fellow nominees are doing important work in the areas of health care, food access and equity, business and entrepreneurship transformation, equity in banking, and much more.

Organizations qualified for the award are nonprofits and for-profit businesses whose efforts are making a significant difference in our state in areas such as poverty alleviation, hunger relief, and access to capital. To be considered for the award, companies must be nominated by community members, and they are evaluated not only for their community involvement but their growth, culture, and local impact in Minnesota. Recognition by our peers in similar industries, along with business and community leaders is one of the ways we measure our impact and success in our mission.

At Tech Dump, we have a dual mission of creating jobs for people who face barriers to employment while keeping electronic items from entering landfills. We believe that every person and everything has value. Each year, Americans produce tens of millions of tons of e-waste. Familiar items we all use daily, in the form of computers, monitors, cell phones, tablets – all might typically enter a landfill or be shipped to developing countries where disposal is both dangerous and exploitative.

Additionally, the United States has more people incarcerated in jails and state and federal prisons per capita than any other country. Less than two years out of prison, those individuals experience unemployment of more than 30%. Many lack the support and access to opportunities that might really make a difference. We know that for those who have steady employment, it is easier to get housing and start building a solid foundation as they build a new life. We employ adults with a history of incarceration and support their reentry into society through jobs and training.

Many of those Work Readiness employees stay on to become permanent employees or find work through placement in other local Twin Cities businesses. Team members at Tech Dump’s Golden Valley and St. Paul locations work to provide secure, reliable collection and disposal of corporate consumer electronics, with the highest security standards as verified by the recent addition of NAID AAA Certification. Tech Discounts, our retail arm, sells refurbished electronics at affordable prices, providing greater access to much-needed technology.

Collaboration with other Minnesota companies helps expand our impact as well, and we want to acknowledge our corporate partners, including General Mills, Sunrise Banks, Room & Board, to safely and responsibly divert their electronics waste from landfills.

We receive funding and support from some of the most well-respected foundations in Minnesota. Otto Bremer Charitable Trust, Constellation Fund, The Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation, the McKnight Foundation, and the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation are just some of the generous partners that support Tech Dump’s work.

Finally, through the support of individual donors from all across the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota, we are able to achieve our goals and continue to set new ones. Thanks to all who have dropped off their unwanted electronics, purchased refurbished tech items, or made a monetary donation – all make a difference!

We’re so grateful to be recognized for the Twin Cities Business Magazine 2022 Community Impact Award. We look forward to celebrating with our fellow honorees on May 25 at the Metropolitan Ballroom. Event information can be found here.

Much more about Tech Dump and each of the award recipients can be found in the print and digital April/May editions of Twin Cities Business.