About
reBOOT Canada is a registered charity (CRA# 89111 4043 RR0001) incorporated in Ontario on May 3, 1995, with the primary purpose of making the internet and digital tools accessible to under-served communities and individuals across Canada so they can be connected, build capacity for self-sufficiency and improve their employment and education prospects.
We are guided by the core values of sustainability, innovation and environmental stewardship, accountability and education.
Our Mission is to enable all Canadians to become fully functioning members of society through providing subsidized access to technology.
We are working to bridge the digital divide that exists within organizations, and individuals who cannot otherwise afford access to technology.
Charitable Activity
Low-cost basic refurbished personal computers with licensed software for at-risk youth, seniors, newcomers and community organizations.
We help thousands of households and organizations every year by providing them with the tools to start or continue studies, conduct a job search and nurture connections to their communities.
We either run the programs entirely (reSTART and reSOURCE programs) or in collaboration with social services in specific regions.
Free 24/7 Wi-Fi in under-served neighbourhoods and communities including:
- Urban areas – Toronto Parkdale, Evergreen Brick Works, Peterborough downtown
- Biigtigong Nishnaabeg (formerly Pic River First Nation) in Ontario
- Eel River Bar First Nation, NB
Prioritizing Indigenous youth, providing training, equipment and ongoing support through paid placements to young women and men interested in personal computers and information technology at reBOOT Canada locations and in communities.
Related Business Activities
Retired IT assets, donated by corporations, institutions and private individuals is the principle source of funding and inventory for our programs. Donated equipment is sorted and evaluated and viable devices are refurbished and redeployed or monetized to generate core funding revenue for the charity. Items that are not viable are transferred to a local OES and Basel Convention-compliant recycler. reBOOT Canada has multi-year formal agreements in place to partner with 3rd party logistics service providers, ensuring available capacity for processing larger institutional and corporate donations.
Additionally, in order to support the organizational infrastructure required to deliver our charitable activity sustainably, we sell and repair computers for the general public, small enterprise and community-facing organizations at competitive market pricing. Our most popular products and services are refurbished, enterprise-level laptops and desktops, monitors, hard-disk data transfers and virus scans. We operate stores in downtown Peterborough and at the Evergreen Brick Works in Toronto and we ship across the country. Our Sales and Service staff provide skills and resources to undertake the refurbishment work for our reSTART program, assist in supporting the reLAY network and provide supervision, training and mentoring for our skills development and indigenous youth outreach programs.
We are a Microsoft Third-Party Refurbisher and work exclusively with OES-certified 3rd party recyclers.
Operating as a social enterprise for 25 years, we actively recruit from marginalized groups, focus on environmental impact and operate under disciplined financial oversight which includes audited financials.
The Evolution of Purpose in Response to Need
1995
Problem
- No Protocol/Process/Logistic Infrastructure for Retired Computer Equipment
Solution
- Create a Channel for Recovery of Equipment, Refurbish and Redeploy It to Other Charities for their Operations
2005
Problem
- Seniors In Long Term Care Isolated and Left Behind By Lack of Computer Access
Solution
- Leveraging Past Work as Platform, executing on the reconnect program across the country
2015
Problem
- Indigenous Communities and Individuals Lack Capacity and Underserved by Providers to Sustain Digital Access
Solution
- Proactively outreach to engage indigenous communities to lead the deployment of infrastructure, end user devices, skills development and ongoing support
2020
Problem
- Covid-19 Pandemic response triggers stay-at home orders and aggressively forces work, study and program access online
Solution
- Leverage computer sales and service social enterprise and skills development capacity to work directly with municipal-level governments to meet demand for personal computers for social services beneficiaries
Organizations with Whom We Are Friends
Places Where We Are Present and Active
Toronto
Peterborough
Biigtigong
Ugpi’Ganjig (Eel River Bar First Nation)
Biigtigong Nishnaabek (Pic River First Nation)
Hamlet of T’ulita (NWT)
Little Salmon Carmacks (YK)
Members of our Board of Directors
Colin Webster, Founder and Chairman of the Board of reBOOT Canada
CEO and President
Partner
RiSC Capital
Colin Webster is the founder and the Chief Executive Officer of Hero Ventures Ltd. He is responsible for the overall corporate and investment vision of a portfolio of early stage companies. Colin has a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering/Economics from Princeton University. He worked for NCR Canada providing UNIX tech support, then moved to Belgium and became Manager of Inland Operations for CAST Shipping developing internal money saving container tracking systems. Colin worked for Hummingbird Communications Ltd as Product Manager for their flagship software product in Toronto, which brought in over $100 million revenue in 1996. He founded reBOOT Canada, a charity that recycles computers from corporations and donates them to charities across Canada. Colin holds two patents for sports glasses technologies. Colin founded an Interactive Classifieds web site for used computers called UsedComputerExchange.com in 1997, which was renamed edeal Services Corp. in 1998. As CEO of edeal for 5 years, Colin raised over $6 million from various sources including J.L.Albright Partners before the company was renamed Truition Inc. Truition was sold in 2009 to CDC software. Colin also founded Jatheon Technologies in 2003, FirstCoverage Inc in 2005, Dos Cielos Privado in 2011 and Seahorse Technologies in 2012.
Kevin Doyle
President
The Michael and Sonja Koerner Charitable Foundation
Kevin Doyle is the President of The Michael and Sonja Koerner Charitable Foundation. This follows a career including leadership positions at Canada Overseas Investments Limited, TMX Group, McKinsey & Company and Electronic Data Systems in Asia. Mr. Doyle serves on various not-for- profit and corporate boards including the Art Gallery of Ontario Foundation, the CAMH Foundation, Central Wire Industries Limited and reBOOT Canada. Mr. Doyle holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Finance from the Sauder School of Business at UBC and an MBA in Strategic Management from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Michael Bumby, Director of the Board of reBOOT Canada
Chief Financial Officer
VIVO Cannabis
Dr. Michael Bumby is the Chief Financial Officer at Vivo Cannabis and has over two decades of experience in the pharmaceutical sector, more than ten years of which was devoted to working internationally. Dr. Bumby has was previously CFO of three publicly held Canadian companies, most recently at Merus Labs. Dr. Bumby volunteers as member of the board of directors at reBOOT Canada, has brought his skills as a volunteer to the Green Party and is the founder of the Davenportage, an annual organized run, paddle and walk, with canoes, that traces the pre-colonial shore of Lake Ontario from the Humber to the Don Rivers.
Arthur Kennedy, Director of the Board of reBOOT Canada
Director, Canadian Operations
WorldCare, International, Inc. Canada
Arthur leads Canadian operations of WorldCare International, a leading provider of benefits and health and wellness services to employers globally. Arthur’s sits on the boards of Project Sunshine, Learning Enrichment Foundation and reBOOT Canada and he is the founder of several start-ups in the health technology space, bringing innovative solutions to organizations across the globe.
Nicholas Brinkman, Director on the Board of reBOOT Canada
Property/Development
Sussex Ltd.
Mr. Brinckman is the owner and primary manager of an exclusive multi-unit property in Toronto’s The Annex neighbourhood. He has held various volunteer positions on local parent association, chaired the Kensington Eats festival raising money for local charities and has a diverse and rich professional history in the fields of law, documentary film, mountain climbing and coffee, among other interests.
Francisco Rota, non-voting member of the Board of Directors of reBOOT Canada
Executive Director
reBOOT Canada
Francisco is a graduate of Huron College, University of Western Ontario and completed his Master of Business Administration at Rotman, University of Toronto. After graduating he assumed a teaching assignment in Europe followed by an extensive career in information technology and business process at Canadian Pacific Railway. A unique opportunity led to an 11-season tenure with the Toronto Blue Jays Baseball Club, working at the intersection of sales, marketing and technology. As executive director at reBOOT Canada, over 6 years he and his team have built a social enterprise model with multiple sources of revenue and extensive reach, helping thousands of Canadians every year.
Policies
A copy of reBOOT Canada’s policies on hiring, privacy, workplace safety, workplace harassment, etc. is available upon request.
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