Churches survive on donations. And sometimes, people will be moved to donate technical equipment. I’ve seen cases where people wanted to donate a big screen TV, or an old cell phone, or an old computer. What do you do in a situation like this?

First, always respect the giver. You may have a use for the equipment right now, or in the future. Don’t let a knee-jerk reaction result in you disrespecting the giver. God moved on their heart, getting them to give the gift. Accept it graciously. Then tomorrow you can look it over, try it out, and see how much use it will be. If it turns out to be something you can use, then make use of it immediately. If it needs some work, maybe even repair, then consider fixing it yourself. (Lots of times, someone on the Technical Ministry team will know how to repair it – they just need the parts.) If it doesn’t work and would be too expensive to repair, then quietly junk it. (Sometimes the cost of the parts will exceed the price of a new one, so it is too expensive.)

Second, followup on the gift by informing the Church Treasurer. They’ll want to make a note of the gift, and send a thank you to the person who donated it to the Church. They may ask you for a valuation, so they can give the donor a tax deduction. If so, then estimate the value based on the current market. (There are plenty of online selling sites that will give you an idea.) It may have been really expensive when it was first new.

Finally, unless the giver specified that it was to be kept discrete, let others know about the gift. You could put a thank you in the quarterly newsletter for all the technical equipment donations. And you could add to that any other needs, like a new audio cable for the band. There are lots of items like this that wear out over time. While they don’t cost much, they do have to be replaced. Why not enlist the Church members to donate? All too often, the Technical Team just buys what’s needed out of their own pocket. This way, you can share the cost with others willing to give.