How can I get more RAM for our school's slow computers?

Is there some group that recycles or donates RAM for projects such as this? Yes, but those projects are usually run on a local basis. You might have better luck with the kind of people who take ex-lease or old corporate hardware and refurbish it to resell, or trawl Goodwill and/or government surplus auctions, especially those which may be open to the school but not the general public. Somewhat creative: perhaps see if it's possible to http://www.blackviper.com/2010/12/17/black-vipers-windows-7-service-pack-1-service-configurations/ on those boxes (and turn off the visual foof) and get better performance out of either the existing RAM, or lower the potential requirement to an additional 1GB per box? I'm sure that some people will say "wipe 'em all and run Linux", which could conceivably reduce the memory requirements, but that's probably not feasible if there's a software base that can't be replicated, or the techs don't have the skills to administer them.

I'm curious how did the machines get Windows 7 on them? They were sold with XP which should have run OK enough on it with 1gb. And I can imagine that all the school software on them would be written for XP.

You might find some luck purchasing some 2GB flash drives and using ReadyBoost. Perhaps that would work, but performance would reek. The USB channel is painfully slow compared to the standard memory bus.

You could ask http://www.freegeek.org/

Are all the PCs being used? Figure out how many pcs are activly being used. Then take the ram out of the unused ones and put them into more frequently used PCs. They should run better on 2gb. This is, at best, a band-aid. And would require reducing the number of PCs in use, but considering they're low end to begin with, it could last you until you cand find more ram.

This might be something the folks at ArsTechnica's FS/T forum would be happy to contribute to (they're very into Child's Play and other charities). Anandtech, TechReport, and HardOCP are other tech sites with active forums worth pinging. 1GB DDR2 sticks are practically worthless for technology enthusiasts, even if DDR2 now demands a premium over DDR3 in retail. I bet a lot of people would be happy to donate. If you'd accept 512MB sticks and maybe cover postage (~$1?) that'd probably significantly increase donations.. My notebook runs Win7 with just 2GB, and does fine with web-surfing and Office.. 2007?

You could also approach it as a fundraising project rather than a sourcing problem. $3k isn't a huge amount for everyone. Perhaps one or more private donors would be willing to pitch in? Is there some place that sells "bulk" RAM? I'd call a couple of RAM companies and ask to talk to a higher-level salesperson. This purchase would be big enough that it's worth their time to entertain some negotiation.

Find a big company or university, and then see what they do with their cast-offs. I work in a college and we donate everything to non-profits, but an Ivy League school up he hill sells all their old gear. A private company might be able/willing to pull DIMMs and send them your way. Also, do you have a sales contact at HP? They seem to treat .edu pretty well. And does your state have an "approved vendors" list for state agencies? Those companies might not be cheapest but they can handle big orders and are used to working with cash-poor organizations like schools. :7) Call the municipal school department and/or reach out to the School Department's official IT guy. (If that fails, find the IT guy for the police & fire: he should be spending money often enough to know who is available.) (BTW: good luck! My big brother does similar volunteering work at his kids' school, and it can be hard to thread the needle on some issues like this.)

Are donations to your school tax-deductible? Could you maybe ask local electronics stores, wholesalers, or memory manufacturers if they would be willing to trade RAM for a tax write-off?