Benetech is a
nonprofit
A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...
social enterprise
A social enterprise is an organization that applies commercial strategies to maximize improvements in financial, social and environmental well-being. This may include maximizing social impact alongside profits for co-owners.
Social enterprises ha ...
organization that empowers communities with software for social good. Previous projects include the Route 66 Literacy Project, the Miradi environmental project management software, Martus (human rights abuse reporting), and the
Human Rights Data Analysis Group. Current program areas include global education, human rights, and
poverty alleviation
Poverty reduction, poverty relief, or poverty alleviation is a set of measures, both economic and humanitarian, that are intended to permanently lift people out of poverty. Measures, like those promoted by Henry George in his economics classi ...
.
About
One of Benetech's key education program initiatives is
Bookshare, an
e-book
An ebook (short for electronic book), also spelled as e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in electronic form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Al ...
library for people with
print disabilities such as
dyslexia
Dyslexia (), previously known as word blindness, is a learning disability that affects either reading or writing. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, reading quickly, wri ...
, blindness, low vision, and physical disabilities.
Another project is Benetech Service Net, an
open standard
An open standard is a standard that is openly accessible and usable by anyone. It is also a common prerequisite that open standards use an open license that provides for extensibility. Typically, anybody can participate in their development due to ...
s data exchange platform that makes it easier to share and maintain information on local social and human services. Organizations providing referrals or referral technology (such as 2-1-1s, Healthify, or Health Leads) and agencies providing information about their services (such as community-based shelters, food pantries, or government agencies) can work together to make better data available for everyone.
History
Benetech was founded by technology entrepreneur
Jim Fruchterman in
Palo Alto
Palo Alto ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a charter city in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto.
Th ...
, California, under the name of Arkenstone in 1989. It was initially created to provide
reading machines for
blind people. During the period 1989–2000, over 35,000 reading machines were sold in sixty countries, reading twelve different languages. In 2000, the Arkenstone reading machine product line was sold to
Freedom Scientific, and the nonprofit's name was changed to Benetech. The funding from the asset sale was used to start the Bookshare initiative and Martus project in 2001.
Benetech and its Martus software were featured on the ''
PBS NewsHour
''PBS News Hour'', previously stylized as ''PBS NewsHour'', is the news division of PBS and an American daily evening news broadcasting#television, television news program broadcast on over 350 PBS Network affiliate#Member stations, member stat ...
''.
In 2019, Benetech announced the expansion of its inclusive education initiatives, creating new partnerships with organisations such as
Vision Australia
Vision Australia is a not-for-profit organization that acts as Australia's largest provider of services for blind or low vision people.
Background
Vision Australia was created in 2004 through the merger of the Royal Blind Society (RBS), the ...
, the
Royal National Institute of Blind People in the
UK,
National Council for the Blind of Ireland, Canada's Center for Equitable Library Access and the
Dubai government.
See also
*
Guatemala National Police Archives
Notes
External links
BenetechBookshare: accessible online library for people with reading barriersBenetech Service NetMartus Human Rights Database SoftwareHuman Rights Data Analysis GroupMiradi Environmental Project Management Software
{{Authority control
Social enterprises
Non-profit organizations based in California
Companies based in Palo Alto, California
Free and open-source software organizations