Blog

At Benetech, we’re fortunate to have had long-time support from funders who have been willing to bet on us. One foundation that has been a committed supporter of our work is the Lavelle Fund for the Blind. Over and over again, it has allowed us to pilot and eventually scale technology solutions that empower disadvantaged communities. The Fund demonstrates the incredible social impact that private philanthropy can create through smart investing strategies and risk tolerance.

Thank you to our thriving Bookshare community for everything you have done to to enable us to accomplish together tremendous achievements over the past year. As we look forward to 2015, we know that much work remains to be done. This giving season, you may be receiving communications from our team with an appeal for financially supporting Bookshare. Please take a look and give whatever you can to allow us to continue these efforts and do even more, for more people. Thank you in advance for your support.

I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Google Research Scientist, T.V. Raman, for a conversation about tech volunteerism, the social impact of open source technology, the future of accessibility, and more. Following are highlights from our conversation: I’m wondering how you would introduce yourself to a community of people interested in harnessing the power […]

In the United States, all too many students with disabilities are still denied equal opportunity to engage in the same curriculum as their peers without disabilities because they do not have adequate access to educational materials that are necessary to learn and succeed in school. The good news is that major changes in technology are reforming education, writes CEO Jim Fruchterman in a United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) report, The State of the World’s Children 2015.

I decided to help increase the Bookshare collection by financially supporting the purchase, processing, and proofing of books that are requested by members and that are not covered by grants or otherwise made available directly as digital files by Bookshare publisher partners. If one person wants that book, that’s good enough for me. It’s about each individual member being able to read exactly what he or she wants. Today. Right now, by immediate download. Now that’s a good thing!