Jim Fruchterman is an engineer and

social entrepreneur Social entrepreneurship is an approach by individuals, groups, start-up companies or entrepreneurs, in which they develop, fund and implement solutions to social, cultural, or environmental issues. This concept may be applied to a wide range of o ...

. He was the founder and longtime CEO of

Benetech Benetech is a nonprofit social enterprise 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 abu ...

, a Silicon Valley nonprofit technology company that develops software applications to address unmet needs of users in the social sector. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the

MacArthur Fellowship The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and commonly but unofficially known as the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the MacArthur Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation typically to ...

and the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship.

Early life

Fruchterman was born in Washington D.C. and grew up in the Chicago area. He graduated in 1976 from St. Viator High School in Arlington Heights, Illinois. Fruchterman received his B.S. in Engineering and M.S. in Applied Physics from Caltech in 1980 and went on to Stanford University to pursue a PhD, but left school to join the

Percheron The Percheron is a breed of draft horse that originated in the Huisne river valley in western France, part of the former Perche province from which the breed takes its name. Usually gray or black in color, Percherons are well muscled, and k ...

private enterprise rocket project as its electrical engineer. The rocket blew up on the launch pad, but it launched Fruchterman's career as a serial entrepreneur.

Benetech

In the Fall of 2018, Betsy Beaumon assumed the CEO role of Benetech and Fruchterman started a new nonprofit project called Tech Matters with a stated goal of taking what Benetech has learned about leveraging technology to help other nonprofits become more effective.

Honors and awards

Fruchterman received a

in 2006 and the Outstanding Social Entrepreneur award in 2003 from the

Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship is a Swiss Non-profit, not-for-profit organization founded in 1998 that provides platforms at the country, regional and global levels to promote social entrepreneurship.Schwab Foundation for Social ...

. He received the Robert F. Bray Award in 2003 from the

American Council of the Blind The American Council of the Blind (ACB) is a nationwide organization in the United States. It is an organization mainly made up of blind and visually impaired people who want to achieve independence and equality (although there are many sighted m ...

in recognition of his efforts to make published works accessible to people who are blind or visually impaired. In 2003, Fruchterman received the Francis Joseph Campbell award from the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...

for outstanding contribution to the advancement of library service for people who are blind or physically disabled. He also received the Access Award from the

American Foundation for the Blind The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) is an American non-profit organization for people with vision loss. AFB's objectives include conducting research to advance change, promoting knowledge and understanding, and shaping policies and practice ...

References

External links

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Tech Matters

Jim Fruchterman's Beneblog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fruchterman, Jim 1959 births California Institute of Technology alumni MacArthur Fellows Living people American social entrepreneurs