Jim Fruchterman

Homepage - Jim Fruchterman, Tech for Good Champion Jim Fruchterman is a social entrepreneur, tech-for-good field leader, public speaker, and author of the book Technology for Good (MIT Press).

Happy book birthday to my friend @jimfruchterman.bsky.social

He has spent many years figuring out how technology can help the global majority. He distills the lessons in his new book. Details are here:
fruchterman.org

Copy of "Technology for Good: How Nonprofit Leaders Are Using Software and Data to Solve Our Most Pressing Social Problems" by Jim Fruchterman on a white background. The cover is blue with a pixelated heart at the center.

In "Technology for Good," tech-for-good entrepreneur @jimfruchterman.bsky.social delivers a visionary guide on how to leverage technology for social good for nonprofit leaders and technologists alike: mitpress.mit.edu/978026205097...

𝗠𝘆 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝗧𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆!

I'm pysched that the day has finally come for 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱 to be available for download and purchase. I believe it's the first book on how to start a deliberately nonprofit tech company!
www.amazon.com/dp/0262050978

This was a fun interview with @fastcompany.com about my forthcoming book on #techforgood!

NEXT WEEK: @jimfruchterman.bsky.social will be in conversation with @camcritt.bsky.social in San Francisco for a timely discussion about how nonprofits are using tech to solve pressing social problems.

Find out more: Details and tickets available at: www.commonwealthclub.org/events/2025-...

Technology for Good: How Nonprofit Leaders Are Using Software and Data to Solve Our Most Pressing Social Problems Join us to hear from a MacArthur genius awardee, former rocket engineer, and passionate leader in the social enterprise movement—Jim Fruchterman—about using technology for positive social change.

𝗜𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗖𝗹𝘂𝗯

My book tour launches next week in SF with a conversation with Camille Crittenden of CITRIS. Looking forward to talking about #techforgood!
www.commonwealthclub.org/events/2025-...

Good Intent and No Surprises What does it mean to have "No Surprises" under the Better Deal for Data?

𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗡𝗼 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲𝘀!

New Better Deal for Data Major Questions paper. The issue of no surprises turns out to be critically important in a data governance approach designed to promise trustworthiness.
bd4d.org/good-intent-...

#techforgood

Homepage - Jim Fruchterman, Tech for Good Champion Jim Fruchterman is a social entrepreneur, tech-for-good field leader, public speaker, and author of the book Technology for Good (MIT Press).

𝗠𝘆 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿 𝗪𝗲𝗯𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲!

Yes, my book, Technology for Good, launches next month and I want to announce my new website. Of course the home page features eight places where you can preorder the book, beyond your favorite local bookstore.

fruchterman.org

Amazing Birding in Zambia

Last month I was able to attend the global child helpline conference in Livingstone, Zambia, and was able to use a free day to see birds! Here are two of my favorites (an Openbill stork and Pied Crows attacking an African Fish Eagle). #birding

Looks Like I Have a Book About to Come Out!

Exit to Open (SSIR) In a difficult time when many nonprofits will be forced to close, nonprofit leaders and funders must act to preserve data and other intangible assets.

Who will preserve nonprofit knowledge?

At a time of intense disruption, leaders and funders should plan carefully for what happens when organizations are forced to shut down.

New article by @jimfruchterman.bsky.social and Steve Francis of @techmatters.bsky.social:

Alcatraz today. Not a prison at the moment.

PJMF Learning Hub | Notion About This Hub

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗝𝗠𝗙 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝘂𝗯

The McGovern Foundation is one of those rare tech-forward funders. Not only do they make grants, but engage to spread the word about how to do tech and AI well.

Their latest resource is their Learning Hub, vetted #techforgood resources.

learn.mcgovern.org

These 12 Eye-Opening Graphs Reveal the State of AI in 2025 Feeling overwhelmed by AI news? Stanford's 2025 AI Index cuts through the noise with a 400+ page report on AI's impact. Which we then boiled down to 12 key graphs. You're welcome. #AI

The State of AI 2025: 12 Eye-Opening Graphs

These graphs in IEEE Spectrum were interesting!

spectrum.ieee.org/ai-index-2025

My Nonprofit AI Treasure Map!

I wrote up this diagram for nonprofit leaders to navigate the pressure to adopt AI solutions, often without regard to whether they make sense! I'm a big fan of AI, but it is far from solving every interesting social problem.

Cadasta Joins the Better Deal for Data Initiative to Strengthen Ethical Land Rights Data Stewardship Cadasta Foundation is proud to announce its commitment to the Better Deal for Data (BD4D) initiative, joining a global coalition dedicated to responsible, inclusive, and community-centered data…

𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀!

I was delighted to see that Cadasta has become a public supporter of the need for a Better Deal for Data. More nonprofits are being moved to endorse a new approach to data governance. Thanks, Cadasta!

Balancing transparency and data protection Candid insights | Data sharing is key to sector transparency. Learn how Candid is balancing data sharing transparency and protection to prevent the misuse of organizations' contributed data.

Just back from Skoll World Forum week in Oxford, and catching up on my reading from last week. This article from Candid's Laia Griñó really caught my eye. It is such a great example of responsible data stewardship!

blog.candid.org/post/balanci...?

Eyes On Success Eyes On Success - radio show / podcast for the visually impaired

Benetech Podcast!

Benetech CEO Ayan Kishore and I were just featured on the Eyes on Success podcast. It was great to have a chance to talk about Benetech's past (me) and future(Ayan)! Thanks to Nancy and Peter Torpey for the interview!

Eyes On Success Eyes On Success - radio show / podcast for the visually impaired

Benetech Podcast!

Benetech CEO Ayan Kishore and I were just featured on the Eyes on Success podcast. It was great to have a chance to talk about Benetech's past (me) and future(Ayan)! Thanks to Nancy and Peter Torpey for the interview!

How the Biggest Crypto Heist in History Went Down The cryptocurrency exchange Bybit lost $1.5 billion to North Korean hackers last month — and it all traced back to an account on a free digital storage service.

When nonprofits start talking to me about putting significant funds into crypto-currency solutions (like DAOs), I caution them about the challenges of putting a bucket of money onto something connected to the internet. There have been a steady stream of hacks.

𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲!

Looking forward to speaking at the upcoming Data on Purpose 2025 conference in early May, organized by the Stanford Social Innovation Review. I'll be talking about open source and collaboration for social impact!

Bridging data divides at scale through tech & AI By Kailash Raj Pandey (‘24 Strategy Fellow)

𝗔𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗡𝗼𝗻𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗦𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗜 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝘀

Because doing #techforgood is challenging, I love a piece like this highlighting a handful of nonprofits with highly capable tech teams doing it well.

What's Dogfood Got to Do with It?  Testing the Better Deal for Data - Tech Matters We declared our alignment with the Better Deal for Data directly at the beginning of the new Terraso Terms of Service.

𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀!

We are working on our lightweight data governance initiative, the 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮. We set out to apply these principles to one of our own projects, this approach is commonly called "dogfooding!"

Gather, Share, Build (SSIR) Why data is one of the biggest challenges to leveraging AI for social good—and how the social sector can address it

AI can transform lives, but only with inclusive data! Nonprofits and funders must invest in shared data infrastructure to unlock AI's full potential for global good. bit.ly/3EXek9u

@jimfruchterman.bsky.social @techmatters.bsky.social @ssireview.bsky.social

#AIforGood #DataForGood #SocialImpactAI

Gather, Share, Build (SSIR) Why data is one of the biggest challenges to leveraging AI for social good—and how the social sector can address it

𝗚𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿, 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲, 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱
𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘚𝘚𝘐𝘙 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺!

Nithya Ramanathan and I just published a piece on AI and data for social good. AI could be doing a lot more for impact, but our current approaches lack critical mass. We can do better through more collaboration!

ssir.org/articles/ent...

My Book Has Cover Art!

I just spotted that my upcoming book, Technology for Good, is now showing the cover art that MIT Press developed!

Step by step we will get to September.

@Callstack has has been recognized with the Tech For Good Badge 2024 from @TechToTheRescue! 🏆

Their pro-bono expertise in React Native for our LandPKS software was very helpful: we just released the full version of LandPKS!

Thank you for being a partner in creating lasting change!
#ProBonoTech

AI Is Spamming Open Source Repos With Fake Issues A maintainer tracked down an AI company that said the spam was a mistake. But reports suggest the problem is more widespread and growing.

This is a signal of things to come. AI training has long depended on vacuuming up the data produced by humans. Here's an example of AI training making work for humans valiantly trying to maintain open source projects!
#techfornotgood

Stepping out of a field where you spent three decades is that you lose touch with so many people.

This weekend I found out that Monthian Buntan, one of the most dynamic leaders I met in the global movement for the rights of blind people, had passed away last year at only 58 years of age. Sad news.

Yesterday it was the global development field, and now it's the domestic nonprofit sector, and state governments, trying to figure out if they no longer have the funds to do their work.