The Benetech Initiative is a non-profit venture that provides social benefits by harnessing the power of technology. It delivers these benefits using a new model of social entrepreneurship which combines market forces with philanthropic capital and entrepreneurial drive. Benetech focuses the efforts of technology and technologists to solve important problems facing society.
A quick sampling of projects currently underway illustrates the power and promise of Benetech. Bookshare.org is a legal book-sharing community of people with disabilities, meeting the stringent copyright law exemption for providing accessible books. The Martus Project provides critical tools for the reporting and dissemination of human rights information, improving the effectiveness of the human rights sector worldwide. The Landmine Detector Project will transfer exciting new technologies developed by U.S. Department of Defense to applications to meet the needs of humanitarian landmine removal efforts around the world.
"Billionaire nerd with a social conscience" might describe Pierre Omidyar. Since founding eBay in 1995 and handing over the reigns of eBay to Meg Whitman, Omidyar and his wife Pam have found various ways to "do good" with their vast wealth.
In June of this year, the Omidyars created the Omidyar Network, an organization with the simple core belief: "that every individual has the power to make a difference." The Omidyar Network will fund for-profit organizations as well as non-profits. Omidyar Network is intended to expand the investment scope of the Omidyar Foundation by funding not just non-profit projects, but also for-profit ventures and public initiatives they believe promote individual self-empowerment. The Network has established a $400 million fund to be invested by 2010.
In addition to serving as Chairman of eBay and Omidyar Network, Omidyar is director of Meetup, a Web site that helps people self-organize local group gatherings on the same day everywhere.
