2009

HowMany PeopleCanASingleIdeaHelp?

At Benetech success is measured

not in dollars,

but in the number of lives

changed.

1

Benetech Report 2009

How Many People Can a Single Idea Help?

We ask this question every day at Benetech. As a technology

company where social benefit—not profit—is the bottom line,

we believe the knowledge is readily available to solve many of

humanity’s most vexing problems. Our innovative solutions take

the best of existing technology and adapt it at low cost to confront

these challenges. In this time of social conflict, environmental

destruction and economic uncertainty, the need for such a strategy

has never been greater.

In 2009, Benetech celebrates two decades of success in

extending the benefits of technology to all of society,

including people who are marginalized or especially in

need. In the following pages, we’ll share with you how

Benetech’s partnerships in literacy, human rights and

environmental conservation are matching the creativity of

the high-tech sector with the efforts of grassroots activists

around the world.

In the past few years, with the support of our funders

and partners, we expanded Bookshare, our pioneering

online digital library for people with print disabilities,

to serve over 60,000 users who cannot read traditional

books. Our human rights program used the power of

statistical analysis to reveal the truth and offer a chance

for reconciliation in conflict zones across Asia, Africa

and Latin America. And we launched an exciting new

software application, Miradi, that transforms the way

environmental groups plan and manage conservation

projects. Whether it’s helping war-torn Liberia come to

grips with its past or helping a blind child discover the

joy of reading, our projects provide new hope for tens of

thousands of people.

As Benetech grows, we remain committed to our social

enterprise business model, a concept we like to call Return

on Humanity. Return on Humanity means we measure our

success not in dollars, but in the number of lives changed.

The power of a good idea, we believe, lies in the way it

can magnify the efforts of a small group of people to create

a significant impact on the future of our planet. With

sustainable business practices, we can ensure that the

effects of our work are felt for generations to come.

Our supporters play a critical role in our

success. We are proud that, even in these

difficult financial times, we have expanded

our programs thanks to support from

individuals and foundations that see the

potential for technological advances to truly

benefit all of humanity.

Yet more challenges lie ahead. In the coming years,

Benetech will continue to inspire others in our field

to follow the social enterprise path, while building a

movement to break down barriers that have excluded

disadvantaged groups from participating in the

technological revolution. We imagine a world in which

every person on the planet can access the information

needed for education, employment, health and social

inclusion. We hope you will join us in these efforts.

Technology that is socially useful, affordable and

accessible to all: that is the Benetech vision.

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LITERACY

Bookshare Opens New Doors for People

with Visual and Reading Disabilities

Reading is not a luxury; it’s a necessity. By making it

possible for people with print disabilities to read easily,

Benetech breaks down barriers that have kept millions

of people isolated and unable to participate fully in the

workplace and social life. Just ask Debbie Calvert.

Calvert had been a teacher for 10 years when she

suddenly began to lose her sight, putting her career in

jeopardy. “I found myself struggling to read the print of

books I was assigning my students,” she says.

After considering quitting, Calvert discovered Benetech’s

Bookshare program, where she could listen and follow

along with electronic versions of books and use the

information to create her lesson plans.

Bookshare was created to serve the millions of Americans

who have disabilities that keep them from easily reading

a printed book, such as blindness, low vision, a learning

disability or mobility impairment. With Bookshare,

these readers can download over 50,000 accessible

books and periodicals from any computer with an

Internet connection.

Capitalizing on the democratizing power of the Internet,

Bookshare grows as its members scan, proofread

and upload books of their own to share with other

readers—a practice that is legal thanks to exceptions

in copyright laws for people unable to read traditional

books. Major publishers and universities also donate

their own digital books to the collection.

Bookshare is also breaking down barriers to reading for

students like Shane McKnight, a 14-year-old who loves

skateboarding. He’s curious and articulate. But until

recently, he struggled to read the books assigned in class.

“Reading in a book gets me all cross-eyed,” says Shane,

who has a learning disability.

All that has changed for Shane, thanks to Bookshare.

Shane can now download his schoolbooks in minutes

and follow along as the computer reads to him. He

chooses the pace, and highlighted words help him

navigate from sentence to sentence.

“I really like reading with Bookshare because

there’s something happening, it’s not just a

plain piece of paper with words, so it helps

me focus more,” says Shane.

Shane now enjoys reading in his free time and is

looking forward to tackling a biography of his hero,

skateboarding superstar Tony Hawk.

In 2007, the U.S. Department of Education awarded

Benetech funding to offer Bookshare free of charge to

over 100,000 students like Shane by 2012—an explosive

growth from the 3,000 students served just a few

years ago. Benetech also recently launched Bookshare

International to serve people with print disabilities in the

developing world.

With the growth of Bookshare, Benetech is working

harder than ever to open up the world of reading to

people who were previously excluded from it. We are

helping to ensure that those with print disabilities have

the educational and employment opportunities they

need to lead fulfilling, productive lives.

Bringing the Benefits of Reading to Everyone

3

More than a library, Bookshare is a thriving community of volunteers who scan and proofread books to help the library grow, reach out to new users, and share their experiences on the Bookshare mailing list. Here, Bookshare volunteer Monica Willyard tells us her story.

“I was born blind, and when I was a little girl I loved to touch the pages of print books. I would pray and ask God to let me read because I was such a curious kid. When I was eight years old, my father bought me a computer, insisted I learn how to use it and taught me to write programs. I did everything by touch and memory.

On my 18th birthday, I got my first scanner. By scanning books into an accessible format, I could finally read, even if it wasn’t exactly how I had envisioned. I attended college, worked in technical support and marketing, and took courses in web development. But there were so few books that were accessible, it was always a struggle.

When I got my first Bookshare membership, I went nuts in the cookbook and computer book section. I kept running out of the room to tell my mom, ‘They have the Betty Crocker book! They have the Weight Watchers book!’ One of the first things I did was sign up as a volunteer. I’m a single mother, and the first book I scanned was Dare to Discipline, a parenting book for toddlers.

We have enough talent in the volunteer community to run a small country; the scope is amazing. I had a dream for a long time that someday blind people would have the same level of access as those who don’t have disabilities. Today, Bookshare is making that dream possible, and that’s the biggest reason why I volunteer.”

Why I Volunteer with Bookshare | by Monica Willyard

MORE INFORMATION: http://www.benetech.org/report/literacy

Benetech Report 2009

4

HUMAN RIGHTS

Benetech’s Human Rights Program Analyzes Evidence of

Suffering in Pursuit of Truth

It was one of the most startling discoveries in Guatemala’s

troubled history: a routine inspection of a warehouse once

used by the country’s national police force uncovered a

massive cache of hidden documents. Soaked by rainwater

and nibbled by rats, the stacks of paper—hundreds of

millions of pages—told the story of crimes committed

by the now-disbanded national police force during the

country’s 36 years of armed conflict. The archive offered

new hope to families of the estimated 40,000 people

who disappeared in the conflict and the possibility of

accountability for those responsible.

But how to make sense of such a vast collection of

information? Enter Benetech and our Martus database

software. Partnering with local human rights groups and

staff from the office of the Guatemalan government’s

Human Rights Ombudsman, Benetech’s Human Rights

Data Analysis Group collected a random scientific sample

of the documents and applied statistical expertise to

answer questions such as how many people were abused

by police, what kinds of human rights violations occurred

and who was responsible.

Data from the project have already been used to bring

legal cases against police officials allegedly involved

in human rights abuses and are helping Guatemalans

to better understand their history so the country

can move forward. For Guatemalan congresswoman

Nineth Montenegro, documents from the archive led to

information that she had sought systematically for more

than two decades and resulted in the arrest of two former

police officers for their complicity in the disappearance of

her husband, professor and labor activist Fernando Garcia.

“This is such a gift, that 25 years later we can pick up the

thread and know where they took him,” Montenegro told

the newspaper La Prensa. “God sometimes takes a long

time, but He does not forget.”

In Guatemala and in its other projects around the world,

Benetech’s Human Rights Program helps human rights

groups increase their impact by harnessing their most

valuable asset: information. Benetech’s scientific approach

creates reliable, evidence-based accounts of human rights

abuses that can overcome political biases, help bring

perpetrators to justice—and literally change history.

Seeking Truth in Nations Scarred by Conflict

Benetech recently worked with the Liberian Truth

and Reconciliation Commission to gather and analyze

witness testimony from Liberia’s decades of civil unrest.

Working in a country with no functioning power grid,

where many still struggle to meet their basic needs, the

commission faced many challenges. Yet they were able to

gather over 17,000 testimonies, nearly half of which came

from women, many of whom overcame societal taboos

about discussing sexual violence to speak about their

experiences for the first time.

“Benetech’s work helped to give a voice

to thousands of victims and at the same

time give a human face to the truth and

reconciliation process,” says Chancellor

Jerome J. Verdier, Chairman of Liberia’s

Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Benetech’s 2009 report documented widespread forced

displacement during the conflict and found that a rebel

group associated with Charles Taylor, the country’s

former president, was responsible for the greatest number

of violations.

Harnessing the Power of Statistics to Seek Justice, Healing and Reconciliation Around the World

5

The Power of Statistics Martus: An Electronic Witness to History

“We use statistics to convey the whole story rather than just little parts of it. When we bring scientific rigor to the debate about human rights, we can gain a better understanding of what actually happened, which can help prevent atrocities in the future.

We’re always thinking about new ways of collecting and analyzing data. In East Timor, besides collecting and analyzing surveys and narrative testimonies about killings during that country’s occupation by Indonesia, we surveyed every public graveyard in the country. We collected data on over 300,000 graves. And we were able to establish that the vast majority of deaths during the conflict resulted from famine rather than murder. That has dramatic implications for the world’s understanding of Timorese history.”

— Patrick Ball, Vice President, Benetech Human Rights Program

A human rights worker is abducted in Colombia and her laptop stolen. An activist deep within Burma sends radio dispatches about violence there to colleagues outside the country; if he is discovered, he risks being killed. Human rights groups face daily challenges to the safety of their members, the information they collect and the lives of vulnerable witnesses. Benetech created the Martus software to help meet those challenges. Martus organizes and encrypts data and backs it up on remote servers outside the country, safeguarding sources’ identities.

“Benetech’s innovative methods overcome

the inherent biases in human rights data,

fundamentally transforming the way scholars

and practitioners do their work.”

— Dr. Todd Landman, Human Rights Centre,

University of Essex

Benetech Report 2009

MORE INFORMATION: http://www.benetech.org/report/humanrights

6

ENVIRONMENT

Think Technology Can Save the Planet? We Do.

Guam’s marine reserves form one of the most biodiverse

regions on the planet. Coral reefs teem with over 800

species of fish, turtles nest in beds of sea grass and

dolphins take a breather from their migratory treks.

Guam’s tremendous natural beauty inspired Elaina Todd

to become an environmentalist. Todd knew that

her homeland’s natural habitats were threatened by

illegal fires, uncontrolled development and harmful

fishing practices, and she was determined to do

something about it.

In 2009, Todd and eight other ecological activists from

around the world participated in a training program

run by one of Benetech’s partners, the conservation

group Rare. She learned how to use Miradi, Benetech’s

groundbreaking software application that allows

environmentalists to design conservation plans that bring

together best practices in environmental management with

the local knowledge of people in their region.

With Miradi, Todd has access to decades of experience

from top conservationists who helped design the software.

She can assess the dangers to Guam’s coral reefs, from

overfishing to global factors like climate change, develop

a plan to address them, and track her progress towards

these goals.

Rare is just one of dozens of environmental organizations

in 100 countries who currently use Miradi. Benetech

developed the software in collaboration with the

Conservation Measures Partnership, a consortium of

leading environmental groups.

“There are millions of dollars going into conservation, yet

we had no way to track which strategies were successful,”

says Dan Salzer, an ecologist at The Nature Conservancy

who helped found the partnership. “In order to take

the movement to the next level, we needed a common

language and common metrics to assess our progress.

Miradi gives us that advantage.”

At The Nature Conservancy’s North Carolina office, activ-

ists working to preserve a pine forest on military-owned

land are using Miradi to communicate among various

stakeholders, from the Department of Defense to the state

parks department and local environmental researchers.

With a click of the mouse, they can create diagrams that

visually represent different tactics—from controlled burns

to lobbying Congress—and the results they might achieve.

“Miradi is helping us transform our conserva-

tion plan from a document on a shelf to

something that’s actually integrated into

our work on the ground,” says Ryan Elting, The

Nature Conservancy Sandhills Program Director.

As Benetech takes Miradi to scale in the coming years,

environmentalists like Elting and Todd will be able to

upload project data to a searchable online database and

share it with other conservationists around the world

who face similar challenges. Potential donors, meanwhile,

will be able to view and assess information about areas

that meet their interests, from protecting tigers in Laos to

preserving California’s native grasslands.

By fostering this kind of cooperation, Miradi is

dramatically expanding the knowledge base of

conservation groups so they can meet their goals more

effectively. Miradi is just one example of how Benetech

uses the power of ideas to combine the efforts of

individual advocates into a global movement for change.

Helping Conservationists Protect Natural Resources

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MORE INFORMATION: http://www.benetech.org/report/environment

“One hundred percent of our campaigns use Miradi, and it has hugely helped us to move project planning forward. We found it so helpful that we’ve invested in having it translated into Mandarin, Indonesian and Spanish.”

— Paul Butler, Senior Vice President of Global Programs, Rare

Benetech Report 2009

Benetech’s pioneering social enterprise business model

brings together the flexibility and entrepreneurial culture

of Silicon Valley with a commitment to serve humanity.

Partnership

Benetech collaborates with nonprofit leaders, high-tech

companies, educational institutions and others to design

and market software solutions that meet social needs.

With extensive feedback from users, we ensure our

projects truly make a difference, helping organizations

amplify the impact of their work.

Donor Engagement

As a nonprofit organization, Benetech relies on the

support of visionary donors who understand the untapped

potential of technology to help those most in need. These

critical funds ensure that programs are chosen based on

their potential to improve society, not solely on how much

revenue they will generate. Our donors help us take risks

and pursue the next big idea.

Rigorous Standards

At Benetech, every project goes through a meticulous

development process that includes a detailed business

plan, early prototypes and exit strategies. We are

committed to open source development to make the

best use of technology and allow others to follow in

our footsteps.

Inspiration

We dedicate a significant amount of our time building

the field of social entrepreneurship and helping new

innovators on the road to success. We especially enjoy

inspiring students to look for creative ways of solving

social problems.

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IMPACT

MORE INFORMATION: http://www.benetech.org/report/impact

A Different Kind of Technology Company

Benetech Projects Around the World

“Hundreds, if not thousands, of great

technology applications are sitting on

shelves because they are insufficiently

profitable to shareholders. We need to

recapture these opportunities and ensure

that technology fully serves all of humanity.”

— Jim Fruchterman, Benetech CEO

9

Benetech Report 2009

Miradi

Human Rights

MAP KEY

United States and India:

Bookshare brings the benefits

of reading to over 60,000

subscribers with visual and

learning disabilities, with plans

to expand to more countries in

the coming years.

Sierra Leone: The Human

Rights Data Analysis Group

built a secure data coding

and analysis process to help

the Truth and Reconciliation

Commission create an impartial

historical record and help end

impunity.

Jilin Province, China:

Using Miradi, the Hunchun

Pride Campaign will reduce

or eliminate poaching of

Siberian tigers by creating

an alternative economy and

increasing enforcement in the

region.

Puget Sound, United States:

The Puget Sound Partnership

is using Miradi to coordinate

federal and state species and

habitat conservation actions

across the entire Puget Sound

Watershed.

Colombia: Martus software

helps forensic teams collect

and analyze data on killings

and disappearances.

Burma: The Human Rights

Data Analysis Group partnered

with a group of ten Thailand-

based NGOs to help a

network of human rights

activists securely document

the ongoing struggle against

repression in Burma.

Bookshare

Bookshare is used extensively throughout the United States and has a growing presence in other countries. The Human Rights Program and Miradi software are involved in projects worldwide.

10

NEXT FRONTIER

As humanity moves into the 21st century facing a host of new social,

economic and environmental challenges, the need for creative

solutions has never been greater.

Innovative software, Internet services and advances

in affordable, user-friendly mobile technology offer

unprecedented opportunities to expand access to

information for disadvantaged people around the globe.

Benetech is meeting these challenges by broadening

and deepening the impact of our own programs and

leading a movement of like-minded technologists

with a commitment to using their skills to solve social

problems.

In the next five years, we will increase the number

of people served by Benetech programs from tens of

thousands to millions. We aim to leverage the platform

and reading technologies of Bookshare, already the

largest digital library of accessible texts, to serve users

around the world, English-language learners and those

with other barriers to accessing information. A new

software solution in development, Route 66 Literacy,

trains anyone with a computer to become a literacy tutor,

creating the potential for a league of volunteer teachers

in isolated and underserved areas to help their families,

friends and others learn to read.

We will continue to raise scientific standards in the

human rights field through research and training to

ensure that our impact extends beyond the projects

Benetech directly manages. We will double the

information stored in Martus, our secure database

software, helping users draw attention to human rights

issues worldwide.

We will also extend the reach of Miradi, our project

management tool, to organizations throughout the

environmental movement, giving more environmentalists

a method for communicating about and learning from

each other’s successes.

At Benetech, we know the work of one organization

simply isn’t enough. Since our founding, we have built

strategic alliances and worked for policy changes to

bridge the technological divide. We advocate for students

with disabilities to make sure they get equal access to

electronic textbooks, help activists more effectively

work for human rights and enhance the impact of

conservationists striving to protect the environment.

We partner with other social enterprises to create jobs

and help aspiring technology nonprofits develop their

own ideas. Every day we meet students, nonprofit

leaders, grassroots activists, engineers and donors

who, like us, are awed at the tremendous promise that

technology offers and want to use their talents to create a

better world. We want to catalyze these human resources

into a powerful movement that can bring technological

innovations to the people who need them most but can

least afford them.

In the tradition of Silicon Valley, we dream big and take

risks. No matter how technology develops in the coming

years, Benetech will continue to work toward achieving

our vision: a world where every person on the planet

can access the information they need for education,

employment, health and social inclusion. We hope you’ll

join us.

The Next Frontier: Global Challenges and Innovative Solutions

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MORE INFORMATION: http://www.benetech.org/report/nextfrontier

Benetech Report 2009

Together, we can bring the benefits of technology to all of humanity.

12

THANK YOU

Benetech would like to recognize the following visionary individuals

and institutions that have partnered with us to create innovative

applications of technology to address unmet social needs. Without

their unwavering commitment, our work would not be possible.

BENETECH

G. Gervaise Davis III, Esq.

Steve Dow

Google

The Lemelson Foundation

Omidyar Network

Packard Humanities Institute

J. Leighton Read, M.D.

Skoll Foundation

*Benetech’s funding from foundations is typically in multi-year grants. The lists above and at right include funding from 2007–2009 and represent gifts of $5,000 or more of gifts and services.

LITERACY PROGRAMS

Adobe Systems Incorporated

Mary A. Crocker Trust

Carole H. Lake

Lavelle Fund for the Blind

Microsoft Corporation

Mozilla Foundation

NEC Foundation

Bernard A. Newcomb Fund at Silicon Valley Community Foundation

Recording Services for the Visually Impaired

Severns Family Foundation

Special Hope Foundation

Morris Stulsaft Foundation

University of Wisconsin, Trace Center

US Department of Education

ZeroDivide

We would also like to acknowledge the contributions of over 1000 committed volunteers who have made a significant impact on our programs, as well as the donation of books by generous individuals, authors, universities and publishers.

HUMAN RIGHTS PROGRAMS

Archivo Histórico de la Policia Nacional

Comisión Colombiana de Juristas

DePaul University

Equitas

Freedom House Syria, DC, Ethiopia

Humanity United

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

National Endowment for Democracy

Oak Foundation

Open Society Institute

The Sigrid Rausing Trust

US Department of State

ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAMS

The Miradi software program is a joint venture between the Conservation Measures Partnership (CMP) and Benetech. Miradi funders include:

Doris Duke Charitable Foundation

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation

The David and Lucile Packard Foundation

Partner and Donor Acknowledgement

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Mission statement: Benetech combines the power of the human mind with a deep passion for social improvement, creating new technology solutions that serve all of humanity.

FINANCIALSBenetech Report 2009

ASSETS SUPPORT & REVENUES

EXPENSES

Liabilities Accounts Payable $325,567 Other Accrued Expenses $609,290 Total Liabilities $934,857

Net Assets Unrestricted $1,662,320 Restricted $2,211,068 Total Net Assets $3,873,388

Total Liabilities & Net Assets $4,808,245

LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS

Current Assets 2008Cash & Cash Equivalents $772,089 Grants & Other Receivables $1,845,712 Total Current Assets $2,617,801

Fixed & Other Assets Web Design Capitalization $1,639,579 Grants Receivable “Non-Current” $460,207 Deposits & Other Assets $90,658 Total Fixed & Other Assets $2,190,444

Total Assets $4,808,245 Bookshare $4,043,686 Human Rights $720,598 Miradi $298,677 New Projects $18,630 Total Program Expenses $5,081,591 Management & General $761,424 Fundraising & Bid and Proposal $183,978 Total Support Expenses $945,402

Total Expenses $6,026,993

Changes in Net Assets $3,642,334 Net Assets at Beginning of Year $231,054 Net Assets at End of Year $3,873,388

2008Grants & Contributions $3,091,529 Earned Revenue $6,464,095 Donated Products & Services $113,703

Total Support & Revenues $9,669,327

TEN YEAR PROGRAM

AND SUPPORT

EXPENSES

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 (projected)

$10,000,000

$9,000,000

$8,000,000

$7,000,000

$6,000,000

$5,000,000

$4,000,000

$3,000,000

$2,000,000

$1,000,000 PROGRAM EXPENSES

SUPPORT EXPENSES

In its history, Benetech has enjoyed steady growth and programmatic success. This has been

rewarded with a wide base of support, most dramatically the 2007 award from the U.S.

Department of Education to bring Bookshare to all American students with print disabilities.

Benetech®

480 S. California Ave.

Suite 201

Palo Alto, CA 94306-1609

tel: 650-644-3400

fax: 650-475-1066

email: info@benetech.org

www.benetech.org

Benetech is a registered trademark

BENETECH BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Brian Behlendorf

Christy Chin

Gerry Davis

Jim Fruchterman

Jim Kleckner

Leighton Read

SENIOR MANAGEMENT TEAM

Jim Fruchterman, Founder and CEO

Patrick Ball, Chief Scientist and Vice President, Human Rights Program

Betsy Beaumon, Vice President/General Manager, Literacy Program

Betsy Burgess, Director, Marketing

John Crossman, Director, Engineering

Jane Simchuk, Vice President, Human Resources and Administration

Teresa Throckmorton, Vice President, Finance and CFO

Benetech is a nonprofit organization.