Tech for Good
Publications
Writing about technology serving humankind
I love writing and communicating, especially about my passion for technology serving humanity. I am a frequent contributor to the Stanford Social Innovation Review, as well as other outlets covering social innovation. I write op-eds about the need for nonprofit technology.
Of course, my biggest publication is my book, Technology for Good: How Nonprofit Leaders Are Using Software and Data to Solve Our Most Pressing Social Problems, from MIT Press (scheduled publication date of September 2, 2025). Connected to the book research is my podcast, Tech Matters, where I interview great tech for good leaders to share their stories and innovations with a wider audience.
Kill the Dinosaurs
Jim Fruchterman, Stanford Social Innovation Review, September 16, 2025
AI beyond the hype: What nonprofits really need
Jim Fruchterman, Candid., August 18, 2025
Glorious RAGs : A Safer Path to Using AI in the Social Sector
Jim Fruchterman, The London School of Economics and Political Science, Social Business Hub, April 28, 2025
Exit to Open
Jim Fruchterman & Steve Francis, Stanford Social Innovation Review, April 24, 2025
Gather, Share, Build
Nithya Ramanathan and Jim Fruchterman, Stanford Social Innovation Review, February 19, 2025
4 Ways to Reduce the High Cost of Artificial Intelligence Errors
ICTworks, June 13, 2024
Refocus tech talent to help people rather than maximize profits
Opinion, San Jose Mercury News, March 20, 2024
Generative AI Is All About the Money
Stanford Social Innovation Review, January 25, 2024
5 bad tech ideas that development organizations just keep trying
Devex, May 24, 2023
Nonprofits Need Open Source Software
Worth Magazine, July 22, 2022
Decolonize Data
Nithya Ramanathan, Jim Fruchterman, Amy Fowler & Gabriele Carotti-Sha, Stanford Social Innovation Review, Spring 2022
Mindfully, Measurably 10 Percent Better: How Meditation Changed my Life
Jim Fruchterman, Skoll, April 22, 2022
Why ‘systems change’ in 2021 demands better technology
World Economic Forum, July 7, 2021
Why Don’t Nonprofits Have the Tech They Need?
Techonomy, September 9, 2020
We need a software revolution for the greater social good
Recode, March 2017
Using Data for Action and For Impact
Stanford Social Innovation Review, Summer 2016
Technology Serving Humanity (chapter)
Schultz, R. (editor), Creating Good Work: The World’s Leading Social Entrepreneurs Show How to Build a Healthy Economy, Palgrave Macmillan, February 2013, pp. 145-51
For Love or Lucre
Stanford Social Innovation Review, Stanford University, March 2011
Developing Information Technology to Meet Social Needs
In Innovations, MIT Press, 2008
Accessing Books and Documents (chapter)
In M.A. Hersh & M.A. Johnson (Eds.), Assistive technology for vision-impaired and blind people, Springer Verlag, 2008, pp. 550-580
Everyone Deserves Access to Technology
Op-ed by Jim Fruchterman and Gregg Vanderheiden, The Sacramento Bee, June 17, 2007
Nothing Ventured Nothing Gained, Addressing the Critical Gaps in Risk-Taking Capital for Social Enterprise
Jed Emerson, Tim Freundlich and Jim Fruchterman, Skoll Center for Social Entrepreneurship Working Paper, Oxford Said Business School, 2006
High Tech Approaches for Building Social Enterprise
In Social Enterprise Reporter, 2006
Build Great Companies, Then Help Build a Great World
Op-ed, The San Jose Mercury News, November 13, 2006
Building a Global Library for People with Print Disabilities
World Summit on the Information Society, Tunis, 2005
Google Print and Accessibility (white paper)
Comments on Accessibility of Google Print and Google’s Library Project, February 2005
Technology Benefiting Humanity
In Ubiquity, March 2004
In the Palm of Your Hand: A Vision of the Future of Technology for People with Visual Impairments
in Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, 97(10), 585-591, 2003
The Chafee Amendment: Improving Access to Information. Information Technology and Disabilities
Lingane, A., & Fruchterman, J., October 2003, 9(1)
The Soundproof Book: Exploration of Rights Conflict and Access to Commercial EBooks for People with Disabilities
Kerscher, G., & Fruchterman, J., June 2002, First Monday, 7(6), Retrieved March 18, 2025