Benetech Receives Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship

Award Represents Continuing Support from the Skoll Foundation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Palo Alto, CA, June 6, 2004: Benetech, the leading Silicon Valley technology development social enterprise, announced today that it has received a Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship. This award represents $200,000 in direct financial support over two years and the second time that the Skoll Foundation has supported Benetech.

The grant is intended to fund capacity-building initiatives to extend the reach of Benetech and its technology-based projects to disadvantaged communities on a greater scale – locally and worldwide. Benetech’s strategic long-term goal is to mobilize the technology community to play a larger role in addressing society’s needs through the application of the technology sector’s extensive intellectual, managerial and financial resources.

Past grantees include leading social entrepreneurial organizations such as Ashoka: Innovators for the Public and Appropriate Technologies for Enterprise Creation (ApproTEC).

“We are thrilled and honored that our work has been recognized by the Skoll Foundation,” stated Benetech CEO Jim Fruchterman. “Jeff Skoll and his foundation staff have been instrumental in promoting the tireless efforts of the community of social entrepreneurs, and their continued support of Benetech will enable us to catalyze the creation of more social wealth through the development and deployment of sustainable technologies.”

About Benetech

The Benetech Initiative is a Silicon Valley nonprofit that develops sustainable, technology-based solutions to address pressing social challenges in areas such as disability, human rights, education and literacy. Many beneficial technologies have compelling social applications that are not developed because such efforts do not meet for-profit investors’ financial expectations. Benetech specifically pursues endeavors with a strong social, rather than financial, rate of return on investment, bringing commercial technology and private sector management techniques to bear in creating innovative, non-traditional solutions to challenging social issues. More information on Benetech and its projects can be found at www.benetech.org or by calling (650) 475-5440.

About the Skoll Foundation

Headquartered in California's Silicon Valley, the Skoll Foundation was created in 1999 by Jeff Skoll, the first employee and first president of eBay. Its mission is to advance systemic change to benefit communities around the world by investing in, connecting and celebrating social entrepreneurs. The Skoll Foundation invests in social entrepreneurs through three award programs and the new Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at Oxford University. It connects social entrepreneurs through its online community, Social Edge, at www.socialedge.org. It celebrates social entrepreneurs through projects such as a four-part public television documentary that is now in production; and via the Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship. For more information, see www.skollfoundation.org, or contact the Skoll Foundation by email: [email protected].

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