Jim Fruchterman, technologist for social change, wins MacArthur genius award (oh, and by the way, he has a blog)

One of the 25 MacArthur Fellows announced yesterday was James Fruchterman, social entrepreneur and founder of Benetech, a nonprofit that creates "new technology solutions that serve humanity and empower people to improve their lives."   Benetech's innovative projects have focused on literacy for people with disabilities, landmine detection, and human rights.

When visiting Benetech's web site, I was delighted to discover that the homepage features a link to the latest post in Fruchterman's blog, Beneblog.  Beneblog is an example of what I have called a business-lunch blog.  In a simple, conversational style, and in posts that range from short to long, Fruchterman discusses interesting happenings in the life of the organization, for example, national media coverage and job openings.  He also comments on current events that are related to the mission and work of the organization.

nonprofits, nota bene:  A business-lunch blog is a practical strategy for many social sector organizations.  Every blog takes time, but it needn't take an extraordinary amount (the archives show that Fruchterman publishes as little as three times a month).  Blogs rank high in search engine results, making them a good way to raise awareness of your organization.  For more ideas on how your nonprofit can connect in a more personal way with clients, members, donors, volunteers, and  the general public, see my earlier post, "a blog can be like a business lunch."  And if you do publish a blog, consider featuring the latest post or two on your homepage. 

Congratulations, Jim Fruchterman. (For more on Jim, check out Global X and Jim Korn, two bloggers who know him.)
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Comments

[Nancy E. Schwartz]

Celeste, thanks for pointing this out. I'll add it to my growing directory of nonprofit CEOS who blog (not too many out there).

I love your concept of the "business lunch" blog, and think that approach is a lot more feasible for many CEOs. I'll pass the word.

Best,
Nancy
www.GettingAttention.org