Purpose Prize for Social Innovators in Encore Careers

Posted by on November 21, 2011

Purpose Prize Accepting Nominations of Social Innovators in Encore Careers
Deadline: March 22, 2012

Now in its sixth year, the Purpose Prize is the nation’s only large-scale investment in people over the age of 60 who are combining their passion and experience for social good. The program awards $100,000 each to five people in “encore careers” who are creating new ways to solve tough social problems.

Created in 2005 by Civic Ventures with funding from the John Templeton Foundation and the Atlantic Philanthropies, the program showcases the value of experience and disproves notions that innovation is the sole province of the young.

To be eligible for the prize, a nominee must be at least 60 years old by the nomination deadline and be a legal resident of the United States (including its territories). Nominees should have initiated important innovations in a new or ongoing organization and in an encore career within the past fifteen years. “Encore careers” are those that combine personal meaning and social impact with continued work in the second half of life. Nominees must currently be working in a leadership capacity in an organization or institution (public, private, nonprofit, or for-profit) that is addressing a major social problem in the U.S. or abroad. Nominees should have demonstrated recent creativity and leadership with the promise of more to come. The candidate may have received recognition or honors in his or her local community or field, but in general the program seeks to honor individuals who are not widely recognized outside their geographic region or field.

Nominations are welcome from any organization or individual with knowledge of a potential candidate. Self-nominations are accepted. More than one person may be nominated for a single award, but each individual in the partnership must meet all the criteria and must share substantively in the transformation or creation of the program or organization.

Visit the Civic Ventures Web site for complete prize program guidelines, nomination procedures, and an FAQ.

http://www.encore.org/prize/about