The Purpose Prize
Civic Ventures, with generous grants from The Atlantic Philanthropies and the John Templeton Foundation, launched a major initiative investing in a new generation of social innovators – individuals in the second half of life who are marshalling their accumulated experience to tackle some of America’s most urgent issues. These change-makers are focused on finding solutions to challenges in our communities, our country and the world. They are using expertise and talents only gained by their lifetime experiences in addressing these challenges.
As a society, little has been done to support the remarkable efforts of these individuals. This further supports the notion of a decline in their second half of life, rather than a time of creativity, invention and contribution. At the heart of Civic Ventures’ effort is The Purpose Prize, which awards five $100,000 prizes to five social entrepreneurs age 60 or older who are trying to improve their communities through their work. The annual awards will provide a boost to a handful of social entrepreneurs, but Civic Ventures' larger aim is to highlight the growing prevalence of innovation and altruism among older people.
Listen to Civic Ventures’ NPR Sponsorship Acknowledgement
For more information:
The Purpose Prize
Civic Ventures
139 Townsend Street, Suite 505
San Francisco, CA 94107
415-430-0141 tel.
415-430-0144 fax
info@civicventures.org
www.purposeprize.com
Prize History
| 2007 |
$100,000 Winners Donald Berwick (Cambridge, MA): Enlisting wide-scale cooperation across the healthcare industry to save lives Gordon Johnson (Dayton Beach, FL): Developing programs to prevent the separation of siblings in foster care H. Gene Jones (Tucson, AZ): Accelerating student achievement by integrating art in the curriculum Wilma Melville (Ojai, CA): Saving lives at disaster sites by training canine-firefighter search teams Sharon Rohrbach (St. Louis, MO): Saving the lives of newborns through nurse home visits |
| 2006 |
$100,000 winners Conchy Bretos (Miami, FL): Bringing assisted living services to public housing Charles Dey (Lyme, CT): Engaging high school youth with disabilities in the world of work Marilyn Gaston and Gayle Porter (Bethesda, MD): Empowering midlife African-American women to improve their health W. Wilson Goode, Sr. (Philadelphia, PA): Mentoring children of incarcerated parents Judea Pearl and Akbar Ahmed (Los Angeles, CA and Washington, D.C.): Fighting intolerance, conflict and terrorism through dialogue and exchange |