Big Picture, continued
The Purpose Prize: Supporting Over-60 Innovators
Over-60 social innovators have the potential to make major contributions to addressing local, national and global issues. That’s the premise of a new initiative being launched by Civic Ventures, a national non-profit organization seeking to help America realize an “experience dividend” by redefining the second half of life as a source of social and individual renewal.
The centerpiece of the initiative is The Purpose Prize, a $100,000 grant that will be awarded annually to five social entrepreneurs to support their work in addressing critical social issues. Unlike most prizes awarded to older adults, however, The Purpose Prize is not a lifetime achievement award, but a “down payment” on what these 60-plus innovators will do next, according to Civic Ventures’ web site announcement of the prize.
The Civic Ventures initiative is aimed at supporting and celebrating the contributions of change-makers who are focusing the second half of life on using their experience, talent and accumulated wisdom for the greater good. These “engaged retirees” are working on issues such as education and the environment; health, homelessness, human rights, and hunger; and poverty, social justice, and violence.
“Thousands of people in the second half of life have opened up a next chapter of innovations, productivity, and creativity, and, in the process, have transformed our communities and our country. They are living proof that aging does not mean stagnation and decline,” the Civic Ventures announcement said. “We wish to honor them. More than that, we want to invest in their potential to do their next great thing.”
In addition to The Purpose Prize, the initiative will seek to build a national network of socially engaged leaders and offer resources and technical assistance to support them. The initiative plans to sponsor a national summit bringing together seasoned and aspiring social innovators with scholars, activists, funders, and other thought-leaders. A new Civic Ventures Fund for Innovation will make grants to help innovators take their ideas to scale or create break-throughs.
Civic Ventures founder and president Marc Freedman cites the work of many over-60 social entrepreneurs in his book, Prime Time: How Baby Boomers Will Revolutionize Retirement and Transform America. Freedman was the keynote speaker for the Creating Community for a Lifetime kickoff event in May 2004.
The initiative is supported by grants from The Atlantic Philanthropies and The John Templeton Foundation. Nominations are now being accepted for the first round of Purpose Prize awards. More information is available at www.leadwithexperience.org.