Posted on November 11, 2010

Civic Ventures Announces 2010 Purpose Prize Winners

San Francisco-based Civic Ventures has announced the winners of the 2010 Purpose Prize. The program recognizes social entrepreneurs age 60 and older who are using their experience and passion to help address society's biggest challenges.

This year's five winners will receive $100,000 each for their social innovations, while five runners-up will receive $50,000 each. Now in its fifth year, the $17 million program recognizes ordinary Americans working to address community-based issues, from the foreclosure epidemic to rampant pollution, from the ground up.

Funded by Atlantic Philanthropies and the John Templeton Foundation, the Purpose Prize is a program of Civic Ventures' Encore Careers campaign, which aims to engage millions of baby boomers in encore careers combining social impact, personal meaning, and continued income in the second half of life.

"Purpose Prize winners are courageous, creative, passionate, and strategic — all the qualities needed to make headway on some of our greatest challenges," said Civic Ventures founder and CEO Marc Freedman. "It is the combination of these qualities, their decades of experience, and the sheer size of the baby boomer population that make social innovators in their encore careers a promising and invaluable asset to society."

For more information on this year's Purpose Prize winners and fellows, visit the Encore Careers Web site.