The Purpose Prize

The Purpose Prize awards $100,000 to people over 60 making extraordinary contributions in their encore careers.

Purpose Prize Winners Are Pioneering a New Stage of Life and Work

Posted 03/05/2010 - 5:41pm

by Alexandra Kent, Director of The Purpose Prize

The aging of the boomer generation is accelerating. An average of 8,000 women and men turn 60 each day, a wave that will grow in the coming decades. Will the aging of our society drain precious resources as some predict, or will it be a tide of talent, purpose and experience that lifts us up and leaves us better off?

The Purpose Prize, which recognizes adults over 60 making extraordinary contributions in their community, shows the latter to be true. In the four years since the program was launched, nearly 4,000 adults have been nominated, more than 200 have been named fellows, and nearly 50 have been named Prize winners, taking home up to $100,000 to support and expand their work.

by: Alexandra Kent | Read more >>

Purpose Prize Winners Featured on PBS

Everyone wants to leave a legacy, so what are you waiting for? Get inspired by learning about the achievements of two Purpose Prize winners: Sharon Rohrbach, a retired nurse who created a system for ensuring medical care for newborns; and Jock Brandis, a former film and television gaffer who invented a peanut-shelling machine for female laborers in Africa.

Act On Your Passion

Posted 03/05/2010 - 7:05pm

by guest blogger and Purpose Prize fellow, Ellen Silber

Encore careers are motivated by passion! Look closely at your immediate world and the larger one around you, and you’re almost sure to find a problem, a cause, a group of people that need the kind of help that you can give. Take stock of your lifetime of experience and the skills you have developed. Then comes the most difficult part: taking action! Find some like-minded people or begin on your own; others will follow.

Prior to my encore career as the founder of Mentoring Latinas, a support program for local Latina students, I was teaching women’s studies, doing gender equity research and running a leadership workshop for adolescent girls.

by: Ellen Silber | Read more >>

Ann's Encore Story

Ann Higdon isn’t your average baby boomer. Inspired by her own difficult childhood, she’s now running a nonprofit that helps disadvantaged teens in Dayton, Ohio, turn their lives around.

Spread the Word

Inspired? Motivated? Click on the links above to spread the word about the Purpose Prize. Share videos and photos, post winners’ stories on other sites and blogs, and email friends and colleagues.