Jock Brandis’ life changed after he promised some African women he'd help them find a better way to shell their peanut crop. That promise turned Brandis into a social entrepreneur – focused on developing better technology for poor farmers in the developing world. At 64, the 2008 Purpose Prize winner is reveling in his encore career.

Hubert (Hubie) Jones, founder of the Boston Children’s Chorus, is one of 10 winners of the 2010 Purpose Prize, a program that honors social entrepreneurs over 60 who are directing their passion to address social issues. Jones will donate a portion of the $50,000 award to the Hubie Jones Fund at The Boston Foundation for distribution to nonprofit organizations doing important civic work.

Barry Childs has won a 2010 Purpose Prize for his work through Africa Bridge, a nonprofit organization he founded in 2000 to assist children orphaned by AIDS and other vulnerable children in rural Tanzania. The Purpose Prize honors social entrepreneurs over 60. Funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies and the John Templeton Foundation, The Purpose Prize is in its fifth year and is a program of Civic Ventures.

Barry Childs is the recipient of a 2010 Purpose Prize for his work with Africa Bridge, an Oregon nonprofit he founded to assist children orphaned by AIDS. The prize includes a $100,000 cash award. It is given by Civic Ventures and funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies and the John Templeton Foundation.

Ten people who set out to do something good are doing a little better themselves as a result. They've been named recipients of this year's Purpose Prize, which comes with a cash award of up to $100,000. The prize is given annually by Civic Ventures to people over 60 who've worked to improve their communities. The organization receives more than 1,000 applications a year for the award.

If Inez Killingsworth treated retirement as her golden years of rest and relaxation, thousands more Ohio residents would likely have lost their homes. The former school janitor founded Empowering & Strengthening Ohio’s People in Cleveland to help prevent foreclosures. Killingsworth’s activism has earned her a $100,000 Purpose Prize from Civic Ventures. The Prize honors people 60 and older who take on second careers or missions later in life to better their communities.

Nearly 30 years ago, Allan Barsema’s home was an abandoned trailer, alcohol his only comfort. Ten years later, with his parents' support, Barsema was sober, remarried and the owner of a Rockford, Ill., construction company. Knowing the pain of homelessness, Barsema eventually launched an outreach center for the homeless and an online system to coordinate services among agencies that serve the homeless. For his accomplishments in serving his community and communities elsewhere, Barsema won a $100,000 Purpose Prize. Meet Barsema and the other 2010 winners in this story.

In late 2006, Allan Barsema took an idea from his work serving the homeless and launched Community Collaboration Inc. to help providers better manage their services to the poor, needy and homeless. Now, Barsema is a recipient of The Purpose Prize from Civic Ventures. The Prize, which comes with a $100,000 gift, goes to 10 people over 60 for making extraordinary contributions in their encore careers.

Bo Webb abides in one of the most breathtaking and besieged hollers in the nation. His courage, tenacity and strategic planning have inspired a generation of clean energy activists. After years of fearless and inspiring work to halt mountaintop removal strip mining, Webb, a Vietnam veteran and coal miner's son, was awarded one of the 10 prestigious Purpose Prizes by Civic Ventures. (This piece also ran on AlterNet.com.)

Judith B. Van Ginkel wasn't thinking of an encore career when she left a top leadership position at a university medical center in 1999 at age 60 to start Every Child Succeeds, an agency that provides in-home services to at-risk, first-time mothers. But in the 11 years since, the agency has won national acclaim for improving infants' health and development. For her work, Civic Ventures has awarded Van Ginkel with a $100,000 Purpose Prize, which recognizes people over age 60 who bring social change.