1,200 Innovators Age 60+ Nominated for Five $100,000 Awards

SAN FRANCISCO — More than 1,200 people were nominated for the first-ever Purpose Prize, a major new Civic Ventures initiative to invest in social innovators over 60 who are taking bold steps to help solve some of society's biggest problems. Five winners, each of whom will receive $100,000, will be selected by a panel of distinguished judges and named at a summit this fall.

Early analysis of the pool of nominees shows:

• Representation from all 50 states,
• An average age of 69, with three-quarters of nominees under 72,
• A high level of innovation -- half of the nominees have founded an organization, invented a solution to a social problem, or are a transformational leader in their field,
• Large percentages focused on solving education issues (28 percent) and providing services for older adults (23 percent), and
• An impressive pool of nominators, including former cabinet secretaries, presidential advisers, corporation presidents, and nonprofit executives.

"The number and caliber of nominees is phenomenal," says Marc Freedman, founder and president of Civic Ventures and author of Prime Time: How Baby Boomers will Revolutionize Retirement and Transform America. "The response to The Purpose Prize confirms our belief that this new phase of life, between midlife and true old age, will be a time when tens of thousands of baby boomers combine a search for meaning with decades of leadership and a deep desire to change the world. The potential for the common good is staggering."

The Purpose Prize, launched with support from The Atlantic Philanthropies and The John Templeton Foundation, is "the opposite of a lifetime achievement award," Freedman adds. "It's not only an investment in five individuals out to change the world, but more broadly an investment in a new generation of leaders in their 60s, 70s, and beyond who are marshalling all their creativity to take on some of the biggest issues facing the nation today."

The panel of judges assessing Prize nominees will be announced in April, says Jim Emerman, executive vice president at Civic Ventures and director of The Purpose Prize program. Fifteen finalists will be announced in June. At a summit in September, five of the finalists will be named as $100,000 winners.

Civic Ventures is a think tank and program incubator, working to help society achieve the greatest return on experience. To learn more, visit www.civicventures.org or www.leadwithexperience.org.

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