April 18, 2017 | Read Time: 2 minutes
The Purpose Prize has given recognition and financial reward to hundreds of social innovators since the awards were inaugurated a decade ago by Encore.org, a nonprofit designed to foster civic engagement among older Americans.
Now the prize’s new organizer, AARP, is looking to continue the tradition — and expanding eligibility for the $250,000 award program.
The new AARP Purpose Prize will seek nominations for people 50 and older, down from 60 in previous years, says Barbara Quaintance, who oversees the awards. Nominees can apply for the prize if they began working on their project as early as age 40.
“I think this will give us a greater breadth of applicants, and of diversity,” Ms. Quaintance said.
AARP is taking nominations for the prizes until May 12 and applications from people nominated until May 19. The organization plans to announce five winners, who will each receive $50,000, by the end of September, and hold an event in November to recognize their achievement.
Sustainable Ideas
Encore.org, which focuses on incubating new ideas, never intended to run the Purpose Prize program indefinitely, Ms. Quaintance said. Another initiative that began at Encore, Experience Corps, a tutoring program that pairs older volunteers with schoolchildren, moved to AARP in 2011.
AARP is making other tweaks to align the Purpose Prize with its mission of advocating for older Americans. One of the five slots will be designated as the Andrus Award for Intergenerational Excellence, to honor AARP’s founder, Ethel Percy Andrus.
And it’s especially on the lookout for projects focused on caregiving, savings, and employment opportunities — key topics for its constituency. AARP wants to honor initiatives that are sustainable and could be copied. Ms. Quaintance said, “so people can see these ideas and say, ‘Ah, I could do that in my community.’ ”
AARP also hopes to give prize winners more than just money. It wants to organize the 500 previous winners and fellows into an alumni network whose members can help each other with resources and advice. “Most of them are still working on their project,” Ms. Quaintance said, “and are all at about the same stage of organizational development.”
