We wish to honor them. More than that, we want to invest in their potential to do their next great thing.

Each year, since 2006, Civic Ventures has awarded The Purpose Prize: five $100,000 investments and ten $10,000 investments in exceptional individuals who are defying expectations by channeling their creativity and talent to address critical social problems at the local, regional, or national level.

The winners are effective and action-oriented innovators who have launched this work after their 50th birthday. They work in nonprofits, government, or for-profit organizations devoted to tackling the hardest challenges of our time: homelessness, social justice and human rights, violence, poverty and hunger, health, education, and the environment, to name a few.

They make their impact in many different ways. The winners include: social entrepreneurs who have started new organizations; change-makers whose innovative approaches to leadership have transformed existing organizations; or grassroots activists playing a leadership role in improving communities or advancing a cause. And they hold the promise of even greater accomplishments in the future.

The winners are only the most visible representatives of a much larger network of socially engaged leaders in the second half of their lives. The aim of The Purpose Prize is to build this network of "Purpose Prize Fellows," to tell the stories of this inspiring group, to create opportunities for furthering the innovative work they are doing, and to accelerate the changes in the way our society – nonprofit businesses, government, and for-profits alike – taps into the vast resources and commitment of this group to advance the greater good.

Each year, Civic Ventures provides an opportunity for this network of innovators to gather face-to-face. A national Innovation Summit brings together the winners and the larger group of Purpose Prize Fellows along with thought-leaders, scholars, activists, and funders. Conversations with national leaders, panel discussions with the Prize winners, and in-depth workshops on social entrepreneurship are interspersed with networking opportunities and cultural events.