We’ve changed our name from Encore.org to CoGenerate! Join us at cogenerate.org to bridge generational divides and co-create the future.

We’ve changed our name from Encore.org to CoGenerate! Join us at cogenerate.org to bridge generational divides and co-create the future.

The 2011 Purpose Prize winners are making big news. Since the five winners were announced November 3, media outlets from across the country have been highlighting the remarkable work that earned these social innovators the $100,000 award.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy profiles each of the “five people who set out to solve big problems.” The article includes short videos of the winners.

Second Act writes: “In the world of encore careers, The Purpose Prize is the equivalent of the MacArthur Foundation genius grants, recognizing individuals considered to be game changers and leading the way in what it means to give back.”

Praising the winners, The Huffington Post remarks, “For their noble, brave and unfinished work, we salute them.”

In its Local Heroes section, AARP.org devotes several pages to the winners, including the profile below of Jenny Bowen, founder of Half the Sky Foundation. Bowen is the recipient of the first Purpose Prize for Intergenerational Innovation, sponsored by AARP.

Prize winners were also lauded via the social media space where hundreds of thousands of supporters congratulated them via Twitter and Facebook.

The Purpose Prize is a program of Civi Ventures, made possible by The Atlantic Philanthropies and the John Templeton Foundation. Prize winners, all above age 60, serve the greater good in various ways. Some have created ventures to improve communities in the United States; others have established organizations to help people in need abroad.

Check out these selected stories about each of the 2011 winners:

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