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Ray Anderson is 2007 Purpose Prize Finalist

Each finalist will receive at least $10,000.

Mairi Beautyman -- Interior Design, 6/27/2007 12:00:00 AM

Ray Anderson, environmental activist and founder of carpet manufacturer Interface, is one of 15 finalists shortlisted by think tank Civic Ventures for the 2007 Purpose Prize. Honoring social innovators over the age of 60 on the "encore" chapter of their lives, the awards program is part of a three-year, $9 million program, now in its second year.

Anderson is given the nod for "leading the business community by adopting practices for his own multi-million dollar carpet company that protect the environment and boost profits."

Each finalist will receive at least $10,000. In September, a jury including actor Sidney Poitier, Harvard professor and former presidential advisor David Gergen, and author Gloria Steinem will select five finalists to win $100,000 each.

From November 10-13, 2006 and 2007 winners and finalists and more than 100 Purpose Prize Fellows will participate in a summit on innovation at Stanford University.

In addition to Anderson, nominees include Richard Cherry, 64, who saves energy and provides green building services to low-income New Yorkers; and Wilma Melville, 73, who trains rescued dogs to serve on canine-firefighter search teams at disaster sites.

"As baby boomers leave their midlife careers and continue working into their 60s, we are experiencing the biggest transformation of the American workforce since the women's movement," says Marc Freedman, founder and CEO of Civic Ventures and co-founder of the Purpose Prize Freedman. "One of the most interesting and significant developments from this transformation is the emergence of social innovation and entrepreneurialism from people over 60."

Freedman is also author of the new book Encore: Finding Work That Matters in the Second Half of Life (PublicAffairs Press, June 2007).