Accepting Applications: Grinnell College Young Innovator for Social Justice Prize

Mixing social justice, innovation, and young energy, Grinnell College is launching a new awards program to honor extraordinary leadership and creativity in pursuit of positive social impact. Like to be on the leading edge? Maybe this awards program is for you. And maybe you should be among the first to win it!

The Grinnell College Young Innovator for Social Justice Prize is a new annual awards program to honor individuals under the age of 40 who have demonstrated leadership in their fields and who show creativity, commitment, and extraordinary accomplishment in effecting positive social change. Up to three individuals will be honored annually. Each prize carries an award of $100,000, half to the winning individual and half to an organization committed to the winner’s area of social justice, for a total of up to $300,000 in prize awards each year. The deadline for 2011 nominations is Feb. 1. The first prize recipients will be announced in May 2011.

Prize Criteria

Up to three $100,000 prizes will be presented annually to individuals under the age of 40 who have demonstrated leadership in their fields and who show creativity, commitment and extraordinary accomplishment in effecting positive social change. Half of the monetary prize will be given to the recipient, and half will be contributed to an organization committed to the winner’s area of social justice. Nominees may be nationals of any country and the program encourages a global and diverse pool of candidates.

The record of the individual’s achievement to date will be key to the selection committee’s appraisal; promise for ongoing advancement of his/her work will also be considered. In keeping with the history of Grinnell College, recipients will be individuals who have advanced social issues in ways that embody the values of a liberal arts education and collaborative leadership. Areas of accomplishment may include, but are certainly not limited to: Science, Medicine, the Environment, Humanities, Business, Economics, Education, Law, Public Policy, Social Services, Religion, Ethics, and projects which cross these boundaries. The program will make a special effort to seek nominations of individuals who work in areas that may not have been traditionally viewed as directly connected to social justice, such as the arts and business.

Nominees should meet the following criteria:

• Prize winners will not yet have turned 40 by January 1, 2011
• Prize winners will have an exceptional record of substantive, innovative contributions within their chosen field that have enabled them to become a force for social justice.
• Through their actions, prize winners will embody the Grinnell College ideal of using their knowledge and their abilities to serve the common good.
• Prize winners will reflect the diversity of the Grinnell community and the world in which we live. Prize winners may come from any country. No affiliation to Grinnell College is required.
• Prize winners will have demonstrated the essence of Grinnell College’s broad liberal arts education through critical thinking, creative problem-solving, and free inquiry.
• Prize winners must be nominated by a third party.
• Prize winners and organizations must be verified and validated by Grinnell College.
• Prize winners must participate in an on-campus symposium and awards ceremony.

Nominations must be received via the entry form no later than Feb. 1, 2011.
Winners will be announced in May, 2011.

Prize & Nomination Process

Note: The Grinnell College Young Innovator for Social Justice Prize winners must be nominated by a third party.