The Purpose Project has evolved through a series of conversations. The first of these began between Matthew Bennett and his mentors, Bob and Alice Evans, founders of Plowshares Institute. Matt’s primary work objective with Bob and Alice was to help consider ways to create an institutional legacy that would transcend their personal leadership of the organization. Michelle Cote became involved in helping Matt think through ways to capture the wisdom and experience that Bob and Alice had acquired over their careers, drawing on her experience working for Aid to Artisans, non-profit organization in the midst of its own leadership transition.

During our conversations about how to capture these retiring leaders’ experiences-many of them on the roof of Matt’s third-floor apartment-questions about the comparative extent of our generation’s social involvement began to percolate. Through discussions with each other and our peers, we realized that many members of our generation are searching for meaningful ways to become more socially engaged.

We also identified our individual mentoring relationships with a number of social leaders as having provided us with inspiration to become engaged and insight on how to do so effectively. We realized that if we could initiate a wider dialogue between experienced social leaders and the members of our generation seeking to follow them, we might be able to help others develop the motivation and skills necessary to become involved.

The opportunity that lay in front of us was to retrace our role models’ careers to their beginnings, highlighting their stumbling blocks and turning points along the way. We wanted leaders to share how their choices affected them, both personally and professionally, and offer some insider perspective on how they set about becoming engaged with their respective social missions.

We decided that telling their stories could help inspire and equip an upcoming generation to respond to the social challenges that confront our world. And so, with a little encouragement from advisors, family, and friends, we launched The Purpose Project.

Project Leadership

Matthew Bennett is a graduate of Duke University where he studied Public Policy and Economics with a focus in leadership studies and international development. He has spent the past three years working with Bob and Alice Evans, co-founders of Plowshares Institute, a non-profit that conducts trainings in international peacebuilding. It was through Matthew’s work with Bob and Alice—traveling with them to places such as South Africa and Zimbabwe, teaching workshops with them in Cuba and war-torn northern Uganda, and sharing meals and late night conversations while living in their home—that this book project was launched. Profoundly inspired himself, and convinced that the stories of people like Bob and Alice have a capacity to speak in powerful ways to the rest of us who seek to lead lives of significance, Matthew set out to capture a portion of that passion and wisdom with a hope of making it accessible to others.

Michelle Cote has been a valuable contributor in the evolution of the concept and objectives for this project since its origin, at first as an informal advisor and now as a full time partner. Michelle is a graduate of the University of Connecticut where her studies focused on the interface between sustainable development, the environment, and social change. Michelle has spent the past three years working in the non-profit sector for Aid to Artisans, an organization specializing in the development of craft enterprises around the world. As a Program Manager at Aid to Artisans, she has helped plan and implement two three-year, multi-million dollar artisan enterprise development initiatives in Peru and Bolivia. During this process, she’s worked with and learned from a number of changemakers, including the artisan participants of the programs themselves. Through Aid to Artisans, she has had the opportunity to share in both the successes and challenges of individual, enterprise, and sectoral growth.

The Purpose Project has been structured as a non-profit initiative, and is supported by an advisory board and a number of volunteers and implementing partners. Our efforts are based out of Hartford, Connecticut. However, the project is national in scope, and we intend to bring the stories of exemplary changemakers from around the globe to a national audience of aspiring social leaders. The project relies on the support of individual donors, foundations and corporations.