The fact that many of today’s social leaders are approaching retirement presents both a challenge and an opportunity. If we can understand how and why so many of this now-retiring generation of leaders became involved in social change, we’ll be able to help future leaders to do the same. And by learning what made them effective-as well as what limited their successes-those who follow will be better equipped to continue efforts and pursue new solutions.We have designed The Purpose Project to create a forum for dialogue between younger leaders and their predecessors. Each component of The Purpose Project has been designed to help members of our generation recognize how their involvement can help create social change, and encourage them towards action.

A book will share the stories of accomplished social leaders, offering readers a journey through their lives, experiences, and lessons learned. It will provide examples of what our predecessors have accomplished, while also paying special attention to their struggles, turning points, and the lessons they have learned along the way.

A series of supplementary resources will be developed to help facilitate conversations in classrooms, discussion groups, and organizations. Case studies and discussion guides will help users uncover, interpret, and digest the messages included in the text, providing them with a framework to apply those lessons to their own efforts.

A dynamic and interactive web-based component will help users find real ways to contribute and connect to their local and global communities. It will house resources for continued learning; provide information about current issues and efforts to create social change; and connect users to each other and to real opportunities to become involved in their communities and around the world.

I. The Book

Our goal for the book is to assemble a particular story or life lesson from each of the changemakers with whom we will partner. Narratives of these leaders’ struggles and successes will add a human dimension to their iconic personas and accomplishments, allowing readers to draw connections to their own life experiences and ambitions.

We are writing the book in a style that communicates the wisdom and expertise of an older, accomplished generation of leaders of social change, while simultaneously addressing the questions, doubts, and reflections of a future generation of changemakers. Some of the preliminary themes that we plan to explore include:

• breaking out of one’s “cultural cocoon”
• the personal implications of becoming involved; the risks and trade-offs of taking action
• how great things can evolve from a series of simple, focused, and manageable efforts
• how faith and moral convictions have the capacity to motivate and sustain commitment
• the notion that creating change requires humility and partnership
• overcoming challenges and limitations through persistence
• finding one’s place for involvement; aligning endeavors with one’s interests & capacities
• balancing local and global needs

A prologue will connect readers with the mission of The Purpose Project by highlighting the need for their involvement within the current social context. It will invite readers on a journey through the stories that follow, challenging them to find relevance in each leader’s experience to their own lives.

An epilogue will provide readers a brief update on what each of the leaders went on to accomplish beyond the story contained in their chapter. This will help readers adapt a “looking forward” perspective that demonstrates the potential and promise of their own action.

II. The Action Toolkit

The book will be released with a “curriculum” of case studies, discussion/teaching guides, and supplementary resources to help make it a stronger resource for continued learning in book clubs, discussion groups, organizations, and high school and college classrooms. These resources will help readers engage more deeply with the messages presented in the book, encouraging them to develop their own insights.

Accompanying pieces will include: (1) Problem-posing case studies (2) Discussion guides tailored for multiple audiences, (3) Supplementary materials offering additional information on the subjects profiled. These pieces will:

• Enable readers to participate in the experience of the decision-maker, analyze the information presented and suggest viable options, while also considering the rationale behind the most responsible decisions.

• Allow participants to share their experiences and broaden their perspectives through group analysis and discussion of the case studies.

• Allow groups to explore strategies for becoming involved and creating impact together, helping one another to uncover messages and insights that individual readers may not have thought of on their own.

• Aid in the formation of communities of action by stimulating conversation amongst interested and committed individuals.

III. From Inspiration to Action: Technology

We will develop interactive online features to facilitate action, provide additional resources and information, and support ongoing dialogues amongst readers and other changemakers. The online features will:

• Stimulate a “story-corps” by encouraging users to submit the stories of other changemakers they know or may be interested in.

• Contain interactive elements, including live chat, video conferencing with changemakers, discussion forums and a web blog, to create a diverse virtual community and provide a forum in which users and interact and network.

• Offer comprehensive information about the many social issues touched upon in the book, allowing users to explore the various layers of the issues, to providing a deeper, more personal analysis than what mainstream media sources offer.

• Network users to other organizations supporting and facilitating civic engagement in different manners such as Idealist and Taking it Global.

• Stimulate involvement, by allowing users to create a personalized identity that will tailor the site’s many resources to their own specified interests.

• Promote the book by featuring reviews, listing retail outlets, and housing the case studies/discussion guides outlined above.