Piper Trust Announces Awardees of 2014 Encore Prizes for Exceptional Organizations

VIRGINIA G. PIPER CHARITABLE TRUST Press Release
November 12, 2014

Piper Trust Announces Awardees of 2014 Encore Prizes for Exceptional Organizations

PHOENIX, Ariz.—Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust is honored to announce the Awardees of the 2014 Piper Trust Encore Prizes for Exceptional Organizations. Encore Prizes recognize nonprofits and public agencies that are pioneering new ways of engaging adults, age 50+, in solving problems, meeting important social needs, and improving life for people and communities. Every two years, Piper Trust recognizes up to three organizations with prizes of $5,000 each for exemplary encore engagement. In cases of exceptional achievement, one of the three organizations may receive a $50,000 Encore Enhancement Prize to help expand its use of encore talent.

Awardee organizations of the 2014 Piper Trust Encore Prizes for Exceptional Organizations are: Benevilla (Surprise, Arizona); Stardust Non-Profit Building Supplies (Glendale/Mesa/Phoenix, Arizona); and Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) (representing 27 cities and towns of Maricopa County, the Gila River Indian Community, the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, and Maricopa and Pinal Counties).

Piper Trust established Encore Prizes for Exceptional Organizations in 2012 to celebrate nonprofits with strong encore engagement practices, and to inspire more organizations to tap the experience of older adults. Mission of Mercy, Mesa United Way, and Neighbors Who Care were the inaugural 2012 Encore Prize awardees.

“Benevilla, Stardust Building Supplies, and Maricopa Association of Governments are inspiring encore organizations—they exemplify the power of connecting the wisdom and talent of experienced adults to important social needs in our communities,” said Susan Pepin, M.D, president and CEO of Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust.

The encore concept—engaging people age 50+ in roles that combine personal meaning with social impact—is growing across the country and particularly in Phoenix with its 1.1 million baby boomers who are not retiring in traditional ways, or at all. As such, it is critical to understand this population’s great potential for positive impact in the region’s communities. Nonprofits are finding encore adults to be a rich source of professional and technical expertise, maturity, and vision.

Benevilla, awarded a $5,000 Piper Trust Encore Prize and the $50,000 Encore Enhancement Prize, works to enhance quality of life for people of all ages. More than 1,000 registered volunteers and 400 encore workers serve diverse needs and populations through myriad intergenerational programs. Encore worker expertise helped create a social enterprise for Benevilla called Birt’s Bistro which has become a significant revenue source for the nonprofit.

Stardust Non-Profit Building Supplies, awarded a $5,000 Piper Trust Encore Prize , diverts usable building materials from local landfills and puts these reusable products into the hands of those who need them. Stardust assessed its needs and created positions for encore workers at the highest levels of the organization. In 2013 encore workers contributed more than $143,000 of service to Stardust.

Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG), awarded a $5,000 Piper Trust Encore Prize, has gone beyond traditional regional planning and launched the Arizona Age-Friendly Network—its goal being to connect older adults with people of all ages to meaningful opportunities in their communities. MAG sees encore workers as the key ingredient to the network’s success and through encore workers, is learning how to be more relevant to the residents it serves via new models of transportation and healthy aging.

Through a competitive process, a selection committee comprised of local and national members, reviewed applications/nominations seeking those with encore engagement practices that exemplified intent, impact, social purpose, creativity, and replicability. Final awardee decisions are made by Trustees of Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust.

About Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust:

Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust supports organizations that enrich health, well-being, and opportunity for the people of Maricopa County, Arizona. Since it began awarding grants in 2000, Piper Trust has invested more than $328 million in local nonprofits and programs. Piper Trust grantmaking areas are healthcare and medical research, children, older adults, arts and culture, education, and religious organizations. For more information, visit www.pipertrust.org. Follow us on Twitter @PiperTrust; visit us on Facebook; join the encore dialogue via social media #PiperTrustEncore.

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MEDIA CONTACT:

Karen Leland, 480-556-7125 / kleland@pipertrust.org
Director, Communications and External Relations
Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust
1202 East Missouri Avenue
Phoenix, Arizona  85014