Jon Eldan Honored as Winner of the AARP® Purpose Prize® Award for After Innocence

Eldan and Six Other Nonprofit Founders Over Age 50 Will Receive $50,000 to Support Their Organizations

AARP announced the winners of the AARP Purpose Prize award, which includes Jon Eldan, Founder and Executive Director of After Innocence. This annual award recognizes extraordinary nonprofit founders age 50 or older who are using their knowledge and life experience to make a difference. AARP will award each Purpose Prize winner $50,000 for their organization. Honorees will also receive a year of technical support to help broaden the scope of their organizations’ work.

After Innocence provides free post-release support for individuals nationwide who were imprisoned for crimes they did not commit. The organization focuses on increasing access to health care, public benefits and social services, and coordinating free dental care, legal services and financial planning help. It also advocates for reforms that provide exonerees with meaningful compensation and services.

“Our AARP Purpose Prize winners show the power that lived experience can bring to solving some of the most urgent problems facing us today,” said Barb Quaintance, AARP Vice President of Enterprise Awards. “In finding their own purpose, they are improving lives around the world.”