It is one thing to award an organization with a cash prize, pat it on its back and send it on its way. It is another thing to award it the Barry & Marie Lipman Family Prize. And that is the way that Barry Lipman, W’70, hoped it to be.

“I wanted the prize to be more than identifying and rewarding one organization,” Lipman said at the presentation of the inaugural prize this spring. “I hoped it could be a force for greater good in and of itself.”

To that end, Lipman partnered with the University of Pennsylvania, which administers the prize through the Wharton School, involving staff, faculty, outside experts and current students.

With 290 submitted applications, the inaugural year was a success.

The 2013 Lipman Prize is now underway. Applications are being accepted between July 16 from 9 a.m. EST until Aug. 10 at 5:00 p.m. EST.  Download the application at the Barry & Marie Lipman Family Prize homepage or pass the word to organizations you know that are creating sustainable solutions to significant social and economic challenges around the world. The winner receives $100,000, and all finalists receive non-monetary prizes, including an ongoing partnership with the University and educational opportunities.

Year one culminated with the announcement of three finalists, one winner, and an energy-filled Un-Conference in April 2012.

The Barry & Marie Lipman Family Prize trophy. Photo credit: Shira Yudkoff.

“The Un-Conference was born straight from the mission of the Lipman Family Prize,” Jeffrey Klein told staff writer Amanda D’Amico, who penned an article about the prize for Wharton Magazine. “The Un-Conference was a key first step in creating a community of practitioners, scholars and students.”

Klein is Wharton’s Graduate Leadership Program director and part of the group that organized the Un-Conference.

D’Amico’s article about the 2012 Lipman Prize will appear in our upcoming summer issue of Wharton Magazine, to be released later this month. In it, she explains how the prize selection process works and reveals the fulfilling educational experience enjoyed by students involved in it, as well as profiles the three finalists Komaza, MedShare and iDE (the winner).