Purpose unlocks the full potential of young people and their communities.
Together, we can build systems that create opportunities for every young person to cultivate their sense of purpose.
The Report is Live!
What Happens When Young People Are Trusted to Contribute?
One of the first national efforts of its kind. The report shares what contributors built, what they told us about the experience, what got in their way, and the questions we’re still working on.
What We Do
We uncover real questions, support novel collaborations, and explore new applications of purpose science, to ensure every young person has the support to cultivate their sense of purpose.
Activate the Purpose Ecosystem
We work alongside young people, researchers, and youth-serving organizations to put purpose science into practice. Through collaborative structures like Design Teams and community-driven co-design, we create spaces where the ecosystem learns together — surfacing new questions, testing ideas, and applying insights that help systems and communities nurture purpose in young people.
Advance Purpose Research
In close partnership with the Purpose Science and innovation Exchange (PSiX), we bring research into the world and the world into the research — creating a cycle where science improves practice and practice strengthens research.
Amplify the Power of Purpose
We amplify diverse voices from across the ecosystem through genuine storytelling and collaboration. Our stories shift the way purpose is understood, accessed, and cultivated. Here, we are shifting the narrative around purpose toward ongoing opportunity and possibility that brings purpose science out of academia and into the heart of communities, inspiring positive change.
Why Purpose?
Research shows that a sense of purpose yields immense benefits, particularly when cultivated and supported in young people: greater resilience, better physical health and emotional well-being, stronger academic achievement, and deeper social connections. When young people see a future worth striving for, they thrive, and so do their communities.
When we speak with young people and their support networks, it’s clear our systems are not optimized for purpose exploration or pursuit.
Connecting the brilliance of researchers, the wisdom of those who serve young people, and the lived experiences of young people themselves uncovers opportunities to create the conditions that enable purpose cultivation.
Listen to co-founder Dr. Anthony Burrow explain the science of purpose on the Hidden Brain podcast.
O., a high school senior, said this after doing a Contribution Project:
“As a teenager, there’s so much I’m learning about myself every day. It feels overwhelming. But when I understand why I’m doing something, and why I’m doing what I love to do, it makes it so much more worthwhile.”
Join the Conversation
True to our name, Purpose Commons is a space where a community shares resources to benefit all its members.
We‘re bringing purpose science out of the academic journals and into everyday spaces where young people live, learn, and grow.
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