Boomers as volunteers

One would think that this is indeed a match made in heaven.  First the large influx of baby boomers are ready to make the most of their second half of life by doing good in their community. Second, more non-profits are facing reduced budgets and increased demand for their services.

So why did a recent study done by the Bureau of Labor Statistics show a decrease in the number of volunteers age 45-64 in the last 12 months?

Reasons for the Decline in Boomer Volunteers

ome obvious reasons for the decline include: time pressures — especially with boomers’ growing role as the “sandwich generation” — and the need to hang onto paying jobs a little longer (economics).  A survey of boomer volunteers, done by the Corporation for National and Community Service,  revealed that volunteers feel their true talents or skill are not being fully put to use and they do not feel they are making a significant impact.  In other words, stuffing goody bags and working the registration desk does not fall into the category of skill-based, longer term, meaningful volunteer projects and assignments.

The survey provides the following recommendations for non-profits addressing the changing needs and motivations of baby boomers:

• Rethink how to attract and utilize Baby Boomers as volunteers
• Strengthen non-profits’ view of volunteers as assets, similar to donors.
• Adopt key practices such as matching volunteers to challenging assignment to build organizational capacity and increase volunteer participation.
• Remember that volunteering and giving are directly related.

A recent Forbes article showcases several non-profits who have been extremely successful tweaking their volunteer recruitment and retention strategies to include more skill-based volunteer assignments.  The depth of wisdom and experience of volunteers benefits these non-profit organizations at a whole different level.

The implications for non-profits extend to how they recruit volunteers as well as what skill level they seek. This includes how job posts are written. This also requires a shift in how non-profits train and manage skill-based, longer term volunteer assignments. The payoff and opportunities for making this shift can be tremendous.  Contributions from properly recruited, trained and managed volunteers have direct financial impact on the organization.

A meaningful volunteer program can address some of the long term service demands and organizational issues of non-profits.  There are a variety of new training programs and organizations that can assist non-profits with this shift including Encore Tampa Bay.  I will be diving deeper into possible solutions, tips and resources for non-profits and boomers in the next couple of months!  Stay tuned.

I welcome your comments or ideas on this topic!  Join the discussion either on my website, Linked In (Encore Tampa Bay) or Facebook (Encore Tampa Bay).