Baby Boomers: An emerging trend changing the nonprofit sector

Baby Boomers: An emerging trend changing the nonprofit sector

You are giving more of your time and money into nonprofits, according to a report by The Chronicle of Philanthropy. In fact, DCR Workforce reported that you are shifting into bigger roles within nonprofit organizations.

You are in high demand for positions because of your wealth of experience, education and skills because previously you were extremely difficult to attract into the nonprofit sector. Now you can lend your leadership experience, but you can also serve an integral role in helping a wide range of organizations progress through development stages.

"You are retiring into interim executive positions with nonprofits."

You are reshaping the definition of retirement
With people aged 65 and up retiring from the profit sectors, there has been an inverse relationship in demand among nonprofit organizations. While for-profit companies are finding it increasingly difficult to properly employ the value of Baby Boomers, especially those nearing retirement, nonprofits see them as a gold mine. Your experience in highly valuable industries has put you in high demand for executive positions in nonprofits across the country.

The appeal of you for the nonprofit sector is obvious on the surface: Expertise, flexibility and education. This final benefit is perhaps the most attractive to nonprofits because you are often more educated than previous generations, according to a 2012 USA Today report. Your education and expertise enables them to provide invaluable leadership and training that would be near impossible to recruit into the nonprofit sector during your working years.

Nonprofits are recruiting you for temporary executive roles because many organizations are between directors, need funding assistance or could use your help in securing donors. You are stepping into interim direct roles to give executive boards the stability they need to determine their short-term future and grow while ensuring management operations are still intact and efficient.

The feeling is mutual
Baby Boomers have always had the ability and interest in investing more into philanthropic organizations. This was evidenced by a recent Corporation for National and Community Service study cited by Nonprofit Quarterly which found that Boomers are currently at a 10-year high for nonprofit involvement. Approximately 33% of people over age 55 volunteer, which represents more than 20 million people that give 3 billion service hours that equate to roughly $67 billion. To put this into context, with life expectancy now at 78.8 years according to the CDC, these numbers could conceivably rise as retirees live longer.

Supporting these findings is a report by The Chronicle of Philanthropy which showed that as you retire, you are projected to donate $6.6 trillion of your money and $1.4 trillion worth over volunteer services by 2036. With this generation living longer into your retirement years, your prime donor years are extending as well.

Bottom line
As you continue to redefine retirement and the face of the nonprofit sector, it is vital that these philanthropic organizations know which steps to take. At Van Leeuwen & Company, we understand that not-for-profit organizations operate in a very different environment from profit making businesses or individual investors. Over the years, we have developed the knowledge, skill and experience needed to ensure their ability to do what they do best, and to keep on doing it over the long haul.

[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]