Creating Compelling Opportunities for Baby Boomers

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Creating Compelling Opportunities for
Baby Boomers
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Bagging Groceries
Bobs story
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Overview

• Understand the Changing Landscape
• Get Boomer Input
• Assess Current Opportunities
• Restructure Existing Opportunities
• Create Additional Opportunities
• Enrich the Volunteer Experience
• Zeroing In on the Right Message

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Opportunity calls
Ask not what your country can do for you
Those who were 21 in 1961 are now 65.
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How do you capitalize on this opportunity?
Understandyour audience.
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Baby Boomers 1941-1964 Interested in the benefits
they will receive Non-joiners Episodic
volunteers Independent Want meaningful work Want
flexibility Technologically savvy Interested in
cash-equivalent and cash incentives
GI Generation 1901-1924 Civic Minded Altruistic De
pendable Gave lots of hours Very loyal Do
whatever you ask them to do Available during the
day Satisfied with a thank you
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Lets take apop quiz
True or false?
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Most people have mixed feelingsabout retirement.
True.
Retirees look forward to freedom, but worry about
losing purposeful relationships.
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Older adults prefer to be calledretirees, not
senior citizens.
False.
In fact, both words are problematic.
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Generally, adults over 65 have notrouble with
the word volunteer.
True.
Generally true for those who lived through
WWIIless so for those who came after.
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Now that they have time, older adults want to
meet new people and expand their horizons.
True.
But it depends on how much time people have,or
think they have.
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Older adults may have more time, but they want
more flexibility in volunteer opportunities.
True.
You can make adjustments to fit peoples
schedules.
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Boomer Rules

• Never, never call me A golden-ager, a senior
  citizen, a retiree or God forbid, elderly!.
  I am still me I just have more free time.
• Challenge me with something interesting to do.
• Give me meaningful work.
• Give me work with a beginning and an end.
• Suggest assignments that span 2 weeks to 3
  months. If it is interesting and I like it, I
  will stay for more. If it is not, I will be gone
  before you know it anyway.
• Dont give me a plaque or a 100 hour pin when I
  am done. Make it fun make it meaningful.
  Where am I going to put a plaque or when would I
  wear a pin.

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Get Boomer Input and Involvement
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Assess Your Current Opportunities
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What Do Boomers Want?
Lots of Choices
Opportunities to Utilize Skills and/or Develop
new Skills
Organizational Buy-In
Feel They are Valued
Professional Volunteer Management
Make A Difference
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• RIASEC Inventory
• Realistic
• Investigative
• Artistic
• Social
• Enterprising
• Conventional

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Restructure Existing Opportunities
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Reconfigure
Substitution
Job Sharing
Rotation
Segmentation
Telecommuting
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Enrich the Experience
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A P P E A L I N G T O experience
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Ask them.
100
80
60
40
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0
Adults over 50not askedto volunteer
Adults over 50 asked tovolunteer
Source Independent Sector
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Whats behind the impulse to serve?
Personal responsibility to help others Makes life
satisfying Organization has established track
record Help own community Make a difference on
issue Keeps you active Someone you know was
affected by issue Religious beliefs Opportunity
to use skills
65 58 51 50 49 46 44 42 42
Top motivationsto volunteer
0 20 40 60 80 100
Source AARP. Time and Money An In-Depth Look
at 45 Volunteers and Donors, 2003.
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We need your help now is the best recruitment
message for older adults.
False.
Works well if Im into my community, less well
if Im into myself.
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These ads were effective recruitment tools.
False.
Dont cross the line!
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Older adults read newspapers,but they dont use
the Internet.
False.
Older adults read papers and are the
fastest-growinggroup of people using the
Internet.
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Full-time staff are the bestrecruiters of older
adults.
False.
Older adults already involved are your best
recruiters.
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Examples from
Experience Corps
Harvard School of Public Health
Senior Corps
RSVP Westchester County
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Tell a Story
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The Experience Dividend Cash In
Never before have so manypeople had so much
knowledgeand so much time to use it.