• " Text size: increase text sizedecrease text size Retired baby boomers can help with public service"
  Newsday
  By Paul Arfin
  July 21, 2008
  Full article
  In this editorial, Arfin points out that many experts warn that a massive exodus of boomers from the workforce could lead to dire economic and social consequences. But what if boomers extended their work lives to enter public service during the traditional retirement years? What might be the impact on education? On health care? On the environment? On poverty? On elder care and child care? It could be substantial. A national survey conducted by Peter D. Hart Associates and Civic Ventures this year indicates that 50 percent of those between ages 44 and 70 are interested in moving into jobs in such fields as education, health care, government and the nonprofit sector.
• "The good life"
  World Magazine
  By Susan Olasky
  July 21, 2008
  Full article
  Marc Freedman, founder of Civic Ventures, calls the trend away from leisure-based retirement "encore careers"; civicventures.com and encorecareers.org are both websites that provide resources for those beginning to think about alternatives to retirement. Christians can also get ideas from christianvolunteering.org, a website that operates like the job website monster.com. Several Christian ministries specifically target retirees with RVs. Sowerministry.org, Mobile Missionary Assistance Program (mmap.org), and Roving Volunteers in Christ's Service (rvics.com) recruit Christian retirees with RVs to work on short-term projects across the country.
• "Geezers Doing Good"
  New York Times
  By Nicholas D. Kristof
  July 20, 2008
  Full article
  Some 78 million American baby boomers are now beginning to retire, and this year's MetLife/Civic Ventures Encore Career Survey found that half of boomers are interested in starting such new careers with a positive social impact. If we boomers decide to use our retirement to change the world, rather than our golf game, our dodderdom will have consequences for society every bit as profound as our youth did. Marc Freedman, author of Encore: Finding Work that Matters in the Second Half of Life, says a new life stage is emerging — the period of 10, 20 or even 30 years after one’s main career is completed but before infirmity sets in. ***this article also ran in the International Herald Tribune
• Spotlight - Civic Ventures
  Philanthropy News Digest
  July 18, 2008
  Full article
  An NPT spotlight of Civic Ventures.
• "Nurses for Newborns Foundation Recognized by Federal Government for Improving the Health of Special Needs Babies"
  Wall Street Journal
  July 16, 2008
  Full article
  The St. Louis-based Nurses for Newborns Foundation Bridge to the Future program was recognized by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality for its work to improve the health of special needs babies. Bridge to the Future provides nurse home visits to low-income families with medically fragile infants who have been discharged from the neonatal intensive care unit, ensuring a smooth transition to long-term care in the home. Specially trained nurses can identify potential problems in the home and provide intensive training and support to parents of very low birth weight or special needs infants. Sharon Rohrbach founded the program in 1992. In 2007, she was named a Civic Ventures Purpose Prize winner for her work.
• "Refuting Perceptions of Older Workers"
  Human Resource Executive Online
  By Andrew R. McIlvaine
  July 16, 2008
  Full article
  A series of newly issued reports based on recent surveys challenges the conventional wisdom many HR and hiring managers still have about older workers. The reports find that these workers tend to have a more positive attitude about the workplace than younger generations (including boomers), are eager to enroll in training courses and expand their knowledge and, in many cases, are more than willing to devote their later years to full-time jobs in fields that matter to them. Employers in the social-service, health care, and education fields may be especially well-positioned to lure those older workers, according to the 2008 MetLife Foundation/Civic Ventures Encore Career Survey.
• "The Experience Dividend"
  The Motley Fool
  By Billy and Akaisha Kaderli
  July 15, 2008
  Full article
  Who said work is a four-letter word? With millions of Baby Boomers poised to leave the workforce within the next decade, many of us want to find ways to contribute from years of experience and knowledge. The sheer numbers of 60-somethings are having an effect on how people actually live during retirement. Many are embarking on a new stage of life by choosing an encore career. For those looking for options, Civic Ventures' Experience Corps work to solve serious social problems here in the U.S. while the Peace Corps offers an opportunity to address challenges abroad.
• "In Act 2 of Life, Doing Work That Matters"
  New York Times
  By Jane Brody
  July 8, 2008
  Full article
  At 68, Dr. Peter I. Pressman decided to retire after 40 years as a New York breast cancer surgeon. But he missed the structure and productivity of work, and when Weill Cornell Medical Center asked him to develop and direct a genetic risk assessment program to help women affected by genes that raise their risk of breast and ovarian cancer, Dr. Pressman accepted gladly. He's a prime example of a retiree who re-invented himself, one who plunged into a satisfying encore career, a path encouraged by Marc Freedman, CEO of Civic Ventures and author of Encore: Finding Work that Matters in the Second Half of Life.
• "Want a New Career? Take an Encore"
  The Street.com
  By Lauren Tara LaCapra
  July 2, 2008
  Full article
  A recent study by MetLife and Civic Ventures found that at least 5.3 million Americans have already launched encore careers combining income and self-fulfillment. Most encore jobs fall into the education, health care, or nonprofit sectors. But changing one's mindset from corporate profits to altruism is not without its kinks. Learning new technologies and skills or returning to school for certification and encore career can present a challenge, and some struggle with the loss of seniority or status. John Gomperts, president of Civic Ventures, suggests looking at the new technologies and skills as an opportunity rather than a negative barrier. Taking a hiatus between the hustle of the corporate world and the new challenges of the encore career can also be helpful.
• "Baby boomers must work longer"
  Global Pensions
  By Giovanni Legorano
  June 30, 2008
  Full article
  Human factors rather than policy are driving US workers to retire later, experts argued during debate organized by the Urban Institute in Washington DC. John Gomperts, president of Civic Ventures and CEO of Experience Corps. “We do not need draconian changes, we need to listen to the people and reflect that into our policies,” Gomperts said. Gomperts says modest steps could be taken to support the choice of individuals to work longer, such as facilitating career changes that could suit ageing people’s needs.
• "Work the controls to better finance future"
  Chicago Tribune
  By Janet Kidd Stewart
  June 29, 2008
  Full article
  Bearish financial markets, gloomy long-term projections for ston cks, a sputtering economy, sky-high gas prices - it all makes for a dicey looking retirement. But making the most of what you can control about your retirement finances can make a dramatic impact - starting with working longer. If a 62-year-old waited three more years to retire, socking away 25 percent of salary in those years, she could boost retirement income by 28 percent. Even saving nothing in those last few years would boost annual retirement income by 12 percent, simply due to delaying withdrawals by working longer. A new survey from MetLife Foundation and Civic Ventures indicates that between 5.3 million and 8.4 million Americans are already engaged in so-called "encore" careers, combining necessary income with social passions.
• "Boomers Taking on Second Careers "
  New York Times
  By Ana Patricia Ferrey, Inc.com
  June 19, 2008
  Full article
  A growing number of baby boomers are shunning retirement by pursuing late-life second careers that combine social goals and extra income. The Civic Venture Encore Career Survey found surveyed 3,500 Americans aged 44 - 70, and found that up to 8.4 million baby boomers are embarking on "encore" careers, with many turning to the nonprofit, education and health sectors. "Encore careers provide personal fulfillment, while also offering tremendous gains for society," said Marc Freedman, founder and CEO of Civic Ventures. "Instead of encouraging people to leave the workforce, encore careers inspire people to stay longer to help their communities- and fill vital workforce shortages."
• "Baby boomers are seeking more meaningful careers"
  The Day (New London, CT)
  By Lee Howard
  June 19, 2008
  Full article
  The Civic Ventures Encore Career study finds that up to 8.4 million baby boomers are engaged in second careers that provide both personal meaning and social impact. And while most of those entering encore careers did so with some trepidation, the vast majority are happy with their change of pace. Motivations include a desire to stay active, productive, challenged and learning. The report found that women are more likely than men to launch encore careers. A third of those who have embarked on encore careers cite practical considerations as well, such as the need for continued income and health benefits, as well as the desire for flexible work schedules.
• "Survey shows boomers want to give back"
  UPI.com
  June 18, 2008
  Full article
  Baby boomers are looking to give back to society in their later years. A telephone and Internet survey by Civic Ventures found that millions of people who came of age in the 1960s are either quitting their old jobs or coming out of retirement into new careers that aim to contribute to society. MetLife Foundation and Civic Ventures collaborated on the study that indicated that 6 percent to 9.5 percent of adults age 44 to 70 asked said they are pursuing "encore careers" giving them both income and meaning.
• "Boomers' new jobs give back"
  USA Today
  By Janet Kornblum
  June 18, 2008
  Full article
  Baby boomers who came of age in the era of John F. Kennedy's civic call to arms are now, in the second half of their lives, not just asking themselves what they can do for their country, but they're actually doing it. A new telephone and Internet survey from Civic Ventures and the MetLife Foundation indicates millions of boomers are either quitting their old jobs or coming out of retirement to pursue new careers that not only give them personal meaning but also contribute to society.
• "Older Workers Find 'Encore Careers' Helping Others"
  U.S. News and World Report
  By Emily Brandon
  June 18, 2008
  Full article
  The most common jobs for people who work after age 65 are in the retail industry. But a survey from Civic Ventures and the MetLife Foundation finds that baby boomers are changing that stereotype by finding jobs that not only pay the bills but provide personal meaning and have a social impact. The survey found that found that almost 10 percent of those between the ages of 44 and 70 are already in "encore careers" — a figure that translates to between 5.3 million and 8.4 million older workers. Typical fields include education (30 percent), healthcare (23 percent), government (16 percent), nonprofit organizations (13 percent), and for-profit businesses that serve a public good (9 percent).
• "Insights on Reinventing Retirement"
  New York Times
  By Marci Alboher
  June 18, 2008
  Full article
  A new survey conducted by Civic Ventures and the MetLife Foundation shows that the idea of reinventing retirement is not just something that people talk about, but is something they are already doing. The survey paints a picture of older workers who are seeking employment that offers not only income but also personal meaning and social impact. And, of course, they want to be able to do that work flexibly so that there’s plenty of time for family, travel and hobbies. Sounds a little like another demographic group we keep hearing about, Gen Y, no? Perhaps we’ll be seeing a lot of parents and their children teaming up to found socially responsible businesses.
• "Encore careers give 'retirees' another chance to do their dream jobs"
  L.A. Times
  By Maria L. La Ganga
  June 18, 2008
  Full article
  A new national survey from Civic Ventures and the MetLife Foundation found that nearly 10% of baby boomers polled are currently pursuing work that matters in the second half of life, work that they want to do and that society needs doing. Half of those surveyed who do not have encore careers -- jobs in such fields as teaching, public service, healthcare and the nonprofit sector -- said they were interested in doing so. What's at work here "is the intersection of several powerful forces," said Marc Freedman, CEO of Civic Ventures. "There's the necessity of longer working lives to continue drawing an income and getting health benefits, and the search for meaning...Purpose is as important as income." * - this article also appeared in the Chicago Tribune and in Newsday
• "Baby Boomers Express Strong Interest in Charity-Related Second Careers"
  Chronicle of Philanthropy
  By Caroline Preston
  June 18, 2008
  Full article
  At least 6 percent of Americans between the ages of 44 and 70, or 5.3 million people, are working in second careers with charities, governments, schools, or other institutions that benefit society, according to a new survey from Civic Ventures and the MetLife Foundation. And half of the people in that age group who aren’t already involved in encore careers say they would like to find such employment. Even so, the survey found that many older Americans wanted more flexibility in their jobs and schedules than they thought most nonprofit groups could offer.
• "Is there an 'encore' career in your future?"
  MarketWatch.com
  By Robert Powell
  June 18, 2008
  Full article
  An estimated 6% to 9.5% of Americans ages 44 to 70, or as many as 5.3 million to 8.4 million people, are working in what are called encore careers -- careers that provide not just income but also purpose and meaning. The remaining 80 million Americans ages 44 to 70 are either slaving away in careers without purpose (half of them pine for an encore career), or taking it easy, living a more traditional retirement. A new study released by Civic Ventures and the MetLife Foundation sheds light on those currently in an encore career, those pining away to work in an encore career, and those who have no desire to work again.
• "Bill Gates Deserves an Encore"
  Huffington Post
  By Marc Freedman
  June 18, 2008
  Full article
  At age 52, computer pioneer Bill Gates will leave his day job June 27 as head of Microsoft to work full-time on global health and education issues at his foundation. It won't be retirement, he's said, "It's a reordering of my priorities." Once again the world's richest man is on the cutting edge of a big change in American life. The vast majority of the nation's 78 million baby boomers plan to work beyond traditional retirement age, and a new survey from Civic Ventures and the MetLife Foundation finds that half of all Americans 44 to 70 want to reorder their priorities as Gates has: they are looking for work that combines income with personal meaning and social impact. * This article also appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times
• "Second Careers: Millions of Older Workers Are Choosing to Do Well by Doing Good"
  AARP Bulletin Today - AARP.org
  By Cathie Gandel
  June 18, 2008
  Full article
  A new study from Civic Ventures and the MetLife Foundation finds that a majority of boomers want to use their skills and experience to help others. In fact, the report estimates that between 5 and 8 million Americans are already involved in what Marc Freedman, CEO of Civic Ventures, calls an encore career — meaningful work that combines earning an income with making a contribution to society. "I think of it as practical idealism," he says. The results of the study may be early evidence of a trend. "For us, the major finding was the numbers," says Freedman. "This is not just an abstract ideal. Millions of people are already acting on this impulse."
• Blog Coverage - Civic Ventures Encore Career Survey
  
  June 18, 2008
  The Civic Ventures Encore Career Survey was covered in a variety of blogs:
  Gather.com - http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977376726&nav=MyGather
  50+Digital - http://www.50plusdigital.com/
  GenMin Connection - http://genmin.blogspot.com/2008/06/encore-careers.html
  Retirement Revised - http://retirementrevised.com/career/encore-careers-could-take-off-rapidly-survey-shows
  Becoming Success in Business and Life - http://aronparker.blogspot.com/2008/06/why-you-should-start-your-own-business.html
  Your OnRamp - http://youronramp.com/news/2008/06/18/encore-career-emerging-major-social-trend
• Broadcast coverage - Civic Ventures Encore Career Survey
  
  June 18, 2008
  Broadcast coverage for the Civic Ventures Encore Career Survey:
  WBZ-AM(CBS) Boston, WMAQ-TV(NBC) Chicago, KYW-AM(CBS) Philadelphia
  Fox Business Network, KDKA-AM(NBC) Pittsburgh, WBBM-AM(CBS) Chicago
  >i>KYW-AM(CBS) Philadelphia, KDKA-AM(NBC) Pittsburgh, KYW-AM (CBS) Philadelphia
  KRLD-AM(CBS) Dallas/Fort Worth, WCCO-AM(CBS) Minneapolis/St. Paul
  KNX-AM(CBS) Los Angeles, KCBS-AM (CBS) San Francisco
• "Greedy geezers? Try wellspring of talent"
  Times Union (Albany, NY)
  By Marc Parry
  June 5, 2008
  Full article
  Academia has often ignored education for older adults even as most boomers say they plan to delay retirement by staying in current jobs or retraining for new ones. Few of the country's nearly 1,200 community colleges formally promote older adult-focused programs, according to a 2007 AARP study. But that's changing. The American Association of Community Colleges, backed by a $3.2 million grant from The Atlantic Philanthropies, is working on a national program to retrain adults over 50. Civic Ventures has awarded grants to 10 community colleges that are coming up with ways to help boomers find new work in education, health care and social services. "We're at the doorstep of the creation of a new life stage that has no name," said Marc Freedman, founder of Civic Ventures.
• "More than licking envelopes"
  Washington Times
  By Christopher Gergen and Gregg Vanourek
  June 4, 2008
  Full article
  A third of volunteers don't return to volunteering because they don't feel they are having any real impact. And many of those who do stick it out get stuck with menial tasks that fail to harness their professional talents. All of this, at a time when the nonprofit sector is stretched far too thin. Why so many volunteers and so many unmet needs? Civic Ventures CEO Marc Freedman believes retirees traditionally haven't formed clear visions of how to get involved productively in their communities. To help prepare people and organizations for these opportunities, Civic Ventures created the Next Chapter, which helps people in the second half of life set a course, connect with peers and find pathways to significant service. Civic Ventures also sponsors the Purpose Prize to invest $100,000 each in people over the age of 60 who are taking on some of society's biggest challenges. And Civic Ventures Experience Corps places volunteers over age 55 in fulfilling service opportunities in public schools nationwide.
• "Speaker's passion: 'religious response to global warming'"
  Salisbury Post (NC)
  By Kathy Chaffin
  June 2, 2008
  Full article
  A passion to save the planet is what led Sally Bingham — a priest in the Episcopal Diocese of California and environmental minister at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco —to start Interfaith Power & Light, which she describes as a religious response to global warming. In her 10 years of working on climate change issues, Bingham says she has seen people of all faiths come together to look at ways of reversing the global warming trends. Bringing people of faith together was not the goal of the Interfaith Power & Light campaign, she said, but it has been "a glorious outcome and something to celebrate." Bingham was a 2007 Civic Ventures Purpose Prize winner.
• "Make way for boomers who want to work in retirement"
  Rochester (NY) Democrat and Chronicle
  By Ann Marie Cook and Pat Campbell
  May 28, 2008
  Full article
  An Op-Ed piece: Though sometimes referred to as the "me" generation, research is exposing boomers as "we" activists with a humanitarian focus. "Instead of the freedom from work, they are searching for the freedom to work, in new ways, on new terms, to new and more meaningful ends," says Civic Ventures CEO and founder Marc Freedman. But we're not prepared. Neither our public policy nor our business/non-profit environment is changing fast enough to keep pace with this shift in retirement thinking. Structure change requires public policy updates such as the Incentives for Older Workers Act introduced in the U.S. Senate in April. Other incentives for continued work involve tax credits and retraining opportunities, especially within community colleges.
• "Just one word for older job-seekers: retail"
  LA Times
  By Maria L. La Ganga
  May 23, 2008
  Full article
  If you are 65 years old or more and you're still working in America today, what are you most likely to be doing? In a word - retail. Nearly 350,000 men and women 65 or older earn paychecks in the nation's stores. And signifigant numbers do farming or janitorial work as well. Most older workers would love to have more options, but many employers are still reluctant to hire them. Marc Freedman, founder of Civic Ventures believes far more options need to be created, calling the current situation "an object lesson in the dangers of what could happen if we don't develop a compelling human resource strategy for an aging society."
• "Pair Break Barriers for Charter Schools"
  Washington Post
  By Jay Matthews
  May 12, 2008
  Full article
  Dennis and Eileen Bakke are quietly but forcefully making an impact in public education. Their Imagine Schools organization is the largest charter school network in the country, and oversees 51 schools with 25,000 students nationally. Nationally, 51 percent of the Imagine Schools' students come from low-income families. Dennis Bakke was co-founder and longtime chief executive of the energy company, AES, prior to retiring in 2002 and becoming an education entrepreneur. Bakke was named a 2007 Civic Ventures Purpose Prize fellow for his groundbreaking efforts to offer greater educational choices to a broad swath of students and families.
• "Retiring boomers seek new meaning"
  Florida Times-Union
  By Deirdre Conner
  May 12, 2008
  Full article
  Boomers on the cusp of retirement are rediscovering themselves and their talents after a first career, something experts are calling the baby boom's "encore performance." A United Way task force is searching for ways to use the boomer talent pool to avoid a shortage of workers and to channel boomers into volunteer or paid public service roles. But Marc Freedman, founder of Civic Ventures and the author of Encore: Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life says there are enormous incentives not to work, among them a cap on Social Security benefits and a lack of jobs with flexible hours. Civic Ventures Vice President Judy Goggin says nonprofits aren't ready. While many boomers are eager to volunteer, their experiences are often unsatisfactory because their skill sets are often not used properly.
• 'Why You Should Start Your Own Business Today'
  Success Magazine
  By Erin Casey and John David Mann
  May 6, 2008
  Full article
  Across the country, legions of people are abandoning their dependence on big business and seeking independence through their own enterprises. Every month, about 1 million Americans go through some type of job change or loss, and increasingly they are deciding to start their own businesses. Working for a traditional corporation has become a risky option. Working for yourself has become the new job security. And freedom is a big perk: you get to choose when you work, how you work and with whom you work. Increasingly boomers want work that makes a greater impact in the world. A landmark study by MetLife Foundation and Civic Ventures found that 50 percent of Americans in their 50s and 60s want to do work "that matters."
• "Baby Boomer Statistics and Leading-Edge Research Reveal What Drives Boomer Mindset at 2008 LiveWire: The Summit"
  Business Wire
  May 6, 2008
  Full article
  In one of the most significant social trends of the new century, Boomers are inventing a new phase of work called "encore careers." Glenn Ruffenach, editor of The Wall Street Journal’s Encore report, the paper’s guide to retirement planning and living, will interview Jim Emerman of Civic Ventures at this year’s LiveWire Summit about this new segment of paid work that allows boomers to use their talent and experience to give back to their communities. "Millions of boomers are headed not for an endless vacation but for a new stage of work, driven both by the desire to remain productive and the need to make ends meet over longer life spans," says Emerman. "Boomers can capitalize on longer working lives to go beyond their own narrow needs, get down to some of their most significant work and leave the world a better place than they found it."
• "The Pitfalls of Working Past Retirement Age"
  Wall Street Journal
  By Toddi Gutner
  May 1, 2008
  Full article
  It is no secret that more Americans are working past retirement age. And as economic pressures mount, the decision to remain in the work force -- or return after retiring -- might be less about choice and more about necessity. But what workers with defined-benefit pensions and those who already have tapped Social Security benefits might not realize is that there are significant financial disincentives that make working into retirement age a tricky proposition. To help make re-entering the work force easier for older workers, a slate of legislation aims to alleviate the disincentives. Another idea, suggests Civic Ventures founder Marc Freedman, is to allow workers over 65 to opt out of the Social Security payroll tax and allow people between 55 and 65 to buy into Medicare in order to smooth the way for a move to another job.
• "A Longer Goodbye"
  New York Times
  By Claudia Deutsch
  April 21, 2008
  Full article
  Some companies are now offering shorter hours, flexible locations and lighter duties, hoping to keep older workers on board longer. Older employees are getting the chance to wind down gradually, with enough time to pass on their knowledge before they depart for good. But those companies may be in the minority. "Most employers are not even making it easier for people who want to stay, let alone giving them incentives to stay," said Marc Freedman, author of Encore: Finding Work That Matters in the Second Half of Life. Still, some programs for retaining older workers are slowly emerging including those at Dow Chemical, IBM, PG&E, and Pitney Bowes.
• "Testing the Waters with Internships"
  New York Times
  By Elizabeth Pope
  April 21, 2008
  Full article
  Internships, a rite of passage for job-hunting students, are attracting the attention of older adults who are eager to dip into new ventures, paid or not, before taking a full plunge. Businesses recognize that older interns can bring the experience and sophistication that younger people often lack, but the concept is still unusual enough that older adults might need to sell themselves. Many nonprofit groups and small businesses are not structured to accommodate an experienced adult, said Marc Freedman, chief executive of Civic Ventures. So this fall, Civic Ventures plans to start a paid-internship program to place certain retired Silicon Valley executives with nonprofit groups in the area.
• "Second Acts: Career Paths for Worn-out Executives"
  Wall Street Journal
  By Dana Mattioli
  April 13, 2008
  Full article
  Golfing and gardening aren't as enticing as they once were. While boomers are increasingly becoming eligible for Social Security benefits, so far it seems that few are actually putting their working lives to bed. But not all of them want to stay in the jobs, or industries, they spent most of their careers. One of the top destinations for people seeking a second act according to a myriad of surveys: Nonprofits. A survey by Civic Ventures, found that 58% of boomers want a second-career that aids their community. But it's not just altruism at play. Having seasoned employees with business savvy come onboard is an asset for nonprofits, too, since they generally work with limited resources and rely heavily on volunteer work.
• "Turning silver into gold"
  The Oregonian
  April 7, 2008
  Full article
  The massive aging workforce means the US will soon face a critical worker shortage. But a ground-breaking report, from the Multnomah County Task Force on Vital Aging, recently urged businesses, governments, and nonprofits to take this looming liability and convert it into a tremendous asset for Oregon. Instead of bemoaning the shortage, employers should start making smart changes now to attract the huge talent pool that will still be available - older and retired workers. Enticing back those older workers will require a deft rethinking of workplace norms, mind-sets, and schedules.
• "Retirement Could Be Long Gone"
  The Ledger (Lakeland, Florida)
  April 5, 2008
  Full article
  There's not much we can do about aging; we're all doing it. But retirement? That's an idea that could be headed for the dustbin -- if Marc Freedman has anything to say about it. "For the last half century, we've had a cultural vision of success in later life that focused on liberation from work," says Freedman, founder of Civic Ventures. That vision may have outlived its time and Freedman thinks what's coming next will be longer working lives. The question is, working at what? In Freedman's view the key will be to create opportunities for older adults to start new careers that allow them to make a positive social contribution later in life.
• "For baby boomers, 'retirement' may just mean a new job"
  Sacramento Bee
  By M.S. Enkoji
  April 4, 2008
  Full article
  For many boomers middle age won't mean a gold watch and a porch swing. Either by choice or necessity, many boomers intend to work beyond traditional retirement, employment services say. Proposed federal laws that could shore up health coverage and a U.S. Senate hearing later this month will focus new attention on older workers. Employee incentives such as flexible schedules, and a lot of buzz, are creating an inviting atmosphere for longer work lives. The timing could be fortuitous for longer work lives: boomers are healthier and better educated and are among the first to forge identities largely from their work. That means workers in this generation treasure the trappings of work, such as social networks, and are reluctant to let go, said David Bank, a vice president of Civic Ventures.
• "Looking for work"
  San Bernadino Sun
  By Robert Rogers
  April 4, 2008
  Full article
  Increasing numbers of senior citizens and retirees relying on insufficient fixed incomes are finding themselves confronted by a tight labor market. With the economy in decline, the trend of leaner, more cost-conscious employers may be hitting senior members of the work force particularly hard. Advocates and experts say subsidized employment, job training, job placement, and other community-based programs are key to easing tens of millions of aging boomers into golden years employment. Civic Ventures' Experience Corps has more than 2,000 people over 55 in 19 U.S. cities working as tutors and mentors for younger students.
• "Lulled Into Numbness"
  Washington Post
  By Douglas LaBier
  April 1, 2008
  Full article
  How do you grapple with the mid-life challenge of who am I and what am I doing? Studies offer conflicting conclusions on the prevalence of mid-life despair, but here's some advice on how to turn things around. To start, deal with your problems today and rethink your relationships. Even better, design your own evolution. A large-scale study of boomers by MetLife Foundation/Civic Ventures in 2005 found that more than half now want their work to contribute to the common good. Does that resonate with you? With your partner, assess how your career (its rewards and trade-offs) relates to the rest of your life and your longer-term goals. What changes would create better alignment?
• "Retirement Revolution"
  PBS
  March 31, 2008
  Audio / Transcript
  Retirement in America is undergoing a revolutionary transformation. This two-part documentary hosted by Paula Zahn explores the many challenges and opportunities faced by the 78 million Baby Boomers who are now heading into retirement. Civic Ventures founder Marc Freedman is interviewed.
• "Grant helps boomers become activists"
  Kennebuc Journal
  By Mechele Cooper
  March 28, 2008
  Full article
  Boomers who want to make a difference in their communities can now get the training they need to participate in local and state government and nonprofit organizations. Atlantic Philanthropies awarded a $95,000 grant to the Maine Community Foundation to develop leadership training programs for Mainers 60 and older, one of ten similar grants awarded to foundations around the country. Research from Civic Ventures indicates that nearly 45 million boomers want to be involved in work, paid or volunteer, that helps others.
• "Boomers, don't all retire at once!"
  The Arizona Republic
  By Connie Midey
  March 26, 2008
  Full article
  This year, the oldest boomers turn 62 and become eligible for early Social Security benefits. The thought of millions of boomers taking their early-retirement benefits is causing concern about the stability of Social Security and Medicare. Some states are doing something to avert a potential crisis. Civic Ventures cites Arizona, California, Maryland, New York and Massachusetts as recognizing older workers as "an experience dividend," rather than a drain on resources. Arizona launched its Mature Workforce Initiative in 2005 to engage people 50 and older in meaningful jobs and community service.
• "Early retirement selfish, unpatriotic"
  Baltimore Sun
  By Andrew Yarrow
  March 26, 2008
  Full article
  Writer Andrew Yarrow argues that if Americans retired later, either staying in their current jobs or taking up "encore careers" - what Marc Freedman of Civic Ventures calls do-good, later-life jobs - we could significantly slow the growth of our multitrillion-dollar national debt, which is largely driven by rising Medicare and Social Security costs. We also could keep more people in a labor force that would no longer be growing appreciably if not for immigrants.
• "Mentor tells how to help prisoners' children"
  Richmond Times Dispatch
  By Wesley Hester
  March 17, 2008
  Full article
  The key to keeping kids from following their parents into prison is to get to them first, former Philadelphia Mayor and Purpose Prize winner W. Wilson Goode Sr. told aspiring religious leaders in Richmond. When he was 14, Goode saw his father sent to jail for assaulting his mother. It sparked the fire that led him to help start Amachi, a nonprofit, faith-based program that mentors children whose parents are imprisoned. Goode stresses that early-childhood learning is an effective way to combat soaring prison populations in America and a way to break a repeated cycle of incarceration among generations of families. Today Amachi operates mentoring programs in 48 states and has helped more than 100,000 children.
• "Retire to your dream job"
  Kiplinger's Personal Finance
  By Mary Beth Franklin and Bob Frick
  March 14, 2008
  Full article
  When the flood of baby boomers begin to retire, many will choose to keep working - because someone's got to foot the bill for their "retirement" and because many of them want to stay engaged and keep on working. Seventy five percent of boomers say they want to keep working (but not full-time), and more than half want to start a new career. The good news is that both paid and volunteer work will be available to enterprising boomers. Longevity should be viewed as a gift, says Marc Freedman, founder of Civic Ventures. The U.S. will need experienced older workers as it grapples with social needs and faces labor shortages in such critical areas as education and health care. Freedman says boomers ought to rethink their saving for retirement. "It's liberating if you're not saving for the freedom from work. Instead, you're saving for the freedom to work at something close to your heart." * This story also ran on WIS-TV in Columbia, South Carolina.
• "Challenge the Boomers to Make a Difference"
  Chronicle of Philanthropy
  By Marc Freedman
  March 6, 2008
  Full article
  A boomer backlash is building. But what to do about it? For better or worse, the boomers, born in 1946 through 1964, will be with us for decades to come. Now is the time to figure out how we can make their transition to a new stage of life more for the better, less for the worse. Rather than coddling and castigating this generation, we need to challenge the boomers — much as President John F. Kennedy did when the boomers were growing up — to answer a call to commitment and to service, to find meaning through something larger than themselves. The stakes couldn't be higher for nonprofit groups and others who care about marshaling talent to solve the great problems that confront us.
• "Get ahead... new opportunities await"
  Boomer!
  February 28, 2008
  Full article
  A new generation of students is descending on America’s colleges and universities. Increasing numbers of baby boomers are shunning traditional retirement and instead setting course for new careers and opportunities. Civic Ventures founder Marc Freedman says attending a college or university at 50 or 60 could soon be the norm, with graduate schools designed specifically for accomplished professionals. The reasons for returning to school vary for these older students. Some have been downsized or have financial needs; others don't want to quit working, but want to try something different. Some want to give back in a way they might earlier have been unable to do.
• "Top 10 community leaders"
  San Mateo Daily Journal
  February 25, 2008
  Full article
  The Daily Journal describes ten community leaders, all of whom would be ideal nominees for Civic Ventures' 2008 Purpose Prize. Civic Ventures is redefining retirement as an opportunity to do work that is both fulfilling and gives back to the community in a significant way. The Purpose Prize will award five $100,000 prizes and ten $10,000 prizes to social entrepreneurs making a tremendous difference in their communities and/or the world at large. The deadline is March 1 for nominations.
• "No time to relax: States want new retirees' experience"
  USA Today
  By Haya El Nasser
  February 22, 2008
  Full article
  The wave of baby boomers hitting retirement age threatens to create such a void in the workforce that states are crafting policies and programs to keep older Americans working and volunteering. Five states have launched initiatives aimed at getting the most out of the experience and skills of older Americans and eight more are working with the National Governors Association to study ways to keep boomers in the labor market as volunteers or part-time workers. It's a major shift in public policy in a nation that has treated the aging of 79 million boomers as a likely drain on social and entitlement programs. "People are now saying that they want to and need to continue to work," says John Gomperts, president of Civic Ventures. "The aging of America might turn out to be something good for individuals and communities across the country."
• "Encore Careers Lead to Prize"
  Redwood Age.com
  By Cecily O'Connor
  February 22, 2008
  Full article
  About six years ago, Jose-Pablo Fernandez began an experiment aimed at teaching computer skills to Hispanic parents in Texas, hoping to equip them with marketable skills and strategies to encourage their children to stay in school. His program hit a nerve, and that interest has helped to expand it into more than 100 schools and community centers in Houston, San Antonio and Beaumont. It's now being expanded to Dallas, and replicated in community colleges. The program was one of last year's winners of Civic Ventures' Purpose Prize.
• "Honey, Get Out of the House: the Joys of Retirement"
  Wall Street Journal blog
  By Sara Schaefer Munoz
  February 22, 2008
  Full article
  Couples may need some adjustment to one facet of retirement -- spending more time than they're used to together. For some, it's too much. One solution is going back to work for an encore career. Marc Freedman, founder of Civic Ventures, talks about the option in his book Encore: Finding Work that Matters in the Second Half of Life in which he found there are millions of people launching second careers in areas like education, health care, the nonprofit sector, and government.
• "They Say 60 is the New 40. I Say 60 is the New 60"
  The Huffington Post
  By Sherry Lansing
  February 21, 2008
  Full article
  As a guest blogger on Ariana Huffington's web publication, Sherry Lansing, chair of the judges' panel for Civic Ventures Purpose Prize, says if we're defined by our work, then work really needs to mean something. The second half of life, she says, is the time to plow experience, skills, time, and compassion into work that gives back - precisely the path taken by the social entrepreneurs competing for the Purpose Prize. The best way to really understand the Purpose Prize and the immense potential of the experience generation is to meet past winners: among them Sharon Rohrbach, a neonatal hospital nurse from St. Louis, Missouri, who launched Nurses for Newborns to bring RNs into the homes of at-risk families to care for babies and provide essential education and support to new parents; Gordon Johnson, who started Neighbor To Family, a private nonprofit agency that keeps siblings together in foster care; and Wilma Melville, who founded the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation which has produced 85 canine-firefighter search teams provided free to fire departments.
• "12 People Who Are Changing Your Retirement"
  Wall Street Journal
  By Kelly Greene
  February 16, 2008
  Full article
  Among 12 people changing your retirement is Charles Feeney, 76, the founding chairman of Atlantic Philanthropies, an international foundation that is committed to disbursing its entire $4 billion endowment by 2020. A large chunk will go to help older adults live healthier, independent lives with dignity, purpose, and meaning. The foundation has helped fund Civic Ventures' Purpose Prize, awards of $100,000 given each year to five "social entrepreneurs" age 60 or older who are tackling some of society's biggest challenges. Last year Civic Ventures received $10 million from Atlantic Philanthropies in part to stimulate development of encore careers for people 50 and older.
• "'Marketplace' Report: A New Version of Capitalism"
  NPR - Day to Day
  By Steve Tripoli
  February 15, 2008
  Audio / Transcript
  Steve Tripoli, a reporter for NPR's Marketplace says that capitalism is changing significantly and that three big thinkers are helping steer the direction of that change, among them Civic Ventures Marc Freedman. Tripoli says that next wave of businesses should be social businesses, ventures that give solving global problems equal weight with making profits. Civic Ventures is helping a wave of boomers embark on careers of social entrepreneurship. Tripoli also cites cites Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel Peace Prize-winner from Bangladesh who created micro credit to give very poor people tiny loans to smart small businesses. Rounding out the trio is University of Michigan corporate consultant C.K. Prahalad who argues that most of the business world is blowing a giant opportunity by not meeting the needs of the poorest four fifths of humanity.
• "Encore Careers"
  Business Week TV
  February 13, 2008
  Audio / Transcript
  Business Week TV interviews Civic Ventures founder Marc Freedman about encore careers: what they are, the factors behind the growth of encore careers, top fields for finding new meaningful work, and suggestions on how to get started. Business Week TV also profiles Nat Fuchs about his encore career working in the Brooklyn District Attorney's Protection Bureau, helping seniors avoid identity theft and fraud. Fuchs worked for thirty years as a trial attorney for the SEC.
• "Discovering Second Acts in Sustained Working Lives"
  New York Times
  By Marci Alboher
  February 11, 2008
  Full article
  A conversation between reporter Marci Alboher and Civic Ventures founder Marc Freedman about about the growing phenomenon of encore careers, the obstacles facing older workers, policy changes that could make a difference, and why it is so hard to come up with language to describe this new period of work and life. Alboher calls Freedman the "voice of aging baby boomers eschewing retirement for encore careers - long periods of meaningful and sustaining work later in life." Freedman discusses what he learned and came to believe in the writing of his book Encore: Finding Work that Matters in the Second Half of Life.
• "Why Colleges Should Welcome the Return of the Boomers"
  The Chronicle of Higher Education
  By Harris Woford
  February 8, 2008
  Full article [SUBSCRIPTION REQUIRED]
  Working during retirement, once considered a contradiction in terms, may become the new reality for most Americans -- one that will have significant repercussions for higher education. In this commentary, Woford predicts that most of the boomer generation, as they approach retirement, will want to do some productive and constructive work on flexible terms -- either paid or volunteer. Boomers need to see themselves as solutions and assets. With labor shortages in health care, engineering, education, and government, it is in our national interest to usher boomers into a more active period than was traditional retirement. In his new book, Encore; Finding Work that Matters in the Second Half of Life, Civic Ventures founder Marc Freedman makes the case that the training and education provided by community colleges will help meet the needs of our complex society in a variety of fields.
• "I'll Be Back"
  Inc. Magazine
  By Leigh Buchanan
  February 2008
  Full article
  Business owners may dream of kicking back after years of full-throttle company building, yet many return to the fray, suffering adrenaline withdrawal and lured by new opportunities. While planning for retirement, consider that it might be of limited duration. Here's some retirement advice for those between working gigs. Reorder your priorities; do some good. Marc Freedman, president of Civic Ventures suggests entrepreneurs life themselves out of their comfort zones to apply their business skills to world problems, to consider ventures that involve an element of social responsibility. Freedman offers the example of Gary Moxworthy, a 2007 Purpose Prize winner who retired from his large food brokerage and joined the antipoverty program VISTA. He then developed a system to distribute fresh produce and food tossed out by supermarkets to food banks.
• "Suzanne Mintz, Making Family Caregiving Easier"
  NPR - Fresh Air
  By Terry Gross
  January 30, 2008
  Full article
  Terry Gross interviews 2006 Purpose Prize $10,000 winner Suzanne Mintz, president and co-founder of the National Family Caregivers Association. Mintz' husband was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1974, and she has been caring for him since. She talks to Gross about how caregivers can secure support and become advocates for not only those they care for, but themselves as well. Mintz has updated her book, A Family Caregiver Speaks Up: "It Doesn't Have to Be This Hard!"
• "Web Sites Give Retirees Help Re-Entering Workplace"
  Dorothy Tucker
  By CBS2-TV Chicago
  January 30, 2008
  Full article
  More Americans are working longer by choice, even starting new careers in their 50s and 60s. A new generation of job websites have popped up to meet their needs. Sites like YourEncore.com and RetirementJobs.com connect older workers with companies offering all kinds of opportunities, from retail to health care and more. David Bank, vice president of Civic Ventures and editor of Encore.org says there is particular need for teachers, adjunct teachers, classroom aids and tutors. He also cites a demand for those with specific skills in science and engineering.
• "No Country for Old People"
  Washington Post - Op Ed
  By Marc Freedman
  January 27, 2008
  Full article
  Though Allstate Insurance ads would have you think otherwise, millions of boomers are headed not for endless vacation but for a new stage of work, driven both by the desire to remain productive and the need to make ends meet over longer life spans. It's a truth compounded by a souring economic climate as housing prices fall and a volatile stock market threatens dramatic declines in 401(k)s. All those boomers staying in the workplace could mean the biggest transformation of work and the workforce in the United States since women broke through to new roles decades ago. The question is what will they do? By establishing better routes to significant "encore careers," we can reinvest the baby boomers' huge pool of human capital in areas where it's most needed. The alternative? Frittering away an enormous "experience dividend."
• "Author redefines what will work for boomers"
  Orlando Sentinel
  By Jane Glenn Haas
  January 21, 2008
  Full article
  At 49, Marc Freedman ofCivic Ventures is a poster boy for the future of America, says Haas. He has no plans of checking out of the workforce by the time he can claim social security benefits. According to Freedman, "It's time to change the deal the nation has with older Americans...What's needed is a new compact that turns the necessity of work into a virtue...We need to have a conversation around constructing a new deal that says if you are willing to use your talent and energy and contribute, we'll make it worth your while. We need to get rid of barriers, create incentives, make work personally meaningful." ***this article first ran in the Orange County Register
• "Blue-Collar Boomers Take Work Ethic to College"
  Chronicle of Higher Education
  By Libby Sander
  January 18, 2008
  With the help of community colleges, some blue collar baby boomers are changing gears and retraining for new jobs that are less physically taxing. In doing so, these workers are among those who are redefining the traditional notion of retirement by working much later in life. And they are also leaving their mark on community colleges, many of which are fine-tuning their programs and making them more accessible to older adults. In a 2005 survey of adults between the ages of 50 and 59 by the MetLife Foundation and Civic Ventures, 66 percent said they planned to keep working in some fashion during their retirement years. Of that 66 percent, 15 percent said they would never retire. *** this article link available to subscribers only
• "Partnership for Public Service and IBM Team to Steer Baby Boomers to Mission Critical Government Jobs"
  EARTHtimes.org (UK)
  January 17, 2008
  Full article
  The war for talent is hitting the federal government hard, as more than one-third of the full-time permanent federal workforce gets ready to retire or leave in the next five years. In response, the Partnership for Public Service has launched the FedExperience Transitions to Government -- an initiative to help match government's critical hiring needs with the talents of baby boomers looking for encore careers where they can find interesting and challenging work. IBM is collaborating with the Partnership and the U.S. Department of Treasury to identify, recruit, and hire interested IBM employees and retirees and match them to key federal government jobs. Nearly 14,000 mission-critical jobs need to be filled at the U.S. Department of Treasury in the next two years. Civic Ventures and AARP are working with the Partnership to expand the effort to other agencies and to the corporate sector.
• "Wanted: Volunteers - Nonprofits compete for older Americans by offering flexible schedules, pay"
  MarketWatch
  By Kristen Gerencher
  January 10, 2008
  Full article
  Older adults eager to volunteer have their pick of a growing number of innovative new options, with many nonprofits trying to meet volunteers halfway by giving them flexibility, new challenges and, in some cases, a nominal paycheck in exchange for their skilled work. Nonprofits are taking their cues from established groups like the Peace Corps, Experience Corps, and AmeriCorps in offering some pay. Civic Ventures co-founder and president Marc Freedman says, "Very few people are going to be able to volunteer for years on end without any compensation in the way that their parents' generation was able to....The nature of volunteering is going to change and become a little more instrumental. It's a great way station for people who think they might be interested in making a significant commitment to a new area but have been busy doing other things in midlife."
• "Wired to Work, 'Me Generation' Volunteers in Record Numbers"
  Richmond Times Dispatch
  By John Martin
  January 10, 2008
  Full article
  In this opinion piece, Martin says that the avalanche of news stories about the demographic demographic tsunami of retiring or soon-to-be retiring boomers "was enough to drive us crazy... because we know the idea of a permanent 'retirement' is insane to most boomers." Today boomers represent the biggest segment of volunteers and they are volunteering at a higher rate than the previous generation does now or in their earlier years. All of this is great news for organizations that rely on volunteers, but they need to think of those boomer volunteers as important assets, not just warm bodies. Marc Freedman, CEO of Civic Ventures says, "Boomers at this stage of life can respond to JFK's challenge -- to ask not what the country can do for me but what I can do for the country. We as a society need to call them up to a higher purpose. We need to create the on-ramps to work that matters and embrace the talent."
• "Prepare for a new brand of retirement"
  Seattle Times
  By Colleen Long
  January 7, 2008
  Full article
  Retirement ain't what it used to be. We're living longer and healthier lives, and the cost of living is increasing vastly. That means more time to spend money, less money to spend. Jobs used to be physically demanding, and the prospect of leisure at 65 seemed novel. Today, jobs are more sedentary, and people are increasingly admitting that a 24/7 vacation-style life isn't all it's cracked up to be. Society is slowly changing how it views retirees. Companies are increasingly hiring older workers, especially in fields where there is a skills shortage such as nursing and teaching. Websites like civicventures.org and encore.org can help direct boomers to jobs in these fields and nonprofits.
• "Baby boomers go back to college"
  Dallas Morning News
  By Bob Moos
  January 3, 2008
  Full article
  Four in five boomers intend to work past their traditional retirement age, and many want to find new jobs with a higher social purpose and more flexible hours. Labor analysts, meanwhile, predict the U.S. economy will face shortages of 6 million workers by 2012 and 35 million workers by 2030. The hardest-hit fields will be education, health care, and public service. "The two trends present a historic opportunity for community colleges," says Judy Goggin, a vice president for Civic Ventures. Richland Community College in Dallas is emerging as a national model for catering to boomer students. The school is launching its Boomer Reboot program this month with a range of evening classes that will teach boomers how to look for a job, plan for retirement, care for aging parents, and manage their own stress. The new classes are in addition to Richland's current health professions and teacher certification programs, which each year attract dozens of midlife students eager to switch careers. * This article also ran in the Virginian-Pilot and in the Times Argus in Montpellier, VT

More Civic Ventures in the News

• Civic Ventures in the News - 2007
• Civic Ventures in the News - 2006
• Civic Ventures in the News - 2005
• Civic Ventures in the News - 2004