Professional Volunteerism
We are all boomers…ages 48 to 68 born (1946- 1964) To borrow a phrase from the National Assn of Boomer Women
“We are the healthiest, wealthiest, and best educated generation of women ever to hit mid-life.”
40 Million of us nationwide.
And believe it or not, this generation devotes the most time to volunteering…more than 2 X the national median
Communities don’t run without stay at home moms and now as the population bubble moves up in age – the business and most importantly the nonprofit world are now just discovering the value of this group.
This is a group of “super” volunteers…they are skilled, educated and confident. They are what I call “professional volunteers”. Not that they only focus on volunteer activities, but that they are professional in the way they go about them. They are good at what they do…. serious about the success of their work … and most probably could be doing the job of many of the paid employees of the nonprofit. These skilled volunteers are a valuable commodity…
With fundraising evermore challenging in our economy, more and more nonprofits are turning to skilled volunteers…not only on their boards, but in the trenches of their day to day activity.
Libraries in CA are already focusing on engaging Boomers as volunteers…they give webinars on “Engaging Boomers and skilled volunteers in your library.”
Other non profits are right behind them, and we as boomer volunteers need to acknowledge our value and help non profits think outside the box by reaching out to them with new ideas and support.
Today, 11% of the world’s population is over 60…by 2050 it will be 22%
Non profits organizations – get to know your volunteers and their skills and backgrounds. Who is an attorney, accountant, marketer, teacher, financial analyst. Think outside the box, how can you use these volunteers and their skills. Many nonprofits have dossiers on their major donors, how about their volunteers. A good volunteer can probably do that for you.
Show respect…treat them as equals…many could be doing the job of many of your current employees…but why aren’t they…cause they don’t need the income. So this also puts them as an opportunity to become a donor or a larger one.
Yes volunteers can be tricky…flightly…but look at the boomers you currently have. Are they serious at what they do? Can you make their time with you more challenging and interesting?
