As they move into roles in service and volunteering, older adults like these are discovering that what they know is just as important as how much time they can give. Their help couldn’t have come at a better time. With demand for nonprofit services skyrocketing, fundraising and revenues are way down. Some experts predict as many as 100,000 nonprofit organizations could run out of money for their programs completely.

The recession has spurred more interest in volunteering among older adults, particularly among boomers, says Jill Friedman Fixler, a nonprofit consultant and co-author of “Boomer Volunteer Engagement.”

“This is a group with abundant skills and profound circles of influence and they believe they can have an impact in their community right now,” she says.

That was the idea for Chesnut. After leaving his job as a retail sales executive with Procter & Gamble, Chesnut, 64, spent several years as a counselor for small business owners. When he moved to Denver a few years ago, he decided to focus on helping nonprofits. As he explored his options, Chesnut was struck by Denver’s homeless problem. Millions of dollars were being spent pulling families out of shelters, but programs that were trying to keep families out of them to begin with were underfunded. After organizing a coalition of local nonprofits, Chesnut began a research project that eventually led to a successful $600,000 grant.

“Coming from the corporate world and working with large retailers, you learn to look for common interest,” he says. “What I did was put numbers to the problem.”

Nancy Benyamin, a volunteer coordinator for Jewish Family Service who worked with Chesnut, says he’s an example of the increasing importance of skilled volunteers to nonprofits that want to expand their capacity in lean times.

“Mike really enabled us to apply for this large grant,” Benyamin says. “Without his assistance, the new funding just wouldn’t be happening.”

For Ross, 72, the serious needs she saw as a volunteer for SeniorsPlus in Lewiston, Maine, made her rethink the decision to step away from healthcare completely. After retiring as director of nursing for a state Medicare program, Ross signed up to help answer a referral phone line for SeniorsPlus, an agency that helps the local aging population get services and support. The organization was so impressed by her knowledge of medicine and healthcare benefits that they asked her to take on a new role as a counselor, and even get additional training. Seeing the healthcare system from the point of view of at-risk seniors has been an eye-opener, Ross says.

“[In my old job], I rarely was aware whether the patient was insured or not,” she says. “Now I’m on the other side of the fence saying, ‘Let’s get this person the coverage they need.’”

For Hall, a Hughes Aircraft retiree, volunteering for Family Assessment, Counseling & Education Services (F.A.C.E.S.) was a way to shield some families from the challenges his own family faced when his father, an alcoholic, left. After reviewing Hall’s background, Mary O’Connor, the executive director at the Southern California nonprofit, asked him to set up a new accounting system for the cash-strapped group. Five months later, the books are on the way to being balanced and Hall has become a strong F.A.C.E.S. supporter. He says his experience getting involved on a skilled basis, while frustrating at times, has been extraordinary.

“If my mother had access to this kind of thing, I can see how much better off we would have been,” he says with emotion. “But I had no idea that the kind of challenges this organization faces even existed.”

To find skilled volunteer opportunities, visit www.VolunteerMatch.org.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

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Many in the GI Generation were shaped by two world wars and a great depression, and so were their workplace values.  These are the values that have defined hospital volunteer programs for more than 50 years–serving on a regular-ongoing basis, performing repetitive, lower skilled, highly defined roles. An annual banquet and a pin for their service hours were standard and desirable forms of recognition.  A pink pinafore was a source of pride.  Now the youngest members of the GI Generation are 85 years of age.

What is your healthcare institution doing to create new systems and new opportunities for the next volunteer generation?

Your volunteer pool is dwindling and you are not alone.  But looking to younger volunteers to work in “old” systems won’t succeed.   This next generation says they prefer short-term commitments.  They want meaningful work and opportunities to use their professional skills.  They want autonomy, self-direction and lots of choice when volunteering.  They are time-poor and you are competing for their recreational time and time with friends and loved ones.  What they want in exchange is a valuable experience-reflective of their ideals, their skills, and their values!

By 2010, nearly 64 million Boomers will be poised to retire.  Because of the long-term effects of the current recession, many will have to work, but not all of them full time.  Research tells us almost two-thirds of Boomers plan to volunteer. Serving community becomes more important to them as they age.   They are willing to roll up their sleeves to solve society’s problems, but it may be between jobs or on a project basis.

What can you do to attract this next volunteer generation?   Consider…

• Hire a professional volunteer director–preferably one who has completed their Certified Administrator of Volunteer Services (CAVS) designation through the American Hospital Association.  Or support your existing director in getting certified.

• Give your volunteer director time and resources to create new volunteer management systems.

• Expand volunteer opportunities for highly skilled individuals.   Use words like pro bono consultant, team leader, virtual volunteer and entrepreneur words when marketing.

• Train employees to work with a more educated and professionally trained volunteer workforce.   Recognize and compensate them for doing so.

• Create a new range of incentives for a more diverse volunteer team.

Create a win-win for all

An AARP poll found that nearly 54% of volunteers and 48% of non-volunteers would give 15-hours a week if they were provided compensation such as reduced drug costs, gas, and small monthly stipends.   For individuals who have just lost a job and half of their retirement, a stipend (contract labor at below market wages) could create a win-win for all.  The poll also found that the 50+ volunteer workforce could be doubled through small inducements such as learning new things, making friends, and putting career skills to use.

Changing a half century-old volunteer management system requires time and strategic planning.  Current volunteers will need to be brought on board.  And, it will take time to find out what works, change what doesn’t, and make course corrections.

What are the benefits to you?

• Because they are “private citizens,” volunteers are free to advocate on your behalf.

• They extend the budget by providing time philanthropy, and, if managed effectively, can have a large impact on your ability to reach your mission.

• Volunteers have the luxury to concentrate their time and expertise on a particular issue, customer or service area.

• They are an abundant resource that can compliment your workforce.

• Volunteers are twice as likely to donate money as non-volunteers.

Healthcare volunteer programs have been making incremental changes for decades.  But shifting demographics and transformational changes now occurring in our country and healthcare institutions, have made it critical that hospitals make fundamental and meaningful changes in how volunteers are recruited, managed and supported.

Volunteers can improve your hospital’s effectiveness and services to both patients and your community.  Are you ready to succeed with this new talent pool?

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