By Scot Kersgaard, JVA Consulting
The world is full of people in their 50s and 60s (as well as more than a few older or younger than that) who have reached the point in their lives where they can retire if they want to, but that isn’t what they want.
What they want is to take their hard-gained skills and expertise and apply them in new ways, ways that are both satisfying personally and meaningful socially.
They want to get involved in the world of nonprofits–as executive directors, fundraisers, volunteer coordinators and more.
“Nonprofits need people with business experience,” says Bill Morris, CEO and co-founder of nonprofit social enterprise Blue Star Recyclers, which employs more than 50 autistic adults to recycle electronic components in three states. He says for the most part corporate America doesn’t want people in their 50s and 60s and that the feeling is often mutual. “People that age are done with that
He says nonprofits–especially those seeking to create or grow an earned-income enterprise–desperately need people with business experience.
If that describes you–or could, now that you think about it–then this two-day seminar is for you. Taught by Janine Vanderburg, 2011 winner of a Launch Pad Award from Civic Ventures, the seminar will teach participants how to tap their skills in sales and leadership to launch an encore career.
Vanderburg was one of five national winners of the Launch Pad awards, out of more than 1,000 applicants who wrote about their ideas for improving their communities. Her idea, fittingly enough, was to find a way to connect retirees with sales backgrounds with nonprofits looking for fundraisers. She used her prize money to develop the curriculum for this class.
Vanderburg, though, is anything but new to training for nonprofits. Her company, JVA Consulting, founded more than 25 years ago, is a regional leader in nonprofit strategy, grantwriting, business planning, program evaluation, training and communications.
“There are so many people who have worked hard all their lives, and while they might have earned retirement, they’ve also earned the right to transition to second careers in the nonprofit sector where they can change the world,” she says.
This workshop will help people understand how to adapt their skills from the military or private enterprise to nonprofit leadership and will also teach them how to go about finding their next career.
“We hope this will assist people who are in a time of career exploration or job transition to determine whether the nonprofit sector is a good fit for them, and if it is, to help them make that transition,” says Beth Roalstad, executive director of Innovations in Aging.
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