Boomers as volunteers: take advantage of our skills and need to connect outside of work

I had the good fortune last week to speak at an annual event for the National Arthritis Foundation (an Edelman client). Hundreds of staff from chapters around the country had come together to discuss ways to keep people interested in volunteering their time and efforts on behalf of the organization in the upcoming year and beyond.

One thing is for sure: targeting Boomers should certainly be a priority. After all, we are volunteering in droves these days. In fact, no other age group volunteers more, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Just over a third of Boomers volunteered for organizations in 2005 (that's four percentage points above the national average). We want to give back and we're looking for opportunities to do so. But here's the thing - Boomers have certain expectations when it comes to volunteering. We don't just show up and ask what we can do. We bring the same attitude, energy and skills to our volunteer efforts that we do/did to our jobs; consequently, we want to feel like we matter.

Want to recruit Boomers for your volunteer force? Keep these tips in mind:

1. Offer flexible opportunities. Since Boomers love to travel and like to be involved in many different activities, we're looking for organizations that let us work on projects with specific beginning and ending dates. Most of us aren't willing to be "on call."

2. Don't forget we don't have to be there. Since volunteerism is, well, voluntary, we expect our time to be used wisely. Don't just give us a list of things to do. Ask us how we'd like to contribute and consider our suggestions. Take advantage of our skills and organizational abilities in the workplace. They usually translate well in the nonprofit world too.

3. Tap into our passion. Most of us have been activists for some time now. We care about politics and as a rule we're pretty up on the social issues of the day. Don't hand us a list of donors to call or envelopes to stuff. Make the most of our interests. Never let us feel our time is being wasted.

4. Use us to help recruit others. Boomers are big on using word-of-mouth to let others know what they like and dislike. Need more recruits? Ask Boomers who are effective volunteers to suggest others who might help. If we support what you're doing, we'll tell our friends. To that end, consider creating opportunities for us to volunteer right alongside our friends.

5. Offer us training, but know what you're doing. Boomers, generally speaking, are skilled and well educated. If you want to offer training, make sure you use effective learning models that appeal to us. After all, most of us are used to participating in corporate training and conferences designed specifically for adult learning, so we're used to the best.

BONUS TIP:

6. Find opportunities for us to volunteer with our grandchildren.  We like to be with them, plus we enjoy teaching them our value system.

With school going back into session across the country, now is a good time to look for Boomer volunteers. After all, many of us are already looking for projects to do now that primary vacation time is over and the kids will soon be talking about fulfilling their community service requirements at school.