Nonprofit groups lag significantly behind government agencies and businesses in their efforts to keep and recruit older workers, a new report concludes.
"Many nonprofit leaders, boards, and funders show little interest in developing programs to attract and retain older adults as experienced executives, staff personnel, or volunteers in new, more professional roles," says the report, which was issued today by the Conference Board, a business research and membership organization in New York.
The report, which reviews major studies on nonprofit employment conducted over the past five years, was released in conjunction with an announcement of the winners of a new award for groups that have developed innovative programs to employ people at least 50 years old in public-interest jobs.
The BreakThrough Awards — created by Civic Ventures, a think tank in San Francisco, and the MetLife Foundation, in New York — were given to 10 nonprofit groups and government agencies including a hospital, a child-care program, an agency that provides nursing-home ombudsmen, two job-placement services, and a YMCA.
"These employers recognize that new approaches to recruiting and retaining older employees can help them deliver on their critical missions," Phyllis Segal, senior vice president of Civic Ventures, said in a statement.
But the Conference Board report says employers like that are still in the minority — a dangerous situation given that charity jobs are increasing faster than those in other industries and nonprofit groups are projected to face a growing shortage of high-level skills as experienced executives retire.
"Talent shortages are already affecting critical service sectors, including health care and social services, in which nonprofits are heavily represented," Jill Casner-Lotto, the report's author, said in a statement. Yet nonprofit groups have not invested significantly in human-resources management and they have trouble getting money from grant makers to do so, the report says.
The report cites several studies showing that nonprofit organizations are growing faster in number, revenue, and jobs than the overall economy. One, a study by the Center for Civil Society Studies at Johns Hopkins University, found that the number nonprofit jobs grew by 5.1 percent from 2002 to 2004, while the size work force as a whole declined 0.2 percent.
Other studies show that nonprofit groups have a higher annual turnover rate (3.1 percent) than private or government employers (2.7 percent and 1 percent respectively) and that they are facing a leadership deficit as the number of charities climbs while many executive directors are planning to retire.
Yet the charity world has done little to design programs to reach out to new groups of potential employees such as baby boomers, ex-corporate managers, and other older adults who may want second careers in nonprofit work, the report says.
The good news, the report says, is that the pool of potential older employees is growing as people live longer and stay in the work force longer — and as baby boomers express a strong interest in working for social causes.
The report reviews a variety of recommendations that experts have made to help nonprofit employers improve their records. They include spending more time and money on recruiting and developing senior managers, creating more part-time and flexible jobs, recruiting among groups such as government leaders and military officers moving to civilian life, and making volunteer programs more professional.
The Conference Board said it planned to create a new research group next fall, with money from Atlantic Philanthropies, the grant maker in New York, to further study questions related to nonprofit groups and older workers.
Civic Ventures created the BreakThrough Awards as part of its broader effort to promote projects to tap the experience and skills of older people. It also sponsors the annual Purpose Prize, which awards $100,000 to people at least 60 years old who are working to solve social problems in an innovative way. No money is attached to the BreakThrough Awards.
The winners are:
Allied Coordinated Transportation Services, a project of the Lawrence County Community Action Partnership, New Castle, Pa. The group uses drivers age 50 and above to transport older adults, sick and disabled people, and children whose mothers are in welfare-to-work programs.
Leesburg Regional Medical Center and The Villages Regional Hospital, Leesburg, Fla. The center created a program to recruit and retain older workers to meet a health-care labor shortage.
Mature Worker Connection, a program of the Pima Council on Aging, Tucson, Ariz. The group offers free job-placement services for people age 50 and above.
Nursing Home Ombudsman Agency of the Bluegrass, Lexington, Ky. The organization hires older people to serve as paid ombudsmen to advocate for nursing-home residents and help them with tasks and errands.
Older Workers Leading Success, a program of Cleveland Metroparks, the government agency that operates city parks and recreational facilities. With money from the Cleveland Foundation, the agency hires older workers for part-time and seasonal positions.
Rainbow Intergenerational Child Care, a program of the Little Havana Activities and Nutrition Centers of Dade County, Miami. All 30 employees of this program are state-certified child-care workers who are at least 50 years old.
ReServe, New York. The group places skilled older workers, who receive a stipend, in part-time jobs with nonprofit groups and city agencies.
Retiree Work Opportunities Program, University of California at Berkeley. The university created a Web site to connect retired staff members to short-term or part-time campus jobs.
Troops to Teachers, Washington. This federal program places retired military personnel in jobs as public-school teachers.
The YMCA of Greater Rochester, Rochester, N.Y. The organization created a program to recruit employees aged 55 and above, offering flexible working conditions such as job sharing and part-time positions. (See The Chronicle's article about the organization.
The Conference Board report and materials about the BreakThrough Awards are available on the Civic Ventures Web site.