Therese Ellery, Rose Community FoundationJanine Vanderburg, JVA Consulting

78 million

1 every 8 seconds

Are boomers the silver tsunami?

Or the silver mine?

“In the ’60s, they changed the world. In their 60s,they may do it again.”

An initiative of Rose Community Foundation, funded in part by The Atlantic Philanthropies

Phase I: Community assessment

• Community Advisory Council• Literature review• Demographic profile • Phone survey• 14 focus groups• Key informant interviews• Boomer survey • Web-based surveys of

employers, educational groups and nonprofits

FULL REPORTcoloradoboomers.com

Over 1500 voices

How boomers want to contribute

• 3 in 4 want to volunteer• 1 in 3 want to:

– Teach

– Engage in advocacy

– Work for a nonprofit

• 1 in 4 want to get involved in politics

• 1 in 2 plan to make financial contributions

• Only 6% plan no involvement

What do boomers want next?

20%

29%

19%

21%

16%

22%

17%

36%

17%

15%

17%

27%

13%

31%

28%

16%

13%

19%

42%

14%

29%

24%

19%

26%

36%

17%

15%

30%

16%

22%

31%

20%

22%

31%

28%

29%

21%

34%

24%

33%

12%

12%

12%

10%

7%

8%

7%

14%

9%

7%

13%

16%

9%

11%

17%

7%

8%

12%

11%

13%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

Youth

Women's Issues

Public Policy Work

Poverty

Neighborhood Work

Minority Issues

International Aid

Human Rights/Social Justice

Housing

Homelessness

Helping Older Adults

Health Care

Faith-based Activities

Environment

Education

Disaster Relief

Civic Leadership

Children's Issues

Arts and Culture

Advocacy

Learning Volunteering Work

4 project areas

• Boomer Connecting Points• Restructuring Institutions and

Employment• A Health Initiative• Workforce Development

Phase 2. Develop ideas

Two complementary strategies

1. Innovation Grants

• 12 grants• $5,000 each• Seed money for

creative approaches to engage boomers in solving social problems

2. Project planning

Exchange ideas

Let a thousand flowers bloom!

• Several project ideas were embedded in participants’ work

Phase 3. From idea to business plan

Boomers Leading Change in Health

Lessons Learned

Model engagement throughout

Use social networking strategies

Communicate!

Have fun!

“We have significant numbers and are in a position to lead change.”