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The Need to Engage Boomers

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from Mediapost.com:

You Better Be Marketing To Me

A few years ago, the PBS documentary, “Boomer Century,” produced by and featuring Age Wave author Ken Dychtwald, identified four traits found in Boomers: idealism, anti-authoritarianism, eagerness to embrace change, and self-empowerment. We think that’s as good a list we’ve seen, although the underlying question fueling those traits in Boomers is, “What’s in it for me?”

Boomers may have formed this underlying “self” focus as a defensive mechanism to deal with their sheer numbers…

The reality was that even if you were “one in a million,” there were 78 more Boomers exactly like you. As a result, the desire to be unique and noticed has driven Boomers to be “self” centered throughout their lives.

Marketers [and fundraisers] should understand this, especially since today’s older Boomer Consumer is more motivated by internal, inwardly focused values than by the social, or outwardly focused values of youth.

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  1. Skilled Volunteers for Israel, a new organization that places Boomer professionals in volunteer positions with Israeli non-profits, is tapping into Boomers’ idealism and self empowerment. One spin on boomers is that of a generation focused on “self,” but research done by Civic Ventures and others also points to Boomers refocusing during the encore stage of life in opportunities to both satisfy the need for personal meaning as well as to leave a “social legacy.”

    Two examples of Boomer volunteers who are giving back in Israel include a physician who provided triage services at a refugee clinic in Tel Aviv and a CPA who contributed accounting services at PresenTense in Jerusalem.

    “What’s in it for me” can be an opportunity for organizations to tap into boomer professional talent which enables boomers to both give and get.

  2. JBoomers.org will be launching shortly. It will hopefully begin to be a place where Jewish Baby Boomers will find engagement and connectivity via the web. Watch for it.
    If you are interested, please email me directly.
    Rabbi Gerald I. Weider

  3. The Boomer cohort offers Jewish organizations an abundance of opportunities to engage their skills, their connections and profound circles of influence. We understand through extensive research done by Civic Ventures, VolunteerMatch.com and the Corporation for National and Community Service that Boomers will reject the volunteerism of their parents. Long term, committee based work does not sync with the Boomers idea of autonomy and entrepreneurism. In order to fully embrace the skills and talents of the Baby Boomer generation, organizations will need to rethink how they engage Boomers and what they are asking them to do. Those organizations that make the investment in retooling and re-engineering volunteer opportunities will reap the benefits of this active generation for years to come.

    Jill Friedman Fixler
    Author of Boomer Volunteer Engagement: Collaborate Today, Thrive Tomorrow and Boomer Volunteer Engagement: Facilitator’s Tool Kit