Encore: Work that matters in the second half of life.

Marc Freedman, author of Encore: Finding Work That Matters in the Second Half of Life.

Baby boomers know and fear that they are part of the first generation in American history in danger of leaving the world worse than they found it, writes Marc Freedman in the lead editorial in the March 3 issue of The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

“At the same time, the nation — and the world — today face serious problems that need to be reversed in the three or four decades the boomers have left,” says Freedman. “Our challenges in education, poverty, health, and the environment all require a massive infusion of human capital, experience and ingenuity.

“Rather than coddling and castigating this generation, we need to challenge the boomers — much as President John F. Kennedy did when the boomers were growing up — to answer a call to commitment and to service, to find meaning through something larger than themselves.”

Freedman proposed that the nonprofit sector issue a challenge for one million boomers to commit 10 years each to solving these big problems.

“Everyone has something to give, and with 10 million person-years of talent and experience we can make real progress — not just a symbolic dent — in advancing social goals that won’t get solved any other way,” he writes.

But rather than sacrifice, Freedman says, “an appeal to practical idealism and, yes, personal self-interest can elevate this generation to greatness.” That self-interest could take the form of “encore careers” that offer continued income, new meaning and social impact.

Just as boomers must get over themselves, Freedman says, nonprofit employers must “get over their youth-centric attitudes” and deal with the “gritty details” of engaging boomers in encore careers, such as salary and benefit expectations and a desire for flexible jobs. He says that those who have already made the effort to engage experienced workers “will tell you the same thing: The payoff from this hard work is substantial.”