Many experienced professionals want to continue working in the years and even decades that follow the traditional retirement age. They want to stay engaged and productive and, in many cases, need to keep earning income. Many also want to apply their skills to new roles that have greater personal meaning and social impact. Indeed, Stanford researchers discovered that 31 percent of adults between the ages of 50 and 92—some 34 million people—“identify, prioritize, adopt and actively pursue goals that are both personally meaningful and contribute to the greater good.”

At the same time, nonprofits need workers with experience in areas like technology, marketing, strategic planning, and fundraising, but often struggle to find or afford suitable candidates. They also stand to benefit from workers who have resilience, judgment, communication, and problem-solving skills—traits that studies show older employees can bring. Given the prevalence of younger nonprofit employees (48.4 percent are under 40) and staff new to leadership roles in the sector, experienced professionals can also serve as mentors.

Done well, organizations looking to add age diversity or start their own age-integrated program can not only increase organizational performance, but also chip away at age bias and increase racial diversity. And by building in flexibility and openness toward new solutions, they can position age-integration initiatives to scale. Here are five insights from our work.

  1. Multigenerational teams benefit all kinds of organizations. 
  2. Ageism remains a barrier, even in the nonprofit sector.
  3. Generic outreach doesn’t yield racial diversity. 
  4. Flexibility around the edges can pay off.
  5. Innovation should pursue not one, but many paths. 

Nonprofits’ growing interest in older adults moving into roles that take advantage of their talent, perspectives, and experience will likely lead to more age-integrated workplaces. The benefits for older adults new to the sector, the younger adults already in it, and the people they serve are clear.

Read the full article about multigenerational collaboration by Jim Emerman, Gina Cassinelli, and Greg Burnett at Stanford Social Innovation Review.