Social impact as a second act

Retirement represents a wide range of opportunities for retirees. Some choose to kick back and enjoy a break from the rat race, while others return to work full- or part-time. Many also choose to serve in their communities.

Chris Heerlein is CEO at REAP Financial, an investment advisory firm. REAP, he says, works with many retirees who don’t step away from work; they step into something more purposeful.

“Their second act is often about giving back, not winding down,” he says.

Many older adults use the years after retiring to focus on serving through volunteerism and board service. Others apply their lifelong expertise and experience to work with not-for-profits in ways that mirror their career contributions, but now benefit communities rather than companies.

Retirees are valuable to nonprofits because they bring structure, strategy and decades of leadership experience, Heerlein says. The biggest opportunities, he says, lie in grant writing, board service, operational consulting and donor development. But many retirees have found niches where their professional talent can make a big difference.

“One former CFO we work with now volunteers part-time helping small nonprofits create budgeting systems that actually scale with growth,” Heerlein says. “He didn’t need a job; he wanted a way to apply his skills where they were most needed.”

Another retiree, and former client of Beck & Beck, a Missouri law firm, was able to apply his skills in logistics to help small, rural food banks improve their supply chains. John Beck, a cofounder of the law firm, also recalls a former corporate chief operating officer who serves on the board of a local shelter, an opportunity he found through BoardSource, a nonprofit organization that advises other nonprofits on improving their management and governance.

Michelle Schafer is a career coach specializing in career transition. “Before jumping into something new, it’s helpful to hit the pause button and do some reflection on what’s important to you,” she advises. This helps ensure that your future role matches your values. Schafer suggests reflecting on these questions:

Schafer points to one client who, after an extensive sales career, felt a strong calling to support people in end-of-life care after the death of her father. She’s now in the final stage of receiving her certification in this area.

Another client, Schafer says, is not quite retired but is developing a plan to support new immigrants and environmental causes. This includes volunteering at a not-for-profit organization that mentors new arrivals in Canada.

Opportunities for social impact are everywhere, but not often advertised in the same way traditional jobs are. Retirees often have ideas about how they might give back, but they can also call upon their networks to find out about opportunities that might not immediately come to mind.

Heerlein advises finding causes you care about and reaching out through “informal conversations, not cold applications.” It’s important, he says, to treat these opportunities “as a collaboration, and bring humility — don’t assume your title matters more than your ability to listen and learn a new space. Nonprofits need people who can roll up their sleeves, not just lead from a distance.”

There are also opportunities for retirees to take on leadership, coaching and mentoring roles. SCORE, for example, is a widely recognized organization that relies on retirees from the business world to help entrepreneurs start, expand or exit their businesses. According to their website, volunteers have helped more than 17 million entrepreneurs since 1964.

The old saying “no good deed goes unpunished” could apply to retirees who, in the hopes of helping others, inadvertently hurt themselves.

“I always tell retirees to get clarity before jumping in,” Beck says. “Volunteering and consulting are one thing — taking on fiduciary duties on a board or managing funds for a nonprofit carries legal responsibility.”

When working with nonprofits, he cautions, it’s important to read the agency’s bylaws and understand what liability protections exist. Keep it simple, he advises. “Review the nonprofit’s Form 990 (which lays out where its money comes from and where it goes), get written terms and avoid handshake deals.”

“Legally speaking, retirees jumping into nonprofits need to understand the compliance landscape,” agrees attorney Benson Varghese, founder and managing partner of Varghese Summersett. “I’ve worked with former corporate executives who assumed their skills would immediately translate, only to hit roadblocks around nonprofit governance, fiduciary duties and IRS 501(c)(3) boundaries,” he says, referring to the section of tax law defining what nonprofit groups must do to be eligible for federal tax exemption.

There are ample opportunities for retirees to give back and serve long into their retirement years. By starting with reflection, reaching out to your network, or approaching organizations directly, you can ensure that your time and talent is invested in meaningful ways.