WELCOME to the online community of innovative "Encore Colleges" that are pioneering new ways to prepare baby boomers for second (or third!) careers in education, health care and the nonprofit sector.

Ten community colleges have received funding through the Civic Ventures/MetLife Foundation Encore Career Community College grant program. Many others are responding to increasing demand for affordable, accessible and flexible ways to get ready for the next stage of life and work.

The Encore Leadership Network includes leaders from the nonprofit, corporate and public sectors, including academic institutions and think tanks and the philanthropic sector, who believe strongly in a triple win that can come from establishing Encore Careers as a new stage of work that matters in the second half of life. The Encore Leadership Network will help to support, refine and advance the ideas and practice of the Encore Career.

In 2006, Civic Ventures created The Purpose Prize, the first national program recognizing social entrepreneurs working in the second half of life. The 15 winners each year, and the larger community of Purpose Prize Fellows, demonstrate the social innovation and creativity, far from being the exclusive province of the young, is a growing trend among older adults.

The Purpose Prize Innovation Network is an Encore community of those who are or aspire to be social entrepreneurs and innovators in their own encore career, and those who support this movement.

This is the community forum for Encore Nation, the movement of people who are living out a distinct and compelling vision of work in the second half of life. Below are posts from Encore Nation members. For general News & Views, click on the tab above.

Welcome to BreakThrough Employers!

Is your nonprofit, educational, health care, environmental, or governmental organization seeking the benefits of engaging experienced talent and having a multigenerational workforce? This interactive online group will foster discussions on workforce and workplace issues regarding the full spectrum of encore workers and the multigenerational teams that they are in - from initial interest to hiring to an employee's engagement.

The Life Planning Network (LPN) is a community of professionals from diverse fields who share a commitment to providing a broad spectrum of Life Planning services and resources for the Third Age. The Third Age is a life stage created by an extended life expectancy into the eighties and beyond – a time that represents new possibilities for living in fulfillment and purpose.

Health and health care loom large as critical areas where human talent can help solve big problems. Encore for Health is a community of people focused on how people in their encore careers can address these issues, if “talent were no object.”

Physicians, nurses, public health professionals, researchers, pharmacists, dentists and many other people who are seeking their own encore careers are invited to join in the discussion.

A place for the PCC community to meet and discuss topics.

A place to exchange ideas and start discussions on topics of interest to all.

The first-ever Encore Careers Summit brings together people in their encore careers, including winners of the Purpose Prize for social entrepreneurs over 60, with representatives of government, business, nonprofit organizations, national service, and academia for two days of talk, learning, networking and planning. Together, we will launch what could be the most significant transformation of the workplace since the women's movement.

Click on a marker to view attendees at the Encore Careers Summit and link to their profiles. Use the sliders at the left to zoom in and out or move from one area to another.



View the Summit Sponsors

We’re exploring ways to harness the encore opportunity to urgent environmental issues, including but not limited to climate change. How might an army of experienced environmental actors (experts, managers, trainers, entrepreneurs, engineers, tradespeople, teachers, advocates, activists and others) help take proven approaches to scale?