Contact:

Scott Parkin, 202-479-6975
Sabrina Reilly, 202-479-6680

WASHINGTON, DC — RespectAbility, a program of the National Council on Aging (NCOA) funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies, has announced the winners of the first-ever Models of Significant Service (MSS) grants.

These grants will be awarded to local, non-profit organizations that develop entrepreneurial approaches to attract and support adults 55+ to fill important leadership roles.

Recent research has shown that nonprofits are not taking full advantage of the extraordinary pool of talent represented by adults 55+ who want meaningful and purposeful volunteer opportunities

"Having mature adults in such roles will increase capacity and capability, fulfill mission and vision, and make a real difference to the clients the organizations serve," said Tom Endres, Vice President for Continuing Contribution at NCOA and Director of RespectAbility.  "Effective use of Baby Boomers as volunteers can bolster the third sector and help to increase organizational capacity and enhance service delivery."

NCOA has awarded 12, two-year $40,000 grants to a diverse pool of organizational partners in nine states. The winners competed with over 200 applicants for the opportunity to develop new professional- and leadership-level roles and to create approaches for coordinating and managing those roles.

"The results of the two-year demonstration will provide the evidence needed to make a strong 'business case' for greater investment by nonprofit executives and boards in engaging adults 55+ in such meaningful roles," added Endres.

Through a rigorous participatory evaluation, MSS partners will engage in defining best practices and evaluating their success in engaging and managing a pool of highly skilled adults. The partners will also be able to earn from one another and from experts in the field through the Continuous Learning and Innovations Community, an online community that provides a platform for communicating across participating organizations through forums, blogs, and shared libraries.

"We look forward to working with this talented and diverse group of partners, and we will develop a body of work that can revolutionize the way the nonprofit sector views older adults," stated Sabrina Reilly, Deputy Director of RespectAbility.

The Models of Significant Service winners and their models are as follows:

• Action for Boston Community Development's Generation of Leaders Demonstration (Boston, MA) will use self-directed teams of volunteers to integrate volunteers 55+ into the core professional and managerial functions of a major anti-poverty agency. 
• Big Brothers Big Sisters Serving King, Pierce, & Jefferson Counties' Jefferson County Satellite (Seattle, WA) will create long-term sustainability in a geographically separate program location through the engagement of a leadership team.
• California Polytechnic State University's Center for Nonprofit Organizational Advancement (San Luis Obispo, CA) will create cohorts of volunteer nonprofit advancement officers.
• Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership of Marin's Leadership Teams (San Rafael, CA) will provide nonprofit member agencies with access to free professional consultative services for infrastructure and organizational enhancements. 
• Community Service Society's RSVP Boomer+ Program (New York, NY) will increase RSVP's scope and delivery of services through training to reframe their thinking on volunteer utilization and the development of professional/leadership volunteer assignments.
• Executive Service Corps of Chicago's Interim Executive Director Services Model (Chicago, IL) will develop and provide interim executive director services for organizations undergoing executive transition that need temporary leadership.
• Horizon Health's Successful Older Adult Resources (Pierz, MN) will engage older adult volunteers in leadership roles to improve Horizon Health's organizational capacity in fundraising, volunteer management, and project development.
• Jewish Federation of St. Louis' NORC Project's Leadership Link Model (St. Louis, MO) will develop a strategic plan to sustain the Jewish Federation of St. Louis' Naturally Occurring Retirement Community (NORC) project.
• Madison Senior Center Foundation, Inc.'s The Senior Consultants Model (Madison, WI) will use self-directed teams of senior adult volunteers to focus on public relations/marketing and on senior program development/expansion for the Madison Senior Center. 
• Mather LifeWays & Council for Jewish Elderly's Count Me In (CMI) Chicago Life Opportunities Initiative (CLOI) (Chicago, IL) seeks to create systemic change in the way community organizations value and engage older adults by creating leadership roles that use older volunteers' knowledge and skills.
• Southern Maine Agency on Aging's Capacity Corps Model (Scarsborough, ME) will develop and demonstrate a model within its RSVP program for utilizing leadership and professional level volunteers ages 55+ to build organizational capacity and enhance results in non-profit organizations. 
• Research Foundation, State University of New York-Albany's ExcelleShare Model (Albany, NY) will establish an eight member Vision Council to guide overall development and implementation of reinventing retirement initiatives that seek to engage older adults.

For additional information about each Model of Significant Service, contact Scott Parkin (202-479-6975) or Sabrina Reilly (202-479-6680).

RespectAbility is a national leader in enhancing the capacity and effectiveness of organizations and communities by helping them develop innovative approaches to harnessing the time, talent, and experience of adults aged 55 years and older.  RespectAbility provides the innovative tools, effective practices, and expert training and technical assistance necessary to help organizations and communities increase their investment in and commitment to America's growing resource of experienced and skilled adults 55+.

NCOA is a 501(c)3 organization located in Washington, DC, that helps older people remain healthy and independent, find jobs, access benefits programs, and discover meaningful ways to continue contributing to society.  NCOA includes 3,200 members and a national network of more than 14,000 organizations and leaders. Our members include senior centers, area agencies on aging, adult day service centers, faith-based service organizations, senior housing facilities, employment services, consumer groups, and leaders from academia, business, and labor.

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