In California’s Silicon Valley, nine nonprofits and Civic Ventures joined forces with The David and Lucile Packard Foundation and the Hewlett Packard Company in 2009 to pilot Encore Fellowships, an innovative way for corporate employees to transition from the end of midlife careers to encore careers that benefit society.

The pilot provided transitional, high-impact work assignments at nonprofits. A small cohort of 10 fellows – former private sector employees with deep experience in marketing, finance, human resources, business and team management – made an immediate impact at nonprofits while gaining hands-on experience and insight helping them launch encore careers.

Based on the tremendous success of the 2009 pilot, the program is running again in 2010, further refining the basic program model. More significantly, work has begun to enable the creation of a network of Encore Fellowships programs across the United States.

The goal: Add human capital to local nonprofits to further their missions while creating a new experiential pathway for former corporate employees transitioning into encore careers. Switching from the private to nonprofit sector is not always smooth or straightforward, and few pathways are in place to support this transition. The fellowships directly address that gap.

The results: A triple win.

Nonprofits received high-value talent to help drive their missions and transform their organizations. Of participating nonprofits, 80 percent requested another fellow for 2010. In a strong testimony to the value of the fellowships, these nonprofits have agreed to pay between half and the entire fellow stipend cost, compared with receiving a fellow without cost in 2009.

Fellows received hands-on experience working in and directly contributing to social purpose organizations. Eight of the 10 fellows in the pilot year were offered longer-term staff roles with their host nonprofits, the great majority thus successfully launching their encore careers.

Corporate sponsors benefited from an innovative program that enhances existing community engagement, work force management and market affinity strategies. New corporate sponsors and employees have signed up for the 2010 program.

The program model: The Silicon Valley Encore Fellows 2009 program included skilled employees concluding midcareers, high-impact work, compensation, peer learning, rigorous program management and commitment and support from nonprofit hosts and corporate sponsors. The 2010 program leverages the 2009 model.

• Work – High-impact work and hands-on experience building capacity in nonprofits
• Fellow profile – Skilled, experienced former corporate employees concluding midcareers
• Duration/schedule – Six months full time or 12 months part time, with flexible scheduling
• Compensation – $25,000 fellow stipend
• Funding model – Fellow stipend paid by the nonprofit, the fellow’s former employer and program funders. This is a change from 2009, as the nonprofit did not contribute to the stipend. Corporate and foundation support pay for program administration.
• Nonprofit/work hosts – Bay Area nonprofits primarily focused on education and environment with a track record of innovation and success
• Program management – Rigorous selection and matching process
• Peer learning – Structured peer learning and curriculum to support transition process

Learn more about Civic Ventures^® 2011 Silicon Valley program.