The Encore Campaign is an initiative of Civic Ventures, a think tank and incubator that generates ideas and invents programs to help society achieve the greatest return on experience.

Programs that are part of Civic Ventures’ Encore Portfolio include:

• Experience Corps, a national service program for Americans over 55. Now in 20 cities, Experience Corps works to solve serious social problems, beginning with literacy. Today more than 2,000 Corps members serve as tutors and mentors to children in urban public schools and after-school programs where they help teach children to read and develop the confidence and skills to succeed in school and in life.

• The Purpose Prize, five awards of $100,000 and ten awards of $10,000, is for people over 60 who are taking on society’s biggest challenges and proving that creativity, entrepreneurship, and innovation for the common good are not simply the province of the young.

• The BreakThrough Awards, an award program for organizations that are tapping the passion and experience of boomers to improve society. It’s a salute to any nonprofit or public sector agency that takes on local, national, or international challenges by engaging this vast and vibrant workforce for change.

• The Community College Encore Career Program, up to 10 grants to innovative community colleges that are creating new ways for adults 50+ to transition to “encore careers” in education, healthcare and social services – all sectors facing critical labor shortages.

• The Next Chapter, an initiative that provides expertise and assistance to community groups across the country working to help people in the second half of life set a course, connect with peers, and find pathways to significant service. Local Next Chapter projects and related programs exist in dozens of communities nationwide.

• Still Working, a documentary project that profiles people working for the greater good in the second half of life. In their own words, people share stories of the work they do, why they do it, the challenges they’ve faced along the way, and how they planned for this new chapter. The initiative is an attempt to create role models where few exist for the new generation of aging boomers, and to develop a richer understanding of work in the post-midlife years.