Editor’s note: Dr. Frank Benest is the retired city manager of Palo Alto, Calif. Read about his own encore journey here.

More than 50 active and recently retired city managers and their partners participated in a workshop called “Crafting Your Next Life Phase: Strategies for Self-Renewal,” a first effort to develop an encore manager initiative for city government managers.

The workshop was conducted by the California City Management Foundation (CCMF) last month at its convening in Carlsbad, Calif., and was cosponsored by the California chapter of the International City/County Management Association (Cal-ICMA).

Cinde Dolphin of Sacramento thought it would be easy to get another job after she took a buyout from her marketing position with Coors. After months of searching, she started her own marketing and public relations firm. Norberto Bogard created a Spanish entertainment guide to New York City after he lost his job as a reporter for a Spanish-language financial news program.

Both are among the fast-growing group of entrepreneurs over age 55 that are the focus of a March 4 report in The New York Times by Steven Greenhouse. According to the Small Business Administration, the number of self-employed people ages 55 to 64 rose 52 percent between 2000 and 2007.

Marc Freedman, founder of Civic Ventures, told Greenhouse that would-be entrepreneurs shouldn’t be deceived by money magazines that make it look as though “all you need is a new idea, that you wander out there, you run your own B&B, you start your nonprofit and all the birds are singing.”

They aren’t household terms yet, says Phyllis Segal, vice president at Civic Ventures, but many jobs are emerging that are a natural fit for people seeking careers in midlife that combine continued income with social impact.

“Many of today’s new encore careers build on multiple work and life experiences, so they are a good match for older adults who’ve spent decades in the workplace,” Segal told Elizabeth Pope of The New York Times. She urges individuals to get up to speed for coming job opportunities through community colleges, online courses and workshops.

One person who did just that is Mark Davis, 51, of Washington, D.C., a former title company owner. When he found out there weren’t many solar installation companies in his city, Pope writes, he decided to start one. He attended the Green Encore solar training at Ohlone College in Fremont, Calif., this year, then launched WDC Solar in his encore career.

Is your two-year institution preparing boomers for encore careers in education and health care? It could be one of six community colleges nationwide to be awarded a 2010 Encore Career Community College grant. Apply online. The deadline is April 12, 2010.

Each $25,000 grant supports programs that match the skills and interests of experienced adults with high-need careers in education and health.

Community colleges are creating new and more flexible pathways to becoming second-career teachers. That’s good news for prospective encore teachers who balk at the requirements of traditional teaching colleges, many of which require four years of full-time study even for those who already have a college degree.

Four-year teaching institutions are still the norm for most, but more alternative pathways to teacher certification are popping up around the country. Many are run by community colleges. These alternative programs often move candidates into their own classrooms after a shorter period of training while continuing studies on nights and weekends. Many pack other benefits as well, such as increased flexibility.

Protecting the climate has been Doug Grandt's full-time job for three years. He figures his green encore career might span another 10 or 15 years, as he homes in on where he can have the most impact. At 62, he's just getting started fighting climate change.

He wants to combine his engineering background and his new skills in leadership and public speaking to help take clean energy solutions to scale. "Solar on every rooftop," is his goal.

Are you in a green encore career? Tell us about it!

Chris Farrell is drawing big crowds as he tours the U.S. to promote his new book, The New Frugality, which paints a picture of a seismic shift in our society away from unfettered spending, toward healthier financial habits. In a conversation with Civic Ventures Senior Fellow Marci Alboher, he explains why changing your attitude toward money can also help you live a good life that reflects your personal values and may help you find your true calling – in, perhaps, your encore career.

Marc Freedman, founder of Civic Ventures, calls Farrell’s book “a roadmap to a better life and a better future.” Freedman recently heard Farrell address a crowd in Northern California. “Speaking in front of a roaring fire,” says Freedman, “Farrell laid out his vision for the great changes, already under way, that will produce a more sustainable lifestyle in America over the coming decades.

Marc Freedman, founder of Civic Ventures, responds today on The Huffington Post to David Brooks’ call for a “generativity revolution,” noting that “the real generativity revolution is well under way. And with the help of smart new policies, this movement of forward-looking baby boomers might actually succeed.”

Freedman writes, “It’s increasingly clear that these older workers aren’t competing with younger people; they are meeting demands for talent that will only grow as the economy recovers.”

The New York Times' David Brooks issues a rousing call to action for the encore generation in his column today.

Under the headline, "The Geezers' Crusade," Brooks calls for a social movement of older adults on behalf of younger people.

"Spontaneous social movements can make the unthinkable thinkable, and they can do it quickly, Brooks writes. "It now seems clear that the only way the U.S. is going to avoid an economic crisis is if the oldsters take it upon themselves to arise and force change."

Want to find an encore career in 2010 but don’t know how to get started? Here are 10 tips to help you find paid, purposeful work.

1. Download our new Get Started Guide. Acclaimed by The Wall Street Journal and others, it answers 12 frequently asked questions about finding encore careers that provide pay, personal fulfillment and social impact.

2. Watch a video or listen to a podcast by Marci Alboher, our in-house encore careers expert.