David Campbell was on the cusp of retirement at age 63 after a successful career in the technology sector when a tidal wave altered his path.
Moved by the profound humanitarian need in Thailand in the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami, Campbell flew across the world to try using the Internet to organize volunteers in a natural disaster.
He created a project base at a hotel that became a hub for “spontaneous unaffiliated volunteers” and found that his management experience came in handy when it came to getting money and volunteers to the places they were needed most.
Campbell intended to stay in Thailand for 10 days but ended up staying for a month. Eleven years later, that first project has evolved into All Hands Volunteers, a nonprofit that responds to natural disasters and works on rebuilding projects around the world.
“I never really envisioned retirement, but it hasn’t been anything like what I would have envisioned if I had,” Campbell said.
Campbell and the rest of the baby boomer cohort are entering retirement, but they’re not done leaving their mark. Boomers are set to give $8 trillion to charity over the next two decades in the form of money and volunteer hours, according to a Merrill Lynch study published in October. Giving by retirees will account for half of all giving by 2025, said Merrill Lynch financial adviser Ralph Byer.
Boomers are famous for wanting to do things their own way and change the world, and charitable giving will be the next chapter in their impact. Experts don’t know exactly how this generation will shape the philanthropic landscape, but they do know that compared with previous generations, boomers are more values-driven and want to be more personally involved in the causes they care about. They are also more hesitant about trusting nonprofits and want to make sure they will have an impact, according to a report from Blackbaud, a nonprofit services firm.
