Civic Ventures is a think tank and an incubator, generating ideas and inventing programs to help society achieve the greatest return on experience.

Founded in the late 1990s by social entrepreneurs John Gardner and Marc Freedman, Civic Ventures is reframing the debate about aging in America and redefining the second half of life as a source of social and individual renewal. Through research, publishing, conferences, and media outreach, Civic Ventures reports on the growth of the experience movement. Through programs and consulting, Civic Ventures brings together older adults with a passion for service and helps stimulate opportunities for using their talents to advance the greater good. In these ways, Civic Ventures is helping America realize an experience dividend.

The Civic Ventures program portfolio includes:

• Experience Corps, a national service program for Americans over 55. Now in 14 cities, Experience Corps works to solve serious social problems, beginning with literacy. Today more than 1,800 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 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.
• The Purpose Prize, a three-year initiative to invest in older social innovators by recognizing outstanding achievements, creating a network of people wanting to use their retirement years for the greater good, and channeling funds and assistance to these new pioneers.
• 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.
• The MetLife Foundation/Civic Ventures BreakThrough Award,
  for innovative organizations that tap the passion and experience of people over 50 to improve society. The award will recognize new approaches to employment for older adults that combine the spirit of service with the benefits of work. 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 the common good.