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Fortunately, a variety of options may be available to enhance the Center’s
viability. NCCCR enjoys an excellent reputation nationally as an innovator
of programs that focus on the needs of individuals who are retired or are
planning retirement. The skills and experience held by the Center staff
and member/volunteers provide a solid foundation for programs and
activities that can significantly reduce the Center’s financial
vulnerability.
Retreats, Seminars and Conferences
The success of the Creative Retirement Weekend (including the Weekend
Warm-up) and the Paths to A Creative retreat suggest that a substantial,
and potentially lucrative, market exists nationally for pre-retirement
education and planning retreats and seminars. The Center’s national
reputation, combined with the availability of the new building, may
provide a basis to profitably host national conferences for a variety of
aging-related groups, such as gerontologists, retirement planners, and
psychological counselors.
Products
As the Center’s authoritative image grows with respect to aging issues,
the Center may be able to retail a variety of products at the Reuter
Center and via Internet sales that could be sold to commercial enterprises
with an interest in the aging market. Examples might include literature on
successful aging and retirement-related subjects, possibly based on
Center-sponsored research.
Commercial Joint Ventures
The Center should consider entering joint ventures with commercial
enterprises in businesses such as training, travel, senior housing
development, publishing, and distance learning, when mutually beneficial
opportunities are identified. Criteria for appropriate partnerships need
to be developed.
Grants and Endowments
The Center currently funds some of its outreach projects with grants from
foundations and commercial companies. Examples of such projects are
Leadership Training for Older Persons, and the Smith
Barney/Citigroup-funded Intergenerational Computer Literacy Program. This
practice of soliciting grants for outreach demonstrates NCCCR’s commitment
to the community and to underserved seniors. The Center could also
consider a program to solicit endowments from existing members in a manner
similar to the efforts of most colleges and universities.
Increased Membership
The Center should develop programs, enhance member benefits, and
continually reexamine pricing to increase local membership. The College
for Seniors remains NCCCR’s most strategic program. Most new members join
in order to attend classes. The relationship between enrollment levels and
the level of membership fees is an important factor. Since the marginal
cost of additional enrollees is low, increased membership would have a
significant, positive impact on the Center’s financial situation. But
growth may have adverse effects too.
Points to Ponder
How important is it for the Center to operate on a business basis with one
goal being financial independence from public funding?
How much of a national focus should the Center have?
6) An Exercise in Visioning
To get the creative juices flowing, the following is offered as a sample
Vision 2012. We encourage you to try your hand at visioning before you
attend the January 10th event.
In light of the new terminology and the national movement toward what some
experts call an “age-irrelevant society,” perhaps the Center could be
renamed The Reuter Institute for Lifelong Learning (TRILL). By 2012, TRILL
could:
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