For Love and a Little Money
The New York Times, October 23rd, 2007
BY the time Frederick A. O. Schwarz Jr. retired from Cravath, Swain
& Moore in 2002, he was financially set. He was already an author,
he already had a distinguished track record in public service and
philanthropy and, of course, he was the great-grandson of a toy magnate.
So when Fritz Schwarz — the name he greatly prefers — joined the nonprofit Brennan Center for Justice at New York University
Law School, he seriously considered volunteering his services. He
decided against it, and negotiated a salary, albeit one below what a
starting lawyer makes.
He never got a raise, and last year, when
the Brennan Center ran into a budget crunch, he gave up his pay. But in
principle, if no longer in principal, he thinks the salary made sense.
“An organization and a person are simply more committed to each other
when the person is paid,” he said.
Clearly, Mr. Schwarz has
bought into the concept of paid volunteerism. The phrase may sound
oxymoronic, but an ever-growing number of retirees and nonprofit
executives say it is an apt description of the way modern retirees view
nonprofit work. And while no one has gathered statistics on the
tendency, experts say there is a good chance that the automatic link
between doing good and working for nothing has been permanently
severed.
“People used to say, ‘Here I am, what do you need done?’ ” said Deborah Russell, director of work-force issues for AARP. “Today’s retirees say, ‘Here’s what I do well, how can you use it, and what will you pay?’ ”
Read more of this article.Working in Retirement: Consider the advantages to paid or volunteer work during your retirement at NewRetirement.com