On a Sunday evening in mid-May, two chefs collaborated on “The Future of the Creamery,” a five-course tasting event at Long Count, an all-vegan wine bar and restaurant in New York City’s East Village. Forty years apart in age, both chefs have towering reputations —...
Simple question: Do you miss human connection when you use self-checkout at the grocery store? Complex question: How is cogeneration threatened by AI, profit-driven “efficiencies,” and automation — and what can we do about it? Allison Pugh, author of the book The Last...
On Friday, May 15, I had the great honor to address the 2026 graduates of Drew University, including the undergraduate College of Liberal Arts, the Theological School, and the Caspersen School of Graduate Studies. I'm very grateful to Drew's remarkable President...
Across the country, young people and older people are stepping up as civic leaders. But too often, they do this critical work with peers, in age-segregated spaces. Young people work without the benefit of older generations who bring lived experience, networks, and a...
In these divided and difficult times, we wanted to know what Americans think about cogeneration — a strategy to bring older and younger people together to solve problems and bridge divides.
So we commissioned NORC at the University of Chicago to survey a nationally representative group of 1,549 American adults, aged 18 to 94, online and by phone, in March 2022.
The results are cause for optimism.
We found powerful and widespread enthusiasm about working across generations for change. We also found notable, and in some cases surprising, differences in perspective by generation and race. We found challenges and roadblocks, too.
Today we released our report, Cogeneration: Is America Ready to Unleash a Multigenerational Force for Good? Here are the five key findings:
Want to learn more?
Check out this discussion of the findings, hosted by Encore.org Co-CEOs Marc Freedman and Eunice Lin Nichols, and Boston College professor Cal Halvorsen.
“The overarching message from this study is clear,” write Encore.org Co-CEOs Marc Freedman and Eunice Lin Nichols. “America’s growing age diversity represents an extraordinary opportunity to come together in joy, understanding and action. Let’s seize it.”
Encore.org acknowledges the generous support of AmeriCorps Seniors, the M Center for Excellence, The David & Lucile Packard Foundation, and the John Templeton Foundation for their support of this research. Thanks also to the Eisner Foundation, the May & Stanley Smith Charitable Trust, RRF Foundation for Aging, New Pluralists, and MacKenzie Scott for their support of Encore’s work bringing generations together.