40Plus

40Plus, also written as 40 Plus, 40+, Forty Plus, or FortyPlus, is a United States-based nonprofit organization focused on employment support and career transitions for experienced professionals, managers, and executives. Its work developed around the problem of mid- and late-career workers losing employment without receiving the outplacement counseling or structured job-search assistance often available to more senior corporate employees. 40Plus chapters have historically provided a combination of job-search training, networking, peer support, speaker programs, job clubs, volunteering, and access to employment resources. The organization was established in 1939 by Henry Simler, an executive at Remington Rand. Simler initially created a 40 Plus Committee within New York City's Sales Executive Club to assist executives over the age of 40 who were having difficulty finding new positions. The committee operated as a job clearinghouse and mutual-support group before becoming independent. Its model then spread to other cities, with early chapters organized in Boston and New York City. During the 1940s and 1950s, the network expanded to more than 20 U.S. cities and also reached Canada, Britain, France, and southern Africa, although many of those chapters later ceased operating. 40Plus is structured as a national organization associated with independent, member-run chapters. Each chapter has traditionally operated as an all-volunteer, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization rather than as a conventional centralized commercial service provider. Chapters draw members from a broad range of fields, including private business, nonprofit organizations, education, government, and technical or professional occupations. Although membership was historically directed at people over 40, some chapters broadened participation to experienced professionals of different ages. The organization’s stated mission has two parts: facilitating and supporting career transitions for people with substantial business or professional experience through training and volunteer involvement, and educating the public and business community about the value of maturity, experience, knowledge, and judgment in the workplace. Its unusual measure of success is that members leave the organization after obtaining full-time work, even though the chapter network also serves as an ongoing professional community. The New York organization’s early advisory board included prominent figures such as IBM leader Thomas J. Watson, J.C. Penney founder James Cash Penney, broadcaster Arthur Godfrey, and minister and author Norman Vincent Peale. Over time, 40Plus received attention through career books and employment guidance publications, including references by Richard Nelson Bolles and other authors writing about career change, retirement, and later-life employment. The organization was also recommended in publications addressing career development among women and older African American women. By 2008, chapters were reported as active in Washington, D.C., New York City, and Columbus, Ohio. The Washington, D.C., chapter stated that it had helped more than 8,000 members obtain employment over approximately five decades. Columbus officials separately recognized the local chapter for assisting more than 2,000 experienced professionals with job searches, career changes, or advancement by the time of its twentieth anniversary. Current chapter coverage, organizational scale, and operating status are not established in the supplied sources.

40Plus originated in 1939 when Henry Simler, a Remington Rand executive, formed a committee within New York City’s Sales Executive Club to help executives over 40 who were struggling to secure new employment. The committee combined job-clearinghouse functions with mutual assistance among members. It subsequently became an independent organization, and the concept spread to other cities. Boston is identified as the first chapter, followed by New York City. Expansion accelerated during the 1940s and 1950s. Chapters were established in more than 20 U.S. cities, while affiliated or related organizations also appeared in Canada, Britain, France, and southern Africa. Some international and domestic chapters later disappeared, but the model remained associated with local, volunteer-run support for experienced job seekers. The organization’s distinctive purpose attracted media interest because chapters were successful when members found work and consequently left the group. In its earlier decades, chapters tended to be composed mainly of men, reflecting the gender composition of professional and executive employment at the time. As women entered professional occupations in greater numbers, participation became more inclusive. The traditional age threshold was over 40, although some later chapters opened membership to experienced professionals outside that strict age category. The New York organization’s early advisory board included influential business and public figures, including Thomas J. Watson of IBM, James Cash Penney of J.C. Penney, broadcaster Arthur Godfrey, and Norman Vincent Peale. Their involvement helped give the organization visibility beyond a conventional job club. 40Plus was later cited in career and retirement guidance literature. Richard Nelson Bolles recommended the organization in What Color Is Your Parachute?, and other books concerning later-life careers, retirement planning, women’s career changes, and aging also presented it as a useful resource. Operationally, 40Plus developed as a national network rather than a single centrally managed employment agency. Local chapters have generally been independent, member-run, all-volunteer nonprofit organizations recognized as 501(c)(3) entities. Their activities include weekly meetings, invited speakers, training courses, job clubs, networking, volunteering, and the exchange of employment leads and career information. Members have come from private companies, nonprofits, schools and universities, government, and technical professions. The organization’s stated mission extends beyond placing individuals in jobs. It seeks to support career transitions through training and volunteer experience while educating employers and the wider public about the value of maturity, experience, knowledge, and judgment in the workplace. This positioning addresses a recurring gap in employment support: many experienced professionals do not receive formal outplacement counseling after losing a position. The Washington, D.C., chapter has claimed responsibility for helping more than 8,000 members obtain employment over roughly fifty years. The Columbus chapter was recognized by the city for supporting more than 2,000 experienced professionals in job searches, career changes, or advancement by its twentieth anniversary. By 2008, chapters were reported in Washington, D.C., New York City, and Columbus, Ohio. The supplied reference material does not establish the organization’s current national structure, chapter list, leadership, membership, or website, so its present operating status remains uncertain.

• 2008

  Reported U.S. chapter activity

  [1]40Plusen.wikipedia.org

  Reference material identified active chapters in Washington, D.C., New York City, and Columbus, Ohio.

• 1939

  Formation of the 40 Plus Committee

  [1]40Plusen.wikipedia.org

  Henry Simler created a committee within New York City’s Sales Executive Club to help executives over 40 find employment.

• First chapters established in Boston and New York City

  [1]40Plusen.wikipedia.org

  The original committee became independent, and the chapter model spread first to Boston and New York City.

• International chapter expansion

  [1]40Plusen.wikipedia.org

  During the 1940s and 1950s, chapters appeared in more than 20 U.S. cities and in several countries outside the United States.

A volunteer-led nonprofit career-transition network for experienced professionals, managers, and executives, emphasizing peer support, practical job-search skills, networking, and the workplace value of maturity and experience.

• Career services

  Job-search training

  Training programs designed to help experienced professionals organize a job search, present their qualifications, pursue opportunities, and manage a career transition after redundancy or other employment disruption.

• Peer-support program

  Job clubs

  Peer groups provide structured accountability, shared employment information, encouragement, and practical support for members seeking work or considering a change in career direction.

• Professional networking

  Networking and speaker programs

  Local chapters organize regular meetings, guest speakers, and networking opportunities intended to connect experienced professionals with peers, employers, advisers, and useful career resources.

• Community and career development

  Volunteer opportunities

  Volunteer participation is part of the organization’s mission and gives members opportunities to contribute expertise, remain professionally engaged, build relationships, and support other people navigating employment transitions.

1. 140Plusen.wikipedia.org