CoGenerate is a U.S.-based nonprofit organization dedicated to bridging generational divides by bringing older and younger people together to tackle society’s most pressing challenges. The organization envisions a world where multiple generations join forces in shared purpose, what they term “cogeneration” rather than remain individually siloed by age.

The organization was founded in 2020 as Civic Ventures and later rebranded as Encore.org, before becoming CoGenerate in 2022. Over time, its focus shifted from older adult engagement in second-act careers to a broader emphasis on cross-generational collaboration for collective social impact.

CoGenerate pursues its mission through three main pathways:

• Narrative Change: Publishing research, producing media, hosting events, and telling stories that highlight intergenerational collaboration.
• Innovator Support: Providing fellowships, challenge grants and other mechanisms to scale models of older-younger collaboration.
• Field Building: Cultivating a movement of leaders, funders, and institutions committed to cogeneration, and building community infrastructure to support this work.

Examples of work include:

• The "CoGen Big Ideas Challenge to Reimagine Higher Education": A national call for innovative models that integrate multiple generations in learning, work, and community settings.
• Research initiatives on intergenerational collaboration, including a 2022 survey by National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago on public attitudes toward cogeneration.
• Grants and fellowships such as Generations Serving Together and Encore Physicians that facilitate age-integrated service and mentoring across generations.

Resources

CoGenerate. (n.d.). About. https://cogenerate.org/about/

CoGenerate. (n.d.). Big Ideas: Reimagine higher education. https://cogenerate.org/big-ideas/

CoGenerate. (n.d.). Research on cogeneration: Survey by NORC at the University of Chicago. https://cogenerate.org/research/cogeneration/