The profile of today's donor is changing. The stereotypical image of an "old lady with her checkbook" is a far cry from who is actually donating, and it is the attitudes of Boomers that are driving these changes in the philanthropy space. This group of 78 million is busy: 52% are still working, and yes, still donating. From volunteering in their local community to donating cash, Boomers are responsible for 70% of all charitable giving in the US (Forbes). In the philanthropy space, that is simply too big to be ignored. For marketers, there are three key Boomer insights to …

The older adult market represents one-third of the population, yet controls three-fourths of the wealth. One of the 78 million Boomers reaches 50 every seven seconds. Boomers make 80% of luxury travel purchases, 58% of luxury auto sales, 41% of all new car and truck sales, 77% of prescription drug sales and 61% of over-the-counter drug sales.

With summer vacation memories preserved on social networks everywhere, marketers are eager to identify the next trend among American travelers. The one most likely to pay off, however, is not new. It is the same one that has kept travel businesses afloat since the recession. That is, the growing market of 50+ travelers, three in four of whom are Baby Boomers.

It's long been a paradox that, despite the fact that consumers ages 50 and up have the lion's share of the wealth and income in the U.S, marketers are over-enamored with the 18-49 demographic. The oft-stated justification for aiming at the younger generation is that they are more likely to be open to new products and/or switching brands; and their lives are more centered on consumption and consumerism.

When it comes to online or mobile banking, there is a presumption that most Boomers would just as soon step up to a teller window or go through the drive-through. Reasons range from security and privacy issues to lack of wireless access, to simply having a higher comfort level with traditional, brick-and-mortar banking. In other words, "talking to a person."

Women over 50 consistently tell us that they dislike shopping for clothes. Department and clothing stores are often the first place where this woman was made to feel invisible while shopping. In a 2010 survey, one-third of them reported perceiving an age bias among young salespeople, and 84% of them find salespeople generally indifferent, inexperienced, invisible, or outright rude.

When you're designing and adding content to your web site, consider the age group you want to reach. If your target market consists of individuals 49 and older, think about the following taken from several research studies.

For an increasing number of Boomers, "e" is becoming a workable answer, thanks to the phenomenon of home sharing. "Golden Girls" references aside, home sharing is becoming more of a viable option for those entering retirement or leaving an empty nest, and is often more appealing to widowed or single female Boomers. According to an AARP analysis, there were approximately 480,000 female Boomers cohabiting with at least one non-related female roommate back in 2010 alone.

I've written in this space before about the average age of Baby Boomers (which is closer to 50 than 70), and even whether we should call midlife consumers "Boomers" at all.

An article in the "Chicago Tribune"'s June's Primetime section, titled "Language Lurch," discussed the need for a new vocabulary as ageist terms get old. Referenced was a survey conducted by SeniorMarketing.com to gauge the responses of 1,114 people to the language used when describing individuals 50 and older. The survey's findings reveal that the linguistic map needs an update, as certain words and phrases have fallen out of fashion or, worse, become patently offensive to older customers.