Leadership Development for Local Volunteers

Volunteer administrators recognize that development of volunteers is both an art and a science. This paper outlines a seven-step approach that was successfully applied when planning and implementing a professional development program for volunteers who serve in leadership roles with a grassroots, nonprofit organization in the USA. The steps are based upon principles of adult learning, known in the education field as " andragogy. " Accordingly, the steps draw connections to the Andragogy in Practice Model, outlining the process from the point of needs assessment through program evaluation. The implementation of the program was based on the theory that adult learning improves when the learners are engaged in all aspects of the planning and implementation of their learning experiences.