Grassroots Leaders Building Skills

A Course in Community Leadership

Co-authored with Jeanne Fay

Grassroots Leaders Building Skills is a course designed to sharpen social analysis and develop skills in leaders of low income and marginalized communities. Taught by two experienced community workers and funded by two major Canadian foundations, it graduated 50 students over four years. Many joined the program’s advisory committee and helped the course evolve further.

This book includes the complete course with agendas for 25 three-hour sessions, detailed directions for facilitators and handouts spiral-bound for photocopying. Many sessions can stand alone as workshops on topics such as diversity, ideology, community development and building strategies for social change.

Plans are included for adapting the sessions for middle-class participants, post-secondary classroom settings or as a series of intensive workshops. Introductory essays explore the theories behind the program and its pedagogy, the logistical organization of the course and the experience of graduates. This powerful course is a valuable resource to anyone teaching social analysis and community organization skills.

Empowerment is the word. I’ve been forced to break out of my own circle and see more. I have a direction now in my community, more involvement in activism.

This course has had a major impact on my life.

I will never again not know what to do next.

Students evaluating the Henson College Certificate in Community Development. 

 Grassroots Leaders Building Skills can be ordered from the Fernwood Publishing website: https://fernwoodpublishing.ca/book/grassroots-leaders-building-skills. Since the book is published on a print-on-demand basis, Fernwood’s minimum order is 15 copies. For fewer than 15 copies, visit my Etsy shop, Crone Books.