Elements of Effective Practice

Newly revised and updated to reflect the latest in quality mentoring research, policies and practices. Convenient resources to help you implement the Elements into your program.

(This project was funded by a generous grant from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation)

Background

In 1989, The National Mentoring Partnership (formerly The One to One Partnership, Inc.) and United Way of America convened a representative group of both national and community-based nonprofit organizations with significant experience in running mentoring programs. These leaders met regularly to discuss issues and practices which are emerging in their mentoring programs, focusing especially on how to promote the growth of responsible mentoring programs. They defined responsible mentoring programs as those which meet the needs of both the mentored participants and the volunteer mentors.

One of the most pressing needs identified by this group was for a set of guidelines, or common principles, to help guide the development of responsible mentoring programs. With this in mind, a volunteer subgroup -- the National Mentoring Working Group -- was formed in May 1990. It refined the full group's discussion of responsible mentoring into the elements of effective practice, which follow.

These elements of effective practice present program elements and policies that have proven effective in a wide range of existing mentoring settings. This brochure is available to any individual or organization wanting to develop, operate, volunteer in, or fund a mentoring program.

Visit the National Mentoring Partnership's website to download the brochure in PDF format or to order hard copies (For orders of less than 75 copies: $1.50 per copy; For more than 75: $1.00).