"We are overjoyed with the idea of experiencing professional coaching… We only get leftovers."
These are the words the U&I Trust first shared with Neha Sharma and the ICF Delhi Chapter when they presented the opportunity to experience professional coaching through the ICF Foundation's Ignite Initiative. The leaders were grateful for an opportunity they felt was out of reach for many organizations like theirs, whose day-to-day operations focus on urgent, community-centered work.
U&I Trust, an NGO based in India, exists to empower underprivileged communities through education, mentoring, and volunteer-driven change. But like many nonprofits, the organization and its leaders had an ambitious mission with limited resources. Tight budgets and changing sponsorship policies meant investment in team development had to wait while immediate program needs came first.
Through Ignite, that changed. With facilitation support from Neha Sharma, Project Manager from the ICF Delhi Chapter, U&I Trust leaders were connected with ICF-credentialed coaches for a six-month coaching journey. The support helped leaders pause, reflect, ask better questions, and move from reacting to daily pressures toward leading with clarity and intention.
"U&I Trust had every individual instrument it needed — talented, committed, and technically capable. What it didn't yet have was a conductor's clarity."
Before coaching, U&I Trust had a passionate, talented team invested in the same mission, but they weren't always aligned on how to achieve their goals. With each member working hard individually, but not effectively working collectively, the team was stretched thin. The organization had recently needed to evaluate funding and with a new funding goal, there was an urgent need to focus and come together as a team.
Coaching helped turn individual motivation into a force of change. Leaders began asking questions instead of simply assigning tasks. They created more ownership across teams. The board came alive, with leaders stepping up, there was more clarity of the organization's future. The funding goal became less of an abstract goal and more of a shared goal the leadership team could move toward together.
"What coaching gave them was the thing passion alone can't: a shared tempo," said Neha Sharma. "It helped talented, committed leaders begin moving together with greater clarity and ownership."
That opportunity created stronger leadership and, in return, a stronger focus on the organization's mission. The teams new found continuity positively impacts the communities U&I Trust serves. With less risk of burnout for the people delivering its programs, and more capacity to dedicate to their mission.
For one leader, coaching created an opportunity to step away from day-to-day tasks and turn goals into action. For another leader, it offered the skills needed to navigate team instability and challenges without losing focus on the communities depending on U&I Trust's work.
This Giving Tuesday, your gift helps make this kind of transformation possible. When you support the ICF Foundation, you help bring professional coaching to nonprofit and mission-driven leaders who are building stronger organizations, serving their communities, and creating impact that lasts beyond a single program or season.
Donate this Giving Tuesday to help mission-driven leaders receive the coaching, clarity, and support they need to turn purpose into lasting impact.
