Submitted by Judy Wade, PCC
ICF Indiana Chapter

The ICF Indiana Chapter is just a few months young (established in October 2020) and operates with a mission committed to three things: GATHER – GROW – GIVE. This pro bono coaching program was their first foray into the GIVE commitment of the mission. 

A flyer was provided to their partner’s central point of contact, which described the program content and program dates. The contact sent this to potential coaching candidates across the network. Matches were made, and each coachee received between 2-3 hours of pro bono coaching between May 17 and July 3. Some matched partners met for additional time at their mutual discretion. Additionally, the Indiana Community Action Association (INCAA) central point of contact joined ICF Indiana for a program debrief in mid-August to review program survey results and share her insights on program effectiveness from her vantage point.

Participating ICF Indiana Chapter Member Coaches joined an orientation call where program guidelines were reviewed. Results from the program are being emailed directly to the participating coaches along with appreciation from the Program Committee and the Chapter Board. In total, 16 coaches provided pro bono coaching to 27 leaders for a total of approximately 90 hours coaching.

The vast majority of the individual leaders who signed up to participate in the pro bono program had never received coaching before. They now have awareness of a new form of assistance for their teams and organizations based on their direct experience.

Twenty of 27 coachees replied to the survey; 95% of the coachees said they worked well with their coach or rated their coach as amazing. They discovered after the program completed that they did have one coachee who was unsatisfied with their coach match and swiftly offered the coachee an opportunity to work with a new coach — which they did accept. This individual ultimately emerged with a positive perspective in the end.

All 16 of the volunteer coaches replied to the feedback survey, with 87% of them saying they would volunteer again (probably and/or loved it!). In addition to providing a much-needed service to hard-working community action agency leaders around the state, young and experienced coaches alike were able to gather coaching hours for their credential journeys. 

This was the young chapter’s first ever GIVE event. It was a heartfelt offering wrapped in a great deal of thoughtful design and execution. As a chapter, they learned a lot about curating an event like this one and have gathered meaningful learnings about how to improve next year. But even more important than that, they have a sense of humble pride in embracing the privilege of supporting leaders across the state of Indiana who had never before been exposed to coaching.