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ICF Foundation Announces Six Inaugural Grant Recipients (June 2010)

Six entities that offer pro-bono coaching in education have been selected to receive grants totaling more than $43,000 from the International Coach Federation Foundation, a nonprofit organization created exclusively for education, research and charitable purposes.

In 2009, the ICF Foundation invited professional coaches working with non-profit organizations and school associations that provide pro-bono coaching to principals, headmasters, teachers and/or students to apply for an inaugural grant. Thirty-two applications were received by the January 31, 2010 deadline.

“We are witnessing a global emergence of collaboration and cooperation in coaching. Coaching communities and coaching cultures kept apart by their differences are now coming together and concentrating on what they have in common. Through that collaboration and non-duplication of efforts, the coaching community can work creatively, globally and efficiently to advance the field of coaching.” - Ruth Ann Harnisch, 2009 ICF Foundation Director

"In deciding on what initiatives to award the grants to, the ICF Foundation Board of Trustees looked for initiatives that were already operating and that had a distinct focus on education," said ICF?Foundation President and Professional Certified Coach Karen Tweedie. "The funds were to support pro-bono coaching and to create great opportunities to affect a wide range of influencers in education. We also sought maximum ‘bang for the buck' and a good plan for sustainability."

The ICF Foundation is pleased to announce the following grant recipients:

Coaching For Results, Inc.: A non-profit, 501(c)(3) corporation dedicated to helping school leaders achieve extraordinary results both professionally and personally as they support and foster confident, competent, courageous school leaders who lead their schools to high performance. The organization has been in operation since 2002.
Georgia School Superintendents Association (GSSA): The GSSA Coach Program, initiated in 2002, offers each first-year superintendent with a GSSA Coach for one calendar year. Due to the success of the GSSA Coach Program, GSSA was invited to provide training for the Georgia Association of Secondary School Principals (GASSP), school districts, and regional education agencies.
LeaderSpring, a project of the Tides Center: A nonprofit in Oakland, Calif., that offers pro bono coaching to nonprofit leaders in the San Francisco Bay Area, many of whom lead agencies that raise educational achievement for low-income children, youth and families. LeaderSpring is a fiscally sponsored project of the Tides Center. The program was first piloted in 2006.
Mount Laurel School District: A New Jersey school district that provides an educational consultant, trainer and coach for teachers in the Language Arts department at Harrington Middle School as part of the school's intervention improvement process. This project began during the 2008-2009 school year.

National Education Association (NEA): Representing 3.2 million public school employees, the NEA has established a Career Development Program to provide confidential support to education leaders through training and consultation, with the goal of adding a coaching track to build skill development in the area of life and career coaching.

Touch Point Connection, Inc (TPC): TPC offers "Coaching Teens toward Educational and Life Success," now in its second year of a three-year program development phase at a large, urban, high-poverty high school in Tucson, Arizona. The program uses volunteers-trained and supported by certified coaches-to provide pro bono "success coaching" to at-risk teens.

Congratulations to ICF Foundation Board Member Ruth Ann Harnisch

ICF Foundation Board member and Harnisch Foundation founder and President Ruth Ann Harnisch recently received The Spirit of Leadership Award by Conversation Among Masters (CAM) at this year's CAM event in New Mexico, USA.

Ruth Ann was awarded this honor for her "generosity of time, energy and unflagging support for the power of coaching."

"I'm grateful for the recognition of this body of philanthropic work," said Ruth Ann. "I salute every coach who volunteers on behalf of the profession, whether as an officer of a coaching organization, a conference organizer, or a pro bono coach. And I encourage every coach to look for ways they can give their own Gift of Coaching through The ICF Foundation, SupporTED, The Coach Initiative, The Coach Approach, or one of the many nonprofits that needs great coaches to offer their gift of service."

ICF Press Release: ICF Foundation Announces Six Inaugural Grant Recipients
Download Press Release (Word).