The Children's Investment Fund Foundation

The Children's Investment Fund Foundation (UK)
Founded2002
Founders
TypePrivate Foundation
FocusClimate Change, Sexual & Reproductive Health Rights, Child Health & Nutrition, Child Protection, Girl Capital
Location
Area served
Global
MethodGrants
Key people
Endowment£ 5.2 billion, $ 6.65 billion
Websitewww.ciff.org

The Children's Investment Fund Foundation (UK) (CIFF) is an independent philanthropic organisation with offices in Addis Ababa, Beijing, London, Nairobi and New Delhi. It is a registered charity in England and Wales and in 2021 disbursed $468 million and committed $772 million in charitable investments.[1] With assets of GBP £5.2 billion (USD $6.6 billion), it is the 5th largest global development philanthropy in the world based on annual disbursements.[2][3] According to OECD published data, it is the world's second largest private funder of reproductive health and environmental protection globally and the largest philanthropy that focuses specifically on improving children's lives.[4][5] In 2021, CIFF pledged $500 million towards gender equality over five years as part of the generation equality forum.[6]

CIFF was established in 2002 by Sir Chris Hohn and wife, Jamie Cooper-Hohn as the philanthropic arm of Hohn's hedge fund, the Children's Investment Fund Management (TCI Fund Management), which in 2019, topped the list of the most profitable hedge funds in the world.[7][8] By utilising a hybrid fund-and-foundation model, Hohn sought to bring a private sector-like approach to philanthropy with intellectual rigour and commercial acumen to attain clear returns for children from the outset.[9] The foundation's approach emphasises a high appetite for risk to invest in bold ideas for transformative and scalable solutions and reliance on high-quality data and evidence.[5] It has pioneered the use of several innovative financing tools and catalytic funding mechanisms within development contexts and has become one of the leaders in venture philanthropy for global development.

Unlike other foundations of similar influence, CIFF is known for avoiding press, though it is most commonly in the news for its climate action, in partnership with co-founder Chris Hohn and TCI Fund management, particularly the Say on Climate campaign which has enlisted global investors to press dozens of companies to set out their plans for dealing with their greenhouse gas emissions and to allow investors to regularly review the strategy.

Jamie Cooper-Hohn managed CIFF until 2013 when Michael Anderson was appointed Chief Executive Officer.[10] The CEO is now Kate Hampton, a key figure behind the creation of the 2016 Paris Agreement.[11][12]

The Children's Investment Fund Foundations is within the Partner Circle of the Foundations Platform F20, an international network of foundations and philanthropic organizations.[13]

  1. ^ "The Children's Investment Fund Foundation UK, registered charity no. 1091043". Charity Commission for England and Wales.
  2. ^ "Top 10 Charities". Charity Commission. 14 February 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  3. ^ Salazar, Noel (1 August 2011). "Top 10 Philanthropic Foundations: A Primer". Devex. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  4. ^ "OECD Private Philanthropy for Development".
  5. ^ a b "Who we are". Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  6. ^ Chiu, Bonnie (Jul 3, 2021). "Over $40 Billion Pledged To Advance Gender Equality During The Generation Equality Forum". Forbes. Archived from the original on July 3, 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  7. ^ "Leader of the swarm". The Economist. 12 July 2007. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  8. ^ "Hedge-Fund Titans Hohn, Mandel Lead $178 Billion Year of Profits". Bloomberg. 20 January 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  9. ^ Anderson, Jenny (13 November 2006). "A Hedge Fund With High Returns and High-Reaching Goals". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  10. ^ "CIFF Announces Expansion of Leadership Team". CIFF. 15 July 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  11. ^ "GOVERNANCE". CIFF. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  12. ^ "Kate Hampton". CIFF. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  13. ^ "F20 – For a transformation that leaves no one behind – F20 – For a transformation that leaves no one behind". Retrieved 2020-11-18.