Michael Anderson, CEO of the Children's Investment Fund Foundation. Photo by: Alessandra Benedetti / Food and Agriculture Organization
An independent philanthropic organization based in the U.K., the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation aims to transform the lives of poor and vulnerable children in developing countries through strategies that have lasting impact. CIFF — which has offices in Nairobi, Kenya, and New Delhi, India — works in the areas of education, children and mother’s health and nutrition, and climate change.
The foundation was created in 2003 by British hedge fund manager Christopher Hohn and his former wife Jamie Cooper. Initially, CIFF was funded solely from the donations made by Hohn’s private investment fund, The Children Investment. The foundation later on invested its own money in a diverse portfolio of financial investments.