The Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF): what they fund and how to apply
CIFF is one of the world's largest philanthropic foundations, working to improve the lives of children. It funds partners in climate action, health and nutrition, and opportunity for women and girls, mostly across Africa, Asia, India and Europe. It works proactively with selected partners and does not accept unsolicited applications.
What CIFF funds
The Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (UK) — CIFF — structures its work around three “global opportunities”:
- Climate action — reducing emissions and protecting children from the effects of climate change, including work in Europe, China and East and South East Asia.
- Health and nutrition — strengthening health systems, maternal and newborn health, nutrition, and areas such as HIV prevention.
- Opportunity and choice for women and girls — education, skills, and sexual and reproductive health and rights.
CIFF also supports cross-cutting priorities and provides evaluation and contingency funding. Its grant making is largely international, delivered with governments, multilateral organisations, NGOs, academics and the private sector.
How much you can apply for (and an honest note on scale)
CIFF is a very large funder. It reports an endowment of around $6.1 billion (2025) and over $4 billion in active charitable investments. In 2024 its approved charitable commitments were $923 million and its charitable disbursements reached $631 million. CIFF reports its figures in US dollars.
It does not publish standard grant sizes, minimum or maximum amounts, because it does not run an open scheme. Grants are shaped case by case with partners it chooses to work with.
Who can apply
This is the key point for most UK charities: CIFF does not accept unsolicited applications. It works proactively with a small number of selected partners, approaching organisations itself and developing ideas into investments together. There is no public application form and no open call.
If you are a small or general UK charity looking for grants you can apply for, CIFF is not the right funder. Look instead at community foundations, the National Lottery Community Fund, or trusts and foundations that publish open programmes.
Deadlines and rounds
There are no public deadlines or funding rounds. Because CIFF develops investments directly with partners, the timeline runs from an initial concept note through due diligence to approval, and varies with the scale and complexity of the work.
How to apply (honest note)
CIFF has no application portal. Partnerships begin with CIFF, not with an inbound application. If your organisation works at large scale in one of CIFF’s priority areas and believes there is a genuine fit, the only public route is the general contact page. Do not expect a response to a standard funding request; CIFF’s process is built around partners it approaches.
Tips
- Read CIFF’s “What we fund” and “How we work” pages before making contact, so you can judge honestly whether your work matches its scale and themes.
- CIFF looks for large-scale, evidence-led, locally owned solutions — not small local projects.
- If you are a UK-based charity seeking open grants, use CharityIQ’s Grant Finder to find funders that actually accept applications.
Official source and last updated
Last updated: July 2026. Source: CIFF — What we fund.
Recent grants
[Theme renders recent grants from 360Giving data where available — do not hand-write.]
Similar funders
- CIFF is unusual in scale among UK-registered funders, and CharityIQ does not currently profile a directly comparable global children’s/health funder.
- For open UK grants that smaller and general charities can actually apply for, see the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.
Check if your charity is eligible for funders like this — CharityIQ’s free Grant Finder matches your charity to real, published UK funders and cites the source for each. → /grant-finder/
Frequently asked questions
CIFF funds work to improve children's lives, organised around three global opportunities: climate action, health and nutrition, and opportunity and choice for women and girls. It also supports cross-cutting priorities and evaluation. Most of its grant making is international, delivered with partners across Africa, Asia, India and Europe.
In practice, no. CIFF works proactively with a small number of selected partners, developing ideas into investments together. It does not publish an open application scheme or an application form. Small and general UK charities looking for open grants should look elsewhere, for example community foundations or the National Lottery Community Fund.
CIFF approaches partners itself and works closely with them to shape a concept note and proposal that fits its charitable objectives. Every grant goes through risk-based due diligence, and larger investments are reviewed by a Programme Investment Committee of external experts and board members before approval.
CIFF reports an endowment of around $6.1 billion (2025) and over $4 billion in active charitable investments. In 2024 its approved charitable commitments were $923 million and its charitable disbursements reached $631 million. It does not publish standard grant sizes.
CIFF has offices and teams across Africa, India, Europe, and East and South East Asia, and it also works in China on climate. It is registered in England and Wales but its grant making is largely international, focused on children in lower-income settings.