CIFF

Jamie Cooper Hohn
President & CEO Of CIFF

Using Funds generated by her husband Chris Hohn's highly succesful hedge-fund business, Cooper HOhn has created a new type of charitable institution, the childrean's Investement Fund Foundation (CIFF). The foundation brings the cold but effective principles of investement to the pressing issue of children's welfare in developing countries. Cooper-Hohn's vision for a fund that approaches its activities with the same eye for a return as the shrewdest investor is proving to be both effective on the ground, and appealing to donors.

Biography:
 Bornin the US in 1965 and brought up in Chicago, the daugther of an engineer and an academic. Cooper-Hohn received a bachelor's degree from Smith College, Massachusetts, and a master's in public administration from the John F.kennedy School of Governement at Haravard.

Leadership Style
Rigorous and meticulous Cooper-Hohn brings the precise approach of france to the sometimes-woolly charity sector.

Key strength
 The ability to make effective connections between first would profits and third world poverty, building a bridge between high ideals and the bottom line.


Best Decision
 Linking profitable business with charity in the basic structure of an operation, creating a template for "Venture philanthropy".

Student link
 Cooper-Hohn;s involvemnet in charity work while at Harvard introduced her to her future husband, who became concerned at the plight of children in the developing world during a stint in the philippines. After marrying, Hohn worked in the hedge fund industry while Cooper-Hohn worked as a fundraiser for a children's foundation. After Chris's career moved to London, They began planning an original foundation of their own.

Commercial Charity
 COnvinced of the benefits of marrying commercial finance and the needs of charity, Cooper-Hohn and her husband set up a hedge fund named TCI, The children;s Investment, in 2002. All management fees and HOhn's profits went to charitable foundation the children's investment Fund Foundation (CIFF). Hohn's impressive track record appealed to investors, and soon the business was up and running reaching a fund value of well over Euro 1BIllion. While her husband was largely responsible for running the business that provides the bulk of the investment,
Cooper-Hohn set about building a new model of charitable giving. Just as with financial investment, donor projects were selected on the basis of the "return"-measured by the impact they have on the lives of children-That they offered on the Investment Made. Internsive investigation was required to find the most effective projects, and a private-equity strategy was adopted , using a portfolio manager to monitor each project and ensure it continued to provide the best possible results when compared with other potential targets. This approach has proven so effective that it could point the way for charitable giging in future.

Lessons In Business: Borrowing Models From Other Sectors
 What works in one area may work just as well in another where it's never been considered before. Cooper-Hohn successfully linked the worlds of charity and hard finance by using the same techniques and skills.
 Remember that research is the key to creating sound opportunities when rasing money, whether for the charity sector or for commerce
 Never Ignore a formula that has worked before. Imitation can save time and money in innovation
 Look at any institution for new stategies: the skill of a CEO is to marry two acts together to derive an insight.

Moral For us
 " The marriage of business and philanthropy that is at the heart of [CIFF] provides a great tool to effect serious change inm the developing world"
     -Bill Clinton