Organization

Cambodian Children's Fund


Cambodian Children's Fund (CCF) is a nonprofit founded by Scott Neeson in 2004 to educate children in the Steung Meanchey area of Phnom Penh.[1][2] It began with 45 children from the Steung Meanchey garbage dump and grew into an education and community development group serving thousands of families in and around the former dump site.[3][4] It is registered in the United States as a 501(c)(3) charity with an office in Santa Monica, California, and its head office and programs are in Phnom Penh.[2][5]

History

Scott Neeson began in film distribution in Australia and rose to become president of 20th Century Fox International in Los Angeles.[1][6] During a five-week vacation in Southeast Asia in 2003, he visited the Steung Meanchey dump outside Phnom Penh and saw children and families surviving by sifting burning, hazardous waste for recyclables.[1][7] He spent the rest of the trip laying the foundation for CCF. After returning home, he took a job at Sony Pictures Entertainment and made monthly trips to Cambodia to build the organization.[7] With the teacher and counselor Kram Sokchannoeurn (Noeurn), CCF's first employee, he started a school for 45 children.[8][2]

Neeson's own account dates the founding to 2003, and a nonprofit database also gives about 2003. CCF, its annual report and Wikipedia give 2004.[7][9][2][1] The U.S. charity received tax-exempt status in October 2004.[10] That year Neeson left his Hollywood job, sold his home, boat and cars, paid CCF's startup costs himself, hired his first local staff member and moved to Cambodia as founder and executive director. He emigrated to Phnom Penh in December 2004.[7][2][1] CCF was first set up as a safe haven for 45 children in critical need.[7]

By 2007 CCF had 200 students and had opened a community center with a drop-in school, clean water, rice distribution and other basic services.[7] In 2008 it opened its first satellite non-residential school and started a food relief and nutrition program. By 2009 it had 500 students and had opened a community medical center that gave free consultations and treatment to people of all ages.[7] The Steung Meanchey dump was relocated in 2009, but many families stayed and kept living by scavenging garbage.[7][11]

CCF set up its Maternal Care Program to address the high maternal death rate in Steung Meanchey. Neeson's account dates it to 2011, and a later CCF profile dates it to 2010 and gives the earlier maternal death rate as 8 percent.[7][11] In 2013 CCF founded its Child Protection Unit, which trains and works with the Cambodia National Police to investigate crimes against children. The same year it partnered with World Housing to open World Housing's first factory for building micro homes, which provides low-cost homes to qualifying CCF families from Steung Meanchey.[7]

In 2015 CCF signed a memorandum of understanding with the Royal Government of Cambodia registering it as an international nongovernmental organization, which allows it to carry out approved humanitarian projects and exempts it from profit tax.[12][5] That year it also opened a shelter for women, and it began carrying out its education program, designed in 2009, on a wide scale from 2015 to 2018.[12] The Neeson Cripps Academy, a high school, opened in 2017. It is named for Scott Neeson and for Robert Cripps, former chairman of Velcro Brand Companies, whose foundation gave the school to CCF.[6]

CCF marked its 20th anniversary in 2024 with three days of events in Phnom Penh. King Norodom Sihamoni was guest of honor at the formal ceremony at the Neeson Cripps Academy on May 28, 2024.[6] That year Prime Minister Hun Manet, who had visited CCF several times since 2015, was guest of honor at a lunch for students, parents, grannies and community members at Yeo's Kindergarten, his first visit as prime minister.[6]

Programs

CCF supports children to attend public school for a few hours a day. They spend the rest of their time in CCF's own kindergarten-to-university education program, which CCF calls award-winning, and families and the wider community are supported through six core programs.[4] Its 2024 annual report lists more than 60 linked projects in six areas: childcare, healthcare, career and life skills, education, community outreach and leadership.[6] A 2019 study of CCF's education program found it teaches English, Khmer, mathematics, science, art and digital literacy, and provides uniforms, study materials, university costs and transportation. It works with public schools and teachers on attendance and results.[12] Students who can do so academically are supported through university and into jobs, and others receive vocational training or job placement help.[4] The Neeson Cripps Academy teaches science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM), and more than 1,720 students took part in its STEAM activities between 2017 and 2024. Its students won a national robotics competition and represented Cambodia abroad.[6] In 2024 CCF ran two kindergartens.[6]

Children in the program receive a full physical examination, immunizations, a dental check and treatment for any existing medical condition. The medical center gives free care to anyone in the community, and the Maternal Care Program supports expecting mothers.[1] The Child Protection Unit is a joint venture with the Cambodian National Police. Wikipedia counts, from July 2013, investigations of 780 cases of serious child abuse, child rape and homicide, leading to 590 arrests with almost all resulting in conviction. In July 2014 the unit took part in the arrest of a school director accused of giving pedophiles access to children in his care.[1]

CCF is World Housing's partner in Cambodia. Each World Housing home is 13 square meters (140 square feet), insulated, solar powered and raised above the ground in traditional Khmer style.[1] CCF also offers sponsorship of children and of grannies, the older women who pass on traditions, mentor students and raise children who have no one else.[3][4] Families in the sponsorship program must not receive aid from another NGO, must send the child to school every day and must stop the child from working, such as scavenging garbage or selling on the street.[4] CCF's first restaurant was the Star Restaurant.[7]

Reported figures

CCF's reported reach has grown over time, and the figures differ by source and date. Wikipedia gives 1,000 children born through the Maternal Care Program by mid-2016, with the maternal death rate cut from 8 percent to zero, and more than 350 World Housing homes built for CCF families in Steung Meanchey by November 2016.[1] In 2018 Neeson's site counted more than 2,400 children receiving education, medical treatment and leadership training, more than 300 World Housing homes and a zero maternal death rate across more than 700 births.[7] Wikipedia counts more than 2,000 children educated and 12,000 people served through outreach, healthcare, childcare and vocational training.[1] In 2025 CCF's website gave about 2,000 children in the education program, while its About page gave about 1,900, and CCF says it has helped more than 4,200 students out of poverty.[3][2][4][8]

The 2024 annual report counts 1,688,779 meals served through the Evening Food Program, 394,446 free medical treatments, 600 homes built with World Housing and zero maternal deaths across more than 1,500 births.[6] It also counts 571 students at university, 191 graduates who were the first in their families to finish university, 2,028 people given safe homes and 4,307 at-risk children enrolled in school. Its Grade 12 students had a 99 percent pass rate in the 2024 national exams.[6] CCF reports a yearly student retention rate above 97 percent and says more than 70 percent of its students go on to university.[4]

Community

CCF works with families living in and around the former Steung Meanchey dump and with people from underserved rural parts of Cambodia.[7][4] Nearly two-thirds of its children once lived and worked on the dump, and almost 60 percent are girls.[7] CCF says it is not an orphanage. About 88 percent of its students live at home with their families or with foster families, and those in CCF facilities stay for short periods because of high-risk situations at home.[4] It has 12 facilities in and around the Steung Meanchey district, about 20 to 30 minutes from the city center, and does not publish their locations, to protect the children.[4][5] The FAQ names Khmer New Year in April and Pchum Ben in October as times when families gather.[4]

Former students named by CCF include Un Seng Hoarng and others of its first generation who now lead in their communities, the university student Sophy, and Heuv Nhanh, one of its first students, who is becoming a filmmaker.[3] In 2019 the CCF students Sophy, Seng Hoarng, Sovannry and Vannita received Trinity College scholarships.[11]

Funding

CCF says 85 cents of every dollar donated goes directly to projects in Cambodia.[3] It has fundraising offices in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong and Australia, and a board in each registered office oversees its work in Cambodia.[2] It publishes its annual reports and financial and legal documents, along with sponsor guidelines, a child protection policy and a volunteer handbook.[2][4] For 2024 the U.S. charity reported revenue of $10,949,389, 95.5 percent of it from contributions, and expenses of $12,381,220, with net assets of $24,688,293.[10] In 2024 it received 38 grants, and its largest listed funder was the iHerb Charitable Foundation.[9]

Recognition

In 2007 Quincy Jones gave Neeson the first Harvard School of Public Health Q Prize for leadership in advocacy for children, and CCF received the Rex Foundation's Bill Graham Award.[1][7] In 2012 Neeson received the Ahimsa Award, and CCF received a WISE Award for its impact on education and society.[1] Charity Navigator gave CCF four stars for financial performance and transparency in 2014, and its score rose to 100 percent for accountability and transparency in 2016.[1][6] Also in 2016, GreatNonProfits named CCF a Top Rated Nonprofit, and Variety International Children's Fund gave Neeson its Humanitarian Award.[1]

In 2024 CCF won the Navitas Impact Award for the STEAM program at the Neeson Cripps Academy. It also won an International Philanthropy Award from Philanthropy Australia and the Australian International Development Network for its partnership with the Cripps Foundation, and was voted among the top three charities in its category in Charity Navigator's Community Choice Awards.[6]

Leadership

Named on CCF's website in 2025:[2]

  • Scott Neeson, founder, executive director and Global Advisory Board member
  • Lach Savy, chief operating officer
  • Kram Sokchannoeurn (Noeurn), country manager, overseeing all programs in Cambodia
  • Morm Sopheak, head of finance and member of the Operations Committee

Officers and directors of the U.S. charity listed in its 2024 tax filing:[10]

  • Scott Neeson, president and executive director
  • Savy Lach, global chief operating officer
  • James McCabe, director of operations
  • Andrea Zenewitz, operations manager
  • Channoeurn Kram, country manager
  • Warren Share, Cammie Rice, Ralph Sudfeld, Jeffrey Shiu, Gina Brogi, Matthew Greene, Mark Zoradi, Jeff Sheehan and Jane Hiatt

Press

  • Poh's Kitchen (Australian television), an episode on CCF's Star Restaurant[7]
  • BBC News, CBS News, Condé Nast Traveler, The Huffington Post and Elle[7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 Wikipedia, Cambodian Children's Fund
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Cambodian Children's Fund, About
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Cambodian Children's Fund, home page
  4. ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 Cambodian Children's Fund, FAQs
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Cooperation Committee for Cambodia, NGO directory: Cambodian Children's Fund
  6. ↑ 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 Cambodian Children's Fund, Annual Report 2024
  7. ↑ 7.00 7.01 7.02 7.03 7.04 7.05 7.06 7.07 7.08 7.09 7.10 7.11 7.12 7.13 7.14 7.15 7.16 Scott Neeson, Scott Neeson (August 17, 2018)
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Cambodian Children's Fund, Scott's story
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Impala, Cambodian Childrens Fund (EIN 20-0764162)
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, Cambodian Childrens Fund
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 GlobalGiving, In Profile: Cambodian Children's Fund
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Nadila Elok, eJournal Ilmu Hubungan Internasional 7, no. 3 (2019)
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This page was last edited on 26 September 2026, at 23:15.