Eleanor Crook Foundation

What Eleanor Crook Foundation does

The Eleanor Crook Foundation (ECF) is a US-based private nonprofit foundation established in 2020 and headquartered at 1049 30th Street NW, Washington, DC. The foundation operates with a small team of 1-10 staff spanning researchers, policy experts, advocates and operations, and is dedicated to ending child deaths from malnutrition. Its work focuses on scaling two evidence-based, cost-effective interventions: Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) for severe acute malnutrition in children, and Multiple Micronutrient Supplements (MMS) for pregnant women. ECF positions itself as a donor foundation working in "accompaniment" mode, embedding long-term alongside country governments (including Ghana, Nepal, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Senegal, Uganda and Côte d'Ivoire) to integrate these interventions into national health systems and budgets rather than funding standalone parallel programs.

ECF does not sell products or services and is not a technology company. Its outputs are grants, research, advocacy and convening. The foundation's revenue mechanics are philanthropic: many grants are funded directly by founder Eleanor Crook personally, with others fulfilled from the Foundation's endowment, supplemented by co-funding from partners including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Children's Investment Fund Foundation, Kirk Humanitarian, the Waterloo Foundation, Coefficient Giving, the CRI Foundation and the Ma-Weavers. The foundation's "customer" set is effectively a tripartite ecosystem of low- and lower-middle-income country governments (its scaling targets), implementing NGO partners such as Helen Keller Intl, Action Against Hunger, CHAI, Sight and Life and UNICEF (its delivery vehicles), and global donors and policymakers (its co-financiers). To date, the foundation reports having invested over $100 million cumulatively to catalyze scale-up of these interventions and claims measurable impact including a 90% recovery rate for children treated with RUTF, and projected outcomes from MMS scale-up including saving over 600,000 lives, improving birth outcomes for more than 5 million babies and preventing 15 million-plus cases of maternal anemia.

ECF's operating model blends grant-making with active policy advocacy, most notably contributing to the inclusion of RUTF on the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines in 2023 and to a historic $300 million annual US Congressional budget line item for RUTF. In 2024 it co-published a global MMS investment roadmap with the Gates Foundation, CIFF and Kirk Humanitarian, and in 2026 it co-founded Operation End Starvation (OES), a public-private partnership launched with $33 million committed and a six-year, $4 billion fundraising goal to scale RUTF and MMS access globally. The foundation employs a multi-channel outreach strategy combining policy reports, congressional learning trips (over 200 Members of Congress across 15 countries), and direct country representation, for example through its Nepal Country Representative.

Name

Eleanor Crook Foundation

Legal name

The Eleanor Crook Foundation

Website

https://eleanorcrookfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Eleanor Crook Foundation is a US private foundation, founded in 2020 and based in Washington, DC, that makes grants and advocates to scale Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food and Multiple Micronutrient Supplements through long-term partnerships with country governments and implementing NGOs in Africa and South Asia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Global Health Philanthropy & Grantmaking

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Nutrition & Food Security (Global Health) NGOs (HLAJAKAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

International & Global Public Health Aid Administration (Government Donors) (HLAJALAO), Child Protection & Child Rights (BPAGABAG), Food Assistance & Nutrition Relief (Emergency Feeding) (BPAGAAAD)

Keywords

• Global nutrition philanthropy
• Malnutrition grantmaking
• Maternal child health
• Nutrition policy advocacy
• Therapeutic food programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Others, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Grant-making from endowment and personal donations: ECF is a donor foundation that makes grants to scale proven, cost-effective malnutrition solutions. Many grants are funded by Eleanor Crook personally while others are fulfilled by the Foundation's endowment.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Eleanor Crook Foundation (ECF) is a private US 501(c)(3) philanthropy founded in 2020 by Eleanor Crook that funds and accelerates the scaling of proven, low-cost interventions to end child deaths from malnutrition. Its primary instruments are multi-year grants to country governments and implementing NGOs to scale Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) for severe acute malnutrition and Multiple Micronutrient Supplements (MMS) for maternal nutrition, supported by policy advocacy, research, and direct country-level accompaniment.

Product overview

The Eleanor Crook Foundation is a philanthropy organization rather than a product company. Its work centers on grantmaking, research, policy advocacy, and strategic partnerships to end child deaths from malnutrition. The foundation's primary interventions include Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) for treating severe acute malnutrition in children and Multiple Micronutrient Supplements (MMS) for pregnant women. ECF does not manufacture or sell products but funds implementation, advocates for policy changes (including RUTF's inclusion on the WHO Essential Medicines List), and operates strategic initiatives like Operation End Starvation. The foundation partners with governments, UN agencies, and NGOs rather than operating a commercial product portfolio.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Operation End Starvation (OES)
• Multiple Micronutrient Supplements (MMS) Investment Roadmap
• Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) Scale-Up Program
• Multiple Micronutrient Supplements (MMS) Scale-Up Program

Quantifiable outcome

• 90% recovery rate for children treated with RUTF
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) of GhanacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 July 2026NDPC hosted a courtesy visit by ECF to strengthen partnerships for tackling malnutrition as part of Ghana's national development agenda.
• Ghana Ministry of HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerECF partnered with Ghana's Ministry of Health to expand treatment for severe acute malnutrition using Ready to Use Therapeutic Foods over a three-year period.
• Ghana Health ServicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnering with Ghana Health Service to expand malnutrition treatment programs and implementation.
• Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerECF partnered with CHAI alongside Ghana's Ministry of Health and Ghana Health Service to expand treatment for severe acute malnutrition.
• Women Media and Change (WOMEC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWOMEC collaborated with ECF and other partners to explore partnerships and strategies to address Ghana's malnutrition crisis.
• Helen Keller IntlcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerHelen Keller Intl is the key implementing partner for research on MMS acceptability and adherence in Nepal, funded by ECF.
• Sight and Life FoundationminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPartnering with Helen Keller Intl to answer key questions around MMS supply in Nepal.
• Nutrition InternationalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner with ECF and Waterloo Foundation on exploratory work on MMS opportunities in Senegal.
• Action Against HungercoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerECF grantee in Nepal working on malnutrition interventions.
• The London School of Hygiene & Tropical MedicineminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeading ECF-funded trial (MAMI Rise Ethiopia) evaluating the MAMI Care Pathway for infants under six months.
• Results for Development (R4D)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerECF President's prior employer. ECF funded DataDENT initiative through R4D for strengthening nutrition data.
• Power of NutritionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerECF President serves on Power of Nutrition's Technical Advisory Group.
• 1,000 DaysminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerECF Associate Director previously worked at 1,000 Days and chaired the International Coalition for Advocacy on Nutrition (ICAN).
• UNICEFcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of the funders of WHO guidelines review process. ECF initiative funded in partnership with UNICEF was getting RUTF considered for WHO EML.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Action Against Hunger: Global humanitarian organization focused on eradicating hunger and malnutrition, including RUTF-led treatment of severe acute malnutrition. Action Against Hunger is an ECF grantee implementing malnutrition interventions in Nepal.
• Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI): Global health organization that partners with governments to strengthen health systems and scale commodities. CHAI works with ECF and the Ghana Ministry of Health on introducing and scaling MMS.
• Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF): UK-based philanthropic foundation focused on improving children's lives globally, including maternal and child nutrition. CIFF co-hosted the Nutrition For Growth Summit side event with ECF and co-announced the MMS investment roadmap.
• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: Large US-based philanthropic foundation with a major global health and nutrition portfolio. ECF co-developed the MMS Investment Roadmap with the Gates Foundation, making them direct co-investors in scaling maternal and child nutrition interventions.
• Sight and Life Foundation: Nutrition-focused foundation that funds research and implementation of micronutrient solutions. Sight and Life partners with Helen Keller Intl on MMS supply research in Nepal alongside ECF.
• Power of Nutrition: Multi-donor financing platform that mobilizes and channels catalytic capital into underfunded nutrition programs. ECF's President sits on its Technical Advisory Group, reflecting direct overlap in scaling nutrition financing.
• Helen Keller Intl: International NGO that designs and implements nutrition and health programs. Helen Keller Intl is ECF's key implementing partner for MMS acceptability and adherence research in Nepal.
• Kirk Humanitarian: Private foundation dedicated to ending maternal and child mortality through MMS distribution. Kirk is a co-investor alongside ECF in the groundbreaking MMS scale-up plan announced in 2024.
• Waterloo Foundation: Family-founded philanthropic foundation supporting health and humanitarian causes. Waterloo partners with ECF on exploratory MMS work in Senegal and co-funds nutrition advocacy.
• UNICEF: UN agency mandated to protect children's rights including nutrition. UNICEF co-funded the WHO guidelines review process with ECF and is central to procurement and scale-up of RUTF and MMS in country programs.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/EleanorCrookFdn
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/eleanor-crook-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Eleanor Crook Foundation