Have a Cow, Man! (with Heifer International)
Mar 06 '09
The Bottom Line Heifer is a convenient, easy way to make a permanent, sustainable difference for impoverished people and for our environment.
I'm a lazy person, but I still think my money should work hard. Along the lines of the old "give a man a fish" saying, I think charitable donations are best when they create permanent, sustainable changes in recipients' lives, and even allow them to pass the benefits along. That's why one of my very favorite charities is Heifer International.
Here's their mission statement, more succinctly than I could put it: "Heifer's mission is to work with communities to end hunger and poverty and to care for the earth. Heifer does this by providing appropriate livestock, training and related services to small-scale farmers and communities worldwide." Heifer is an international, nonprofit agency with no religious affiliation or agenda, and they are committed to helping people of all nationalities and faiths.
The basics: When you donate, you get to pick what type of animal your donation goes to (llamas, bunnies, chicks, geese, honeybees, tree seedlings, etc.). The money is used to purchase "starter" animals, and fund training and animal-husbandry education, for impoverished families all over the world. Recipients use the animals either directly (for meat) or indirectly (for milk, fur, honey, breeding). As part of the deal, recipients agree to pass on a portion of their gift to another family later (e.g., when their goat has kids, giving one to a neighbor family in their village).
Donations can be as little as $10 for a "share" in a bigger animal. If you are vegetarian/vegan and the thought of buying animals that may end up being used as meat makes you ethically queasy, you can opt for honeybees or tree seedlings instead (but know that, while they do maintain separate funds for each type of product and make every effort to keep targeted dollars in their fund, in special cases they may redirect funds to other accounts when they get low). If you just want to make a general donation, you can give to their Express Fund and the money will be used where it is most needed. If you are participating in a larger group fundraising effort, they have big-ticket "gift baskets" of a variety of animals.
The donation process is as easy as buying a book on Amazon. Browse the animal catalog and read about the different types of animals they work with. Choose your donation - either a small animal or a share in a larger animal. Check out with your credit card, and that's it! If you want, you can also print out an "honor card," if you are making the donation in someone else's name. If you are a repeat donor, they will save your information to streamline your checkout. Heifer does not have an online merchandise store - I sort of wish they sold mugs or totes or something like that, but I realize that it is a more efficient use of my dollars when I donate directly.
Be aware that this isn't a "sponsor an animal" charity. You will not, say, get to adopt a yak and name it Nancy, then follow its travels to a Tibetan village and receive update letters and pictures from the grateful family - this would create too many administrative expenses and hassles for Heifer. You can, however, read about their various programs on their website, and request a list of all the countries they are currently operating in.
Heifer is also involved in other laudable efforts like HIV/AIDS education, microloans (lending out small sums of money to individual entrepeneurs, who then repay the funds over time), sustainable farming education, and gender-equity and youth initiative programs. They also hold educational study tours (in 2009, they're visiting Cameroon, Nepal, Kosovo, Honduras, Ecuador and... New Orleans), where you can visit some Heifer service projects in action, meet local residents, and learn more about the Heifer initiatives and local culture.
My one complaint about Heifer is that they are VERY persistent with the mailings. As a regular donor, I receive stuff from them every week or two - beg letters, glossy brochures, magazines (I actually like the magazine). To be fair, I haven't contacted them to ask them to stop, but I probably should; it distresses me to see them wasting paper in such frequent mailings.
Overall, Heifer is a great charity with a commendable mission, and I really enjoy donating to them knowing that my money is being used not to buy someone a meal, but to provide them with the resources and education to help them feed themselves - and their family and friends. So go on, have a cow! Or a yak, or a llama...
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