Spirit of Giving: Heifer's Model Works

We Are Ready

In partnership with communities worldwide, Heifer International works to end hunger, poverty and environmental damage. Heifer's approach has three main components: sustainable community development grounded in locally driven, values-based planning; livestock and training as sustainable development tools; and asset development and transfer through our strategy of Passing on the Gift. It is an approach that has evolved over our nearly seven decades of work.

We Are More Efficient

Since Heifer's inception in 1944, 13.6 mission families – more than 70 million people – have directly and indirectly benefitted from the gifts of livestock, trees, seeds and training. In 2010 alone, as detailed in our Annual Report, more than 1.6 mission families were assisted. Over the past 10 years, there has been a steady upward trend in the estimated number of families assisted despite the global economic crisis.

We Are More Effective

In 2005, in association with the Evaluation Center of Western Michigan University, Heifer began a cycle of independent evaluations to assess its programs' effectiveness and aid in accountability. In the past year, Heifer International improved the process with which projects were analyzed for results and impact. The goal of the evaluations is to show Heifer supporters, staff and volunteers that donations are used as productively as possible.

We Are More Focused

As the world has become increasingly interdependent and globalized, and hunger and poverty have reached unprecedented levels, the quest to end hunger and poverty requires supporting sound community‐based work that builds social capital and business skills and knowledge that empowers the communities to take appropriate actions to achieve sustainability. There is also a global movement building coalitions of governments, private sector, multilaterals, bi‐laterals and foundations to find more effective solutions to end poverty and hunger which creates new space for Heifer to forge partnerships with them. Scaling up program impact, expanding outreach to encompass other marginalized populations, and communicating impact rigorously and convincingly, is the new global space for Heifer's internal work.

Heifer International is committed to ending hunger and poverty while caring for the earth, and to living its core values by transforming itself to be a more coherent, unified and stronger organization committed to providing deeper, more profound and sustainable impact through all its programs and projects.

As stated in our Beyond Subsistance Plan - which describes Heifer's approach to work with the most vulnerable and marginalized populations who lack access to resources, services or opportunities, setting them on a path first to being less vulnerable and relatively food secure, and then to being resilient, sustainable and linked to markets, recognizing that being vulnerable and marginalized is not one of choice, but the result of historical events, economic disparities, social inequalities and injustice - Heifer International will…

• Create critical mass, i.e., work with more members of communities, doing enough on the ground to help set the community development process in motion, assuring greater impact that goes beyond Heifer and optimizes the value and potential of scarce resources.


• Partner with governments, private sector organizations, other non‐profits, coalitions and networks as components of critical mass that delivers programs and services.


• Design projects to achieve the three levels of impact–below the ground, on the ground and above the ground— through holistic values based community development. The three levels of impact will include positive changes on social capital, gender equity, nutrition and income, economic development, environment, as well as individual and community transformation.

Let's Get To Work!
View Our Ongoing Projects

For More Information
Heifer International 2010 Annual Report
Heifer's Measure of Success
Success Stories