Heifer International at a glance

Heifer International is a global nonprofit humanitarian assistance organization working to help end hunger and poverty and at the same time protect the environment and care for the Earth. Heifer provides living gifts of area-appropriate livestock and training in environmentally sound agricultural practices to families in need to help lift themselves out of poverty to become self-reliant.

Heifer provides cows, goats, water buffalo and other livestock—28 animals in total—in values-based community development projects involving hundreds of thousands of people in more than 50 countries, including the United States.

Each animal provides benefits such as milk, eggs, wool and manure for fertilizer, providing families not only better and more secure sources of nutrition, but access to income to help secure education, health care and better housing. Heifer projects are environmentally sustainable, using trees, bees, organic compost, biogas and other techniques to ensure they have a lasting impact.

Additionally, project participants agree to honor Heifer’s Pass on the Gift cornerstone, sharing the first-born female offspring of their animal as well as their own training to others, extending the benefits to entire communities in an ever-widening circle of hope.

For more than 65 years, Heifer has worked to help improve livelihoods for families that struggle daily for reliable sources of food and income. Since 1944, Heifer has helped more than 12 million families—62 million men, women and children—more than 1.5 million families in 2008-09.

Heifer’s global headquarters in Little Rock, Ark., is a center for hunger and poverty education, offering school service-learning projects and overnight Global Village experiences at learning centers in Massachusetts and Arkansas. Heifer has received numerous awards and recognitions, including the prestigious Conrad Hilton Humanitarian Prize and citations from Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.

Heifer’s headquarters building reflects the organization’s commitment to protecting the Earth and environment. The platinum LEED-certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) building uses renewable resources and 55 percent of the energy typically used in a building of conventional construction.

Adjacent to the headquarters is Heifer Village, including the Murphy Keller Education Building, a hands-on, global education facility that utilizes interactive exhibits and stimulating and challenging educational experiences to introduce visitors to the possibility of a world free of hunger and poverty.