If you watch television, you might remember these ads from two Christmases ago. They were beautifully shot, with high production values. A prosperous-looking man and a glamorous but not too glamorous woman sit in a beautiful house before a crackling fire. He hands her a gift—or, alternately, he leads her outside their expensive country home toward the detached garage. The voice-over says something like, “She’s been your partner, the mother of your children, your best friend. This year give her exactly what she wants.” The man opens the garage door to reveal—a goat. The woman unwraps the lushly wrapped gift to discover—a vaccine.
Those were Heifer International ads. Heifer really does offer the perfect gift for the person who has everything. They practice the art of connecting real people in poverty-stricken parts of the world with small things that will make them independent; a goat for a village, a flock of chicks, a cow, a pair of llamas, sheep, or hives of honeybees.
The animals they provide give food, and often some other product like wool, allowing the villagers to spin yarn and make items they can sell. If they get a basket of chicks, they can sell the eggs. The animals bring food stability and some financial stability that is left in the hands of the villagers, not some foundation or government official.
Last year I told the managers who report to me that I wanted a basket of chicks for Christmas, and I told the Sig-O I wanted a goat. For the managers, I was trying to give two gifts, since I always found the process of figuring out a gift for the boss stressful. At $30, a basket of chicks is one of the least expensive things in the Heifer catalog. For them, that meant getting the boss a gift they knew she’d like for about six bucks each.
You can also buy bigger animals like cows and llamas, or you can purchase a share of a larger animal–a clever way to encouraging donations. When Heifer has enough donations for a cow, they provide one. Obviously, Heifer doesn’t go into these places with one cow and one incubator full of fertile eggs; they group the donations and work with their folks on the ground to deliver a realistic number of necessary animals.
I don’t know what percentage of the money from Heifer goes to people, but even with the glossy catalogue and nice TV commercials last year, I think it’s pretty high. It’s likely they hit up other charity groups to get grants for ads. I also worry a little bit that they are introducing animals into some areas without enough thought for the future consequences. This is especially true with rabbits. These are concerns but not serious enough to make me doubt my choices. Heifer is the kind of project, like the Peace Corps was when I was a kid, that appeals to my personal values; it’s local, it’s respectful, it’s incremental, and it’s practical.
If you order now, you probably won’t have a gift card in time for Christmas unless you pay extra for shipping, but for some people on your list, that may not matter. You can reach Heifer at Herifer.org or at (800)422-0474. Got someone on your list who already has everything? Give ‘em a goat.