Heifer International is a 65 year-old nonprofit organization with a tremendous record of success around the world in helping the poor transform their lives and lift themselves out of poverty. Heifer was founded at the close of World War II and got its start helping families in Europe and Japan rebuild by providing livestock as a means to self-sufficiency.

The secret of the organization’s success are the twelve “Cornerstones for Just and Sustainable Development” or values that underpin its model and training program to help people lift themselves out of poverty/ become self-reliant for food and income. The organization realized that its holistic approach to work in the field, which is embodied in the Cornerstones, has been a tremendous source of personal transformation for its participants and believes the lessons learned over the decades are relevant in the developed world as well.

Heifer’s mission is to end hunger and poverty while caring for the earth. Since 1944, Heifer International has provided livestock and environmentally sound agricultural training to improve the lives of those who struggle daily for reliable sources of food and income. Heifer is currently working in 57 countries, including the U.S., to help families and communities become more self-reliant. It has helped millions of people through training in livestock development and livestock gifts that multiply. Every gift of an animal provides benefits such as milk, eggs, wool and fertilizer, increasing family incomes for better housing, nutrition, health care and school fees for children. In exchange for the assistance, recipients commit to “Pass on the Gift” of the offspring of their cows, goats and other livestock to others in need in their community.