LITTLE ROCK, Ark., June 7, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Heifer Foundation celebrates its 20th anniversary this year by continuing to provide an enduring funding source for Heifer International's programs to end world poverty and hunger while also setting a course for aggressive growth.
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Heifer Foundation was founded in 1991 to provide ongoing financial backing for Heifer International's philosophy of "passing on the gift" by offering instruments of planned charitable giving to individuals who want to help ease human suffering now and in the future.
"At the foundation, we are still unfolding the original vision that was set forth by Dan West when he started Heifer International," says Domingo Barrios, President and CEO of Heifer Foundation. "The idea of Heifer Foundation really speaks to the fourth cornerstone of Heifer International: 'sustainability' of programs that the foundation supports through growth of the endowment."
Heifer Foundation will increase its assets from the current $71 million to $250 million in three to five years, Barrios says. "It's an aggressive agenda, but part of the reason we believe it's important to be aggressive is that we are truly trying to mitigate any increase in hunger and poverty in the world."
"For 20 years, Heifer Foundation has been offering committed partners of our work professionally managed opportunities to establish a legacy of real transformation — of funding help and hope in uncertain times," says Pierre Ferrari, CEO of Heifer International. "Today we congratulate them on their anniversary and thank them for their two decades of partnership in our common mission of ending hunger and poverty while caring for the Earth."
"We prosper for the sake of the people we are trying to help," Barrios says. "Heifer Foundation continues to prosper and grow because our prosperity is linked to the prosperity of millions of people."
The foundation's assets include trusts, annuities and all charitable gifts, says Ardyth Neill, Heifer Foundation Chief Financial Officer/VP Asset Management. While a bequest in a will is the most common instrument of planned giving, the foundation offers many "unique ways" donors can tailor gifts. For example, planned giving allows donors to set up trusts so they'll receive income from their assets while they're living. When they die, the remainder of the trust — or whatever percentage has been set aside — goes into the endowment.
"If you leave something in your will to Heifer Foundation, then you know the income is ongoing and that it's not going to stop. That's very exciting and compelling," says Marcia Williams, chair of the foundation's board of trustees.
"We want donors to know that concept of 'passing on the gift' has a ripple effect — and that matters. That really matters," Williams says.
The foundation won't rest on the laurels of its first 20 years.
"We will continue to work with donors who have an interest and passion to bring peace into the world through eliminating hunger and poverty," Barrios says. "We really look forward to working with people who want to support the work we do and leave a legacy of philanthropy for their families."
About Heifer Foundation
The mission of Heifer Foundation is to grow and oversee an endowment to support the work of Heifer International. Heifer Foundation envisions a sustainable world where hunger and poverty no longer exist. To that end, Heifer Foundation offers a variety of planned charitable giving instruments that provide individuals from all walks of life the ability to help themselves, their loved ones, and a world in great need. While Heifer Foundation and Heifer International are separate non-profit charitable organizations with distinct purposes, they are global partners that work closely together to support a common mission while meeting the unique individual needs of donors. For more information, visit www.heiferfoundation.org.
About Heifer International
Heifer International was founded on a simple belief: ending hunger begins with giving people the means to feed themselves. Since 1944, Heifer has helped more than 13.5 million hungry families in the United States and 125 other countries move toward self-reliance through the gift of food- and income-producing animals. More importantly, families and communities who receive animals are trained in environmentally sound, sustainable agriculture so they can, in turn, "pass on the gift" of sharing to other needy people in their communities. For more information, visit www.heifer.org.
SOURCE Heifer Foundation
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