As much as I like the approach that Heifer International takes in helping donors to understand concretely what their donations pay for, others feel that the organization is being dishonest. The fine print states that the funds do not actually go toward buying a specific animal for a specific family, but are allocated as the organization sees fit. I don’t have a problem with this, since I assume that the prices in the donation include administrative costs, and the money within the organization is fungible. As long as they are buying animals for people who need them, I don’t really care whether they actually gave the flock of chicks I donated or instead applied the same funds toward a sheep for someone who needed that more.
Think Personality relates the story of Philip Greenspun, who wanted to donate a water buffalo but also wanted to make sure that it was more than a symbolic contribution. Robert Thompson, an American violinist living in a small town in Yunnan, China, read Philip’s blog about this. He left a comment saying that he went out to the fields and asked local farmers whether a water buffalo would be a good gift (they wholeheartedly endorsed the idea). Robert offered to purchase a buffalo on Philip’s behalf and find a suitable family to give it to, and they made arrangements for him to do so.
Robert made an amazing video of the process of finding and purchasing the water buffalo and delivering it to the needy family. The touching scenes of the elderly matriarchs of the family of four generations being overcome with emotion at the gift, the scenery of the Chinese countryside, and Robert’s soundtrack (an instrumental version of, fittingly enough, “How to Save a Life”) are all reasons to watch this video. See if you can choke back that lump in your throat at the end.
It’s a heartwarming story of how blogs can connect people, how one person can make a huge difference in a family’s life, and how you don’t need to give to a charity to give charity.
Technorati Tags: heifer international, fundraising, marketing, blogging
Nedra helps nonprofits and public agencies create positive change on health and social issues through social marketing and transmedia storytelling strategies at Weinreich Communications since founding the company in 1995. She helps organizations make a difference for the populations they serve by strategically designing programs that draw on state-of-the-art behavior change techniques, digital media approaches and the power of stories. 
Nedra, thanks for finding this poignant and simple story. I too am a little uneasy with the fungible nature of so much giving — not that it is bad — but we should be very careful– donors and volunteers are watching — for NPs “trust” is a product — like any other product for sale must make sure it is quality, reliable and meets the customers expectations –how good is your trust? btw I trust the buffalo!