Heifer benefits outweigh expenses
Posted by WMD  |  October 28, 2009 6:23:53 AM

Having been on Heifer study tours, I have seen that the recipients of each and every animal,from bees to water buffaloes,receive incredible training and support from the local Heifer staff.This information and training is passed along,as well as the gift of one or more animals, to others in the local community.Supervision by a veterinarian and other advisory staff ensures that the animals remain healthy and can provide their worth to the family and the community in which the family resides.This supervision costs money, but it lifts each family out of poverty, and when this happens there is a ripple effect, more and more local families benefit from the original gift animal. You might be interested to know that the Heifer office in Little Rock has been given the highest rating by the green architecture foundation. (It was built on a former garbage dump.) The building will soon be paid for and this will "raise" the "star" rating on this website. Heifer is non-denominational - since 1946.

Why I'm donating
Posted by jimcracky  |  October 26, 2009 5:52:27 AM

I'm will contribute. Their rating is climbing in the historical data, albeit slowly, their program disbursements are expanding while administrative % actually fell. Moreover, I note on this site how many charities with 4 star ratings are church-related, meaning they hide administrative/fundraising costs in other church infrastructure and say they're putting almost all donations into program, but independents like Heifer International can't do that. This skews the ratings to some degree. I am concerned by the comments that HI has been unresponsive to inquiries or suggestions, but I'm willing to let that pass... for now. Also, I'm not concerned by the CEO's pay. For a global, multi-million $$ non-profit this is not out of line. It's .2% of their costs. The CEO is skilled, the program seems effective, and live animals are a gift that keeps giving for years.

Heifer Int'l
Posted by phil  |  October 26, 2009 5:52:09 AM

Considering a first time donation and see an array of not so flattering commentary. Not concerned about CEO pay if they are effective and earn their $. My question is simply is there any evidence that they don't deliver as promised? Do the pigs, chickens, bees, etc.and training donors pay for get to the people for which it is intended even if they could be more efficent at doing it?

Highly priced animals?
Posted by nonprofitworker  |  October 26, 2009 5:51:36 AM

I just received their (unsolicited) catalog for the holidays. Administrative costs and sustainability of raising these animals aside (I like the comment by user Lome), it seems to me that the costs quoted are very high - closer to American prices rather than what they should be paying in the countries they are serving. What if we gave the same $500 directly to that family and let them determine the best use?

Good CEOs control costs
Posted by Elven Decker  |  October 23, 2009 5:48:01 AM

CEOs making that much money should be able to do a better job of controlling costs. $17M left unspent at the end of the year seems like a lot of money for a good CEO to leave on the table. Any idea why?

Would Heifer join the dialog??
Posted by Clrbrook  |  October 5, 2009 6:16:48 AM

Like many of you, Heifer's appeal is intuitively appealing. Like many of you, I'm discouraged about the slip in ratings. I will continue to contribute for now, but would like a Heifer representative to address the concerns. Please!

real world
Posted by mlhirvine  |  August 18, 2009 6:10:20 AM

There is really not much to add with respect to the work done by Heifer International. Literally " the gift that keeps giving." While I am a little disappointed in the ratings drop; the ongoing impact of gifts provided by Hiefer (a hiefer, goat, rabbits, etc.) cannot be measured by a simple ratings system. I do hope Heifer Int'l can find prudent ways to reduce expenses. In the meantime, I will continue to dontate to Heifer Internastional. Now for the real world perspective: I have the benefit of reviewing the financial performance of many thousands of for profit companies and several hundred not-for- profit organizations every year. The knowledge talent and experience required to run ANY company or organization this size is significant.And, there is competition for finding and retaining this talent. Not-for-profit organizations offer unique challenges on top of the challeges faced by for profit companies. I am truly surprised at the totally unreal perspective of some commentators that think $60,000 a year should do it. $60,000 a year would not get you much more than an entry level Controller or CFO in a SMALL company producing only $ 5 million in annual revenue. All things considered, it seems the pay for the CEO for Heifer is a pretty decent bargin compared to both for profit and non profit organizations.

Here's another perspective on Heifer ...
Posted by Lome  |  July 29, 2009 11:45:43 AM

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/andrew-tyler-dont-follow-the-herd-and-give-a-cow-for-christmas-426054.html

Mailings
Posted by McElveny  |  May 6, 2009 12:26:42 PM

I LOVE the Heifer concept and have contributed for several years via Christmas gifts for people on my list. I've been disheartened by the glut of glossy, pretty, and colorful brochures and booklets I've gotten over the last year and a half from Heifer while at the same time watching its expense ratios change and the rating drop from 4 stars to 3. I've contacted them directly to ask them to let the fancy printed materials go and put the money into the program, but am still seeing the same kinds of printed materials. I think Heifer has lost its way. Last Christmas, I contributed to MSF instead, but would love to see Heifer restore itself so I feel comfortable again directing my efforts toward them.

Great Organization - Perspective on Salary
Posted by Pamelow  |  April 15, 2009 6:00:45 AM

I fully support Heifer International and am a regular donor. I love picking out my Christmas Menagerie to send each year. One of the huge benefits that cannot be adequately represented on the Charity Navigator ratings, is the fact that these donations/animals propogate and grow. This adds greatly to the ongoing value of these programs. We're not just sending food, we're providing the means to generate food. Charity Navigator has a very good article on CEO salaries here: http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=studies.ceo When I compare Heifer's CEO salary with salaries at other like-sized charities, I find the Heifer CEO salary falls well below the average. And, this salary is a tiny 0.25% of the operating expenses. I don't find that unreasonable. I would like to see their expenses (and expense ratios) decrease so that their "Star Rating" improves, but overall I believe this charity provides good value.

CEO pay
Posted by prodigalpanda  |  March 20, 2009 5:53:20 AM

I think this is a good charity. One of the best presents my wife and I ever recieved was the gift of a whole Heifer from our Grandparents. (Best gift ever!)

I could go shopping around for other charities, but soemtimes you just got to have faith and give them the benefit of the doubt.

CEO Salaries
Posted by JR  |  March 9, 2009 6:30:51 AM

Some people seem to be complaining about the CEO's salary and how is it too high. True, you want your hard earn money to be put to good use and not into some administrator's salary, but how many of you pay this much attention to the hundred's to thousands of dollars you spend each year that go into crooked CEO's/Corporate pockets that create/cause the poor conditions for people and thus the needs for such charities in the first place...

Heifer Rating
Posted by marlys  |  January 14, 2009 6:46:01 AM

My grandchildren and I have purchased a number of goats as a Christmastime project. I want their money to be well spent and to be able to give them the assurance that at least the majority of their money has gone to the purchase of a goat for a needy family. I wish your rating would be 4 star to assure us of this. Please provide a statement showing the total amount of contributions you have received and how many of each of the animals were given to poor families in your fiscal year 2008. If you cannot provide this information we will find a more responsive charity. Thank you. We love the concept of Heifer and hope we can continue our support. One catalog mailing a year should help the "bottom line"

Feedback
Posted by Glavine16  |  January 12, 2009 11:10:57 AM

My boss donated to Heifer.org on behalf of all her subordinates this year, in lieu of giving gifts. I hadn't heard of the organization prior to this, but quickly fell in love with the idea. I'm naturally pragmatic, so the idea of a gift that keeps on giving really hits home.

The fundraising expenses, as a % of income, is somewhat concerning. And, I haven't received any of the literature in the mail, but I do agree that those monies should be spent sending to new potential donors.

Electronic communication should be taking place - my wife and I give to another organization on a monthly basis, and it took too much work to opt-out of the mailers.

In addition, we have two young kids at home, and they love animals, so when my son gave his cousin a gift of chicks, he continued to carry that picture of the chicks around the house with him.

I was surprised to see the salary amount of the charity; I do agree that you get what you pay for, but it does seem high for an organization with revenues of $108m million. I'd expect this type of salary for an organization that is doing >$250 - 300M.

A 1% improvement in administrative & fundraising expenses is a million bucks. That goes a long way to improving the lives that Heifer touches.

Salary
Posted by collegemama  |  January 5, 2009 7:10:02 AM

I think many of you need a head check. $200,000 a year is a normal salary for someone running a large group such as this and I would rather see him/her make this money instead of our local university head football coach who is making $806,000 a year!! The head basketball coach is making over $500,000 a year!

Support ANY group that is going to help people to become self sufficient! I just gave to this group for the first time today and even though I have read both good and bad I plan to continue giving on a monthly basis.

Agreeing with Ethan & dwd
Posted by Drew  |  December 30, 2008 7:19:34 AM

Just looking @ CEO salary is short-sighted at best. There are many better ways of slicing the data to determine the salary worth of a CEO. For example, look at the ratio of the CEO's salary to the total admin costs of an organization. People are complaining about high administrative costs? This is a global organization with thousands of ongoing projects. Jo's $$$ is 3.8% of the total admin costs; compare that to many other organizations, where CEO salary = up to 85% of total admin costs. Compare salary to total revenue and project budget. People who want the CEO to make 50-60k per year "just like the rest of us"? You think you could manage a global organization, and a $100 Mil per year budget? Get a clue. Good leaders require good compensation. I'm a physician (and yes, Jo makes more than I do); as much as I love my job, I wouldn't do it if I made nothing, or $30k/year, or even $60k/year. The cost/benefit analysis just wouldn't work out; I could do other jobs for that or more $$ that didn't require 13 years of post-secondary education, massive DEA & medical board scrutiny, and $100k of debt to obtain. You think the CEO's are high school kids who walked off the street? You want quality, you have to pay for it. My only gripe about this org would be the fundraising; I just donated for 1st time, never heard about them until a family member told me. I've never seen the glossy books; looks like they send them to ppl who are already donors. Focus on spreading the word to NEW donors; present donors already understand the benefit.

CEO pay
Posted by dwd  |  December 29, 2008 1:14:57 PM

I think Ethan is right on. Running an international organization, whether for profit or not, is a difficult undertaking requiring unique skill sets. In the for profit world, a $100+ million multi-national CEO would easily command twice what Heifer is paying. And that's just in base pay, before bonuses and equity.

Heifer's admin costs are relatively low and, importantly, are declining as a % of total revenue as that revenue grows. Also, Heifer has no revenues from "membership" and must start from -0- each year. Lastly, "Payments to Affiliates" is -0-; an important line item to look into as unscrupulous charities will find ways to funnel revenues to senior management here.

CEO pay - making too big a deal of it
Posted by Ethan  |  December 23, 2008 2:43:39 PM

Let's put this in perspective. The median salary for an S&P500 CEO is $8.8 million per year.

Until the corporate world deals with he inflated pay scale, charities have to fork out a lot to have qualified management. CEOs of charities are probably making much less than they could because they want to do good. Consider if you would be willing to take a 50% paycut for a job that was more beneficial to society.

Hmmm.
Posted by Groutgirl  |  December 16, 2008 7:18:58 AM

$236,881 divided by $20 for a dozen chicks for a starving family....that's $987 per chick. I live in Alaska, and even with heat lamps to keep those chickens warm, I pay less than $60/month, and share the eggs with my neighbors at no cost. When I start charging almost $1,000/month for a chicken, I'll retire by 2010. On her salary, she will, too. Think about it. This is ridiculous. I'm not supporting any of these organizations anymore. I'll fly first class to other nations and drop the food off myself.

It bothers me
Posted by Groutgirl  |  December 16, 2008 7:18:33 AM

$200,000 in on person's salary for a charitable organization such as Heifer translates into 120,000 baby chicks growing into viable hens to feed many many people. What's wrong with working 40 hours a week for $50-60,000/year, like the rest of us, and being more charitable with respect to that? Sorry, I'm not giving to Heifer or the Red Cross anymore. The Red Cross director makes $465,000/year, and they sell the blood we give them for free.

The Big Picture
Posted by Evinrude  |  December 15, 2008 7:25:33 AM

While a number of commenters criticize the "glossy catalog", I believe that this is a case where the advertising pays off in expanding the donor base. I get hundreds of donation solicitations every year, but I had never heard of Heifer until got the catalog a year or two ago. When I saw it, I thought, "What a neat program!" The catalogs are reaching people who look at the donations and realize that all it takes is $20 or $30 and they can make a difference in a tangible way in the form of chicks or duck or a share of a goat. It helps people to feel like their money is going to something specific. The point of advertising is getting the word out, and I think this advertising is effective. (I'd rather get the catalog than yet another sheet of address labels; at least the catalog is informative!)

general comments
Posted by d/w  |  December 15, 2008 6:52:30 AM

For the 6th year in a row, my nieces and nephews will be 'getting' the gift of giving through Heifer International. We have some concern re administrative costs and wonder if they are looking at a reduction plan. We work solely through the website & would like to opt out of any and all mailings. The salary of their CEO is certainly appropriate given the size of the organization.

President's salary
Posted by gabby  |  December 10, 2008 11:10:03 AM

I have decided not to donate to Heifer because the President's salary is ridiculously high.

great concept but the ceo is paid too much
Posted by rh  |  December 8, 2008 6:43:10 AM

I just got the glossy full color catalog and wondered why a charity would put such expense into its fundraising. A postcard would have worked just fine. I also think the CEO is paid too much--I don't want my money going into his paycheck. Too bad, because I think the idea is great. I will be looking for a similar charity with a better bottom line.

expenses
Posted by chado  |  December 8, 2008 6:42:38 AM

Please keep in mind that unlike a lot of other charities Heifer doesn't rely on huge goverment grants. To a lot of charities fundraising means holding out their hand to uncle sam or some other international body, that doesn't cost them anything. Heifer relies on grass roots donations and to do that they have to spend money to get the word out.

Expenses Justified, I think
Posted by katecrone  |  December 2, 2008 8:20:25 AM

I've looked at the financial rpts, the educational materials available, their learning centers, etc. and feel that this is still a VERY good bang for my charitable buck. I especially like that the gift critters I give from Heifer just keep on having those little baby critters to pass on to others. The value in providing the means by which a poor family can actually give to someone poorer is, perhaps, the best part of the whole package. I'll be doing my holiday shopping right here. Hope lots of you do, too. :)

Why I won't donate this year.
Posted by Jitney  |  December 1, 2008 9:02:13 AM

I concur with many of the above comments about the expensive, slick ads that come to my home. I also believe this CEO salary is out of line. However, Heifer has not answered any of my questions or suggestions I have written, emailed or called about. I have tried to get answers over a three year period. They will get no more of my hard earned monies. There are many charities who are willing to talk to their donors or at least acknowledge them. I guided one myself. I was paid a pittance, but I answered ALL questions and was impressed by my donors when they made any kind of suggestion.

Ratings, Advertising, and Salary
Posted by kenjones11  |  November 19, 2008 6:54:15 AM

I am very impressed with Heifer's misson and approach. I too, am disappointed by the 3 stars and am trying to get a grip on the basis for that rating. I feel that organizations have to spend resources on increasing revenues, but agree with the comment that once a person is regularly contributing, they should be able to opt out of the printed material and recieve only electronic communication. The administrative costs of doing this have to be less than the cost of the printed material and postage. As to salaries, the old adage applies, you get what you pay for. That said, I would like to see how the organization rates its CEO and by what criteria and frequency is the compensation package evaluated and determined. All in all, Keep up the good work and tell me how I can get involved.

fundraising costs too high
Posted by loolie  |  November 13, 2008 6:58:47 AM

I've been giving to Heifer quite generously at Christmas for several years, but am disappointed in the high percentage of revenues spent on fundraising. I've already received two glossy catalogues this season, and it's still November. I don't like the way as revenues go up, fundraising keeps pace--seems as if the percentage spent on ads should go down as revenues go up. I think this year I will be switching to a different charity for Christmas gifts, a bit sad about that, it has become a tradition in our family, and everyone loves getting the cards with the animal photos. I love the way Heifer operates, passing on the gift, training the recipients--but the fundraising amounts just seem too high.

Salaries
Posted by Pink Martini  |  November 7, 2008 6:34:57 AM

Most of the CEO salaries seem high, until one sees they are around .25% of total resources. In order to run a successful organization, one needs well qualified people. In the grand scheme, it's not that big..... I give this as christmas gifts every year to my family, along with other charities my family/friends find important.

optomistic
Posted by deo  |  October 28, 2008 5:50:30 AM

Seems to me that a salary of $236,881 is pretty high for the head of a charity program, but, I have heard good things about this organization and will give in spite of this, altho surely will check in the future to hopefully see 4 stars ................

Don't need the flashy mailouts all the time
Posted by relax  |  October 7, 2008 6:34:57 AM

Love the "Holiday" cards I can use to donate in other peoples names but don't need all the monthly and/or quarterly flashy mail outs. I would like to know to whom the animal donation is going. I like adopting a child via World Vision and would like a more personal connection thru Heifer also.

Fundraising Costs
Posted by LPL  |  July 8, 2008 5:44:30 AM

My concern is the cost of fundraising. While I enjoy receiving the slick, multicolored magazines displaying the good work of Heifer, I would prefer to see that money go into the programs. As an annual contributor, I wish that there was a way to notify the organization that I don't need this expensive type of communication several times a year.

ROI, too
Posted by nan1093  |  March 13, 2008 5:43:50 AM

I agree completely that one should look at the long term return of investment for Heifer. That old adage about teaching a man to fish fits right in here...I do agree, however, that their administrative costs are too high--just how many staff do they have?? And it doesn't cost quite so much to live in Arkansas, where the HQ is located. I know they do a lot of advertising--and a lot of direct mail. Perhaps they need to rethink ways to get their story out that aren't so expensive and spend the money where it counts the most. I would hope that they can earn that 4th star, because they surely do the work to deserve it!

Heifer
Posted by Mark1  |  March 10, 2008 6:01:15 AM

Yes, I think that Jo makes too much, but am rather impressed by Heifer overall. They do great things for people all over the world.

Worth the money
Posted by CoryLehan  |  February 4, 2008 6:46:54 AM

You could give $500 to help one person with breast cancer. Don't.

You could give $500 to give thousands of people food for a day. Don't.

You could give $500 to Heifer and give people a future of food. In the end, you'll have given thousands of people healthy food for life.

Weigh your choices. I think you'll see Heifer is more important than most.

How Heifer's money Reach Many More Needy Families
Posted by Bayu  |  December 31, 2007 7:38:45 PM

I'm from Indonesia where one of Heifer International office is locate. I've visited few of Heifer's projects in few areas in Indonesia. It's interesting that through passing on resources (livestocks,fish, horticulture, tree seedlings, and skills and knowledge as well)from original families(families receiving resources since early beginning)to pass on families (families receiving revolving resources), many more families become self reliant under Heifer's project. Additionally, this mechanism will also enhancing social harmony and solidarity in the community. And this process will continually as ripples in a pond.

Through this way, Heifer's money will be more efficient and effective and has lasting value and impact at the poor communities level. I wonder whether this impact can be captured through this rating mechanism

Return on investment
Posted by stonesculptor99  |  December 18, 2007 10:54:04 PM

Although Heifers costs seem high as we see them here (although the president DOES pay himself too much, I think) if one looks at the long term return on the high cost programs we would give Heifer 4+ stars! They're training and engaging recipients on sustainability and economic growth for their entire community! The couple of flocks of chickens we invest in today becomes hundreds of chickens and millions of eggs in 5 years! That in turn creates business opportunities, educational opportunities, healthy bodies and self sufficiency! What is more valuable than that?! I urge everyone to look beyond the annual numbers to the real and lasting value that the organization provides.