Goats Make Holiday Gift Lists

In search of the perfect Christmas gift for the person who has everything, an increasing number of gift givers are buying water buffaloes instead of Beanie Babies.

Christian aid agencies such as Heifer Project International, World Concern, and World Vision are offering catalogs with unusual, tax-deductible Christmas gifts—such as goats, rabbits, medical care, and school tuition that help poor children and families in developing countries.

Gift prices range from $10 to $5,000. For each gift, such as a $25 goat, a card is sent describing how the donation purchased in the donor’s honor will help a family.

Catalogs reflect a new fundraising strategy for nonprofits, which have long relied on heart-wrenching letters featuring photographs of emaciated children.

Heifer Project International (HPI), which has produced an alternative gift catalog for a decade, is printing more than 1 million this year. “It’s probably our most important direct-mail piece,” says Tom Peterson, hpi’s director of communications. Peterson declined to say how much catalog income hpi receives, but indicated it provides a “significant chunk” of the $11.6 million individual-giving figure listed in the agency’s most recent annual report.

The organizations are also posting their catalogs on the Web for on-line purchasing (www.heifer.org; www.worldconcern.org; www.worldvisiongifts.org).

For aid agencies that “sell” intangible needs such as the hunger and poverty of nameless faces living oceans away, alternative gifts personalize the need and allow agencies to meet their donors’ need of finding meaningful Christmas gifts.

Agency leaders see the catalogs as much more than direct-mail appeals. World Concern president Paul Kennel says alternative gifts help parents teach their children Christian values and return the focus of the season to one of giving, not just receiving.

Miyon Kautz, coordinator of World Vision’s catalog, agrees: “I hope people will see the value of this, to give a gift that really does help someone, instead of giving a gift that sits in a closet.”

Copyright © 1998 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Also in this issue

The Pursuing Father: What we need to know about this often misunderstood Middle Eastern parable.

Cover Story

The Pursuing Father

Howard Stern Takes TV to New Lows

Abraham Kuyper: A Man for This Season

Classic & Contemporary Excerpts from October 26, 1998

Veils, Kisses, and Biblical Commands

Moms in the Crossfire

Stumped by Repentance

What’s a Heaven For?

Native Christians Reclaim Worship

Christian Syndicate Launched

Israel’s Holocaust

Bill Would Limit Lethal Drugs

Famine Toll Exceeds 1 Million

Christian Journalists Form Society

In Brief: October 26, 1998

Churches Seek Debt Cancellation

CoMission Expands to Africa and Asia

House Church Leaders Call for Freedom

Pastoral Trio to Hold Clinton ’Accountable’

Turning Back the Clock

This Present Biopolitical Darkness

A Restoration Project

A Restoration Project

Letters

Lyons Retains Post Despite Fraud Charges Adultery

Spurning Lady Luck

White House Scandal Sparks Church Dialogue

Zoning: City Nixes Worship Permit at Vineyard Church

The Clumsy Embrace

Fighting for Fairness

Editorial

The President’s Small Group

The End of the Great Rebellion

The Other Brother Had a Point

Rejecting the Prodigal

The Missing Mother

Wild Card Election

View issue

Our Latest

New Archbishop of Canterbury Steps into Anglican Divides

Conservatives call on Sarah Mullally, the first woman at the spiritual helm of the Church of England, to uphold biblical faith amid same-sex blessings debate.

News

FDA Approves Generic Abortion Pill

Students for Life leader calls the move “a stain on the Trump presidency.”

You Haven’t Heard Worship Music like This

John Van Deusen’s praise is hard-won and occasionally wordless.

The Russell Moore Show

BONUS: Lecrae on Reconstruction after Disillusionment

 Lecrae joins Russell Moore to take questions from Christianity Today subscribers

News

John Cornyn’s MAGA-land Challenge

The incumbent senator is up against his strongest challenge yet in populist-right leader Ken Paxton.

Fighting Korea’s Loneliness Epidemic with Cafés and Convenience Stores

Seoul recently introduced free public services to tackle social isolation. Christians have been doing that for years.

Excerpt

‘Don’t Take It If You Don’t Need It’

The Trump administration releases new recommendations for Tylenol use during pregnancy.

Apple PodcastsDown ArrowDown ArrowDown Arrowarrow_left_altLeft ArrowLeft ArrowRight ArrowRight ArrowRight Arrowarrow_up_altUp ArrowUp ArrowAvailable at Amazoncaret-downCloseCloseEmailEmailExpandExpandExternalExternalFacebookfacebook-squareGiftGiftGooglegoogleGoogle KeephamburgerInstagraminstagram-squareLinkLinklinkedin-squareListenListenListenChristianity TodayCT Creative Studio Logologo_orgMegaphoneMenuMenupausePinterestPlayPlayPocketPodcastRSSRSSSaveSaveSaveSearchSearchsearchSpotifyStitcherTelegramTable of ContentsTable of Contentstwitter-squareWhatsAppXYouTubeYouTube