Educated as both a businessman and theologian, Bedford understood that a nonprofit seeking to make a difference in the world would need both its values and its backing to be robust. Bedford worked diligently in service to both goals, first for 25 years as Heifer’s Director of Development and then as the head of the Heifer Foundation which he initiated in 1990.

In recognition of Bedford’s long dedication and many contributions to helping the world’s impoverished people, Heifer Foundation’s Trustees Emeriti have bestowed upon Jerry Bedford the 2012 Dan West Fellow Award. The award will be conferred on Bedford at the Beyond Hunger: Feast in the Field celebration on May 18, 2013 at Heifer headquarters campus in Little Rock. Tickets are available at www.feastinthefield.org.

Throughout his life and as Heifer International’s founder, Dan West maintained a deep commitment to helping the poor, the hungry and marginalized people. His vision continues to guide Heifer International and speaks to the simplest and most basic principle of charity – helping people help themselves.

In West’s honor, Heifer Foundation — a separate nonprofit organization that grows and oversees the endowment for Heifer International — established the Dan West Fellow Award to recognize those who have given of themselves to help the less fortunate of the world. Each year, the Foundation’s Trustees Emeriti choose one outstanding leader as a Dan West Fellow.

“Heifer International and Heifer Foundation owe a great deal to Jerry,” said Ardyth Neill, president of Heifer Foundation. “He laid a strong foundation for the endowment, and everything that we’ve done since then was built on his careful work. His influence on Heifer’s growth has been exceptional.”

Bedford began working for Heifer International as Director of Development in 1966, a time when the organization had just a handful of employees. Bedford leveraged Heifer’s various regional offices to boost donations, which in those days still included hundreds of head of livestock.

Bedford and his wife, Anna Bedford, had experience with poverty in underdeveloped nations from their time as youth directors for the Presbyterian Church of East Africa. On their return to the U.S., Bedford learned about Heifer International, and saw it as an embodiment of the values he wished to promote – brotherhood, humanity and empowerment.

“As Director of Development, Jerry led successful fundraising and marketing initiatives,” recalled Rosalee Sinn, a former Heifer International fundraiser and 2011 Dan West Fellow. “Jerry had strong relationships with Heifer donors throughout the country. He was and is an articulate spokesperson and leader for Heifer International.”

Bedford traveled to many of the Heifer International country offices to help them form a fundraising base within their own countries. One of the accomplishments that gives Bedford the most pride is the development of the gift catalog, which would become the most reliable source of Heifer International donations. Bedford guided its progression from a simple black-and-white sheet, to a color flyer and then a full catalog.

“It made great sense,” Bedford said of the alternative giving concept. “You can make a gift in honor of someone who’s not in need to those who are in need.”

Bedford was anchored by the strong principles of Heifer International’s early leaders. “They were people of great integrity who valued the dignity of people, and lived their word,” Bedford said. “In the marketing materials, we always treated the subjects with dignity. We tried to build that sense of community and humanity.”

Bedford was instrumental in bringing Heifer International to Arkansas when the opportunity to buy a ranch in Perryville arose. He argued that Heifer, which then functioned out of a small St. Louis office, should have a permanent physical presence tied to its livestock aggregation. Bedford led the effort to raise funds for the purchase of the property, which would become the Learning Center at Heifer Ranch, for about $750,000.

But perhaps Bedford’s most notable contribution to Heifer International was the creation of Heifer Foundation. As Heifer and its work expanded, Bedford saw the need to further donors’ engagement with Heifer as they accumulated more assets and became receptive to including charities in their estate planning.

“Heifer had lots of donors. We just had to learn how to ask them to contribute a piece of their assets, not just their regular income,” Bedford explained.

Bedford became Heifer’s Director of Planned Giving and oversaw the creation of Heifer Foundation. From 1990 to 2000, when he retired, Bedford served as the head of Heifer Foundation. During that time, the Foundation’s assets grew from $4.3 million to $35.5 million.

“Just like individuals, Heifer needed to put something aside for a rainy day,” Bedford said. “If you have an endowment, it’s like ballast in a ship.”

Gary Cooper, a former Heifer Foundation trustee, sees the creation of Heifer International’s endowment as a priceless contribution to the nonprofit’s work to end hunger and poverty. “Jerry was an excellent financial advisor and was responsible for the early growth of the Foundation. He always had Heifer International’s mission as the central reason for growth.”

In his retirement, Bedford and his wife Anna split their time between California and Florida. He maintains involvement with the Arkansas Rice Depot, a statewide foodbank that he founded in the mid-1980s.

Over the course of nearly 40 years, Bedford has remained a passionate advocate for Heifer International’s work. He has educated millions of people about hunger and poverty, and about Heifer International’s model of creating self-reliance through gifts of livestock and training. His devotion to supporting this cause has yielded life-changing results for millions of families worldwide.

To own a business, you need relevant knowledge, a project, responsibility and the initiative to start. Heifer International is providing business training to more than 200 members of 20 YES! Youth Clubs in rural Armenian communities.

This training encourages an entrepreneurial spirit, setting the participants up for a prosperous future. As a result of the knowledge gained during the business classes, about 190 participants between 12 and 17 have started their own small businesses in their communities. The youth have developed business plans taking into account the geographic conditions and climate specifics of the region where they live. The club members have thoroughly researched the local market and have developed business plans offering different elements of marketing such as business segmentation, advertising, flexible price policy and encouragement of loyal customers.

The businesses run by the youth include rabbit, chicken, goose, pig, sheep and goat farms. They also cultivate and sell beans, potatoes, garlic, onion, cucumbers, tomatoes, strawberries and grapes. The most popular businesses are beekeeping and pig, sheep, rabbit and chicken farming.

Aghvan from Djadjur has established a pastry production business. Due to Aghvan’s marketing policy, he became more competitive than two other girls running the same business in their community.

One of the best businesses is run by Zhenya from Nalbandyan community. She grows beans with the help of her father.

Some others are engaged in growing flowers and berries, making handcrafts and providing computer services.

All the youth involved in the project are very enthusiastic about the businesses that they run. Though at the beginning they were confused, because they didn’t have any experience, their interest in business, sense of responsibility and readiness to act helped them to make the first steps. Now they can see results from their hard work and feel proud of their accomplishments. Participating youth not only acquire business skills, but also develop a sense of responsibility and dignity by Passing on the Gift©.

Find out how you can help people in Armenia.

Golden Talent Awards are given annually, with the award presentation occurring in September or later, typically at a Country Project Partners’ Workshop or other significant in-country event. Staff from each Country Program determine their country’s winner. There may be one winner per country annually. A cash award of $1,000 is provided by Heifer International Foundation; $800 is for the project community and $200 is designated as a cash gift or in-kind gift to the family or individual.

2012 Golden Talent Award Winners

Africa

Americas

Asia/South Pacific

Central/Eastern Europe

Africa

Achiri Christopher of Cameroon

Americas

Dolores Delgado of Peru

Asia/South Pacific

Bansanti Hansda stands in her kitchen garden in Mayurbhani, India

Central/Eastern Europe

Maia Khabazishvili of Georgia

Eap Sat reads to one of her children.

Eap Sat is a widow who works very hard to feed her six children in the village of Cheung Toek, in the Baphnom district of the Prey Veng province in Cambodia. As a child, she never had the opportunity to attend school due to her family’s financial struggles. Instead, she had to work to help her parents earn income to support the family.

After getting married, she continued to live in poverty. It was difficult for her to find any work to generate additional income to support her children due to her lack of education.

In 2010, the Heifer-funded Women Empowerment and Holistic Community Development project in partnership with Chetthor was implemented in the village of Cheung Toek. The project promotes a values-based literacy program to improve women’s literacy and math skills. Eap Sat was initially hesitant to join the program, and she refused to attend the literacy class; she said she was too old to learn.

Following the encouragement and persuasion of the facilitator, Eap Sat joined the class. Since then, she has been inspired to continue learning. She now understands that the class is not just a place to learn how to read and write, but to share ideas, interact, and communicate with others.

Two years after joining the literacy class, Eap Sat is able to read, write and perform calculations. She now enjoys reading to increase her knowledge. She is very happy, because the skills help her in her daily life. Her newfound knowledge has helped her produce better yields from her livestock and garden. She also operates a small business for additional income that has led to improvements in her family’s quality of life.

“I would like to express my gratitude to Literacy Facilitator Rim Yeab for her encouragement,” Eap Sat said. “Without her help and support, I might not have attended the class, because I thought that it was just a dream. Obviously, I can read and write now. Finally, I also express my deep gratitude to Heifer in collaboration with Chetthor for having the literacy classes in my village.”

Story by: Phon Yut Sama,
Driver/Office Assistant,
Heifer Cambodia

Photo by: Makara Orn,
Training Officer,
Heifer Cambodia

Chuck & Ruth D.

Chuck and Ruth spent much of the spare time in their professional lives working both at home and abroad to address the root causes of hunger and poverty through improved literacy, nutrition and educational opportunities. Since their retirement, they have stepped up their efforts even more, supporting a variety of non-profits such as Heifer International, Alfalit and others.

The couple, of Naperville, Illinois, work as volunteers for several months each year, teaching programs throughout South and Central America, Mexico and some in Africa. Through a charitable unitrust with Heifer Foundation, Chuck and Ruth have been able to support not only Heifer’s mission of ending hunger and poverty, but also the related missions of Alfalit, Feeding America, Habitat for Humanity and Bread For the World Institute.

Chuck is a retired salesman and professional farm manager, and Ruth retired after 30 years as a professor of family and consumer sciences at Eastern Illinois University. “After retiring we decided to focus on a small number of organizations that we believe are making significant contributions. We do a lot of programs with community and religious organizations, working with everyone from pre-school age to a 98-year old woman in Peru to hospital professionals in various countries,” Ruth said. “All the philanthropies we work for are inter-related.”

Chuck and Ruth first heard about Heifer from their friend Alden Hickman, who was the executive director of Heifer at the time. “It was very easy to see what an outstanding organization it was,” Ruth said. “We believe Heifer is absolutely one of the very best organizations in the world that truly changes lives and communities in such positive ways.”

For more than 30 years, they have supported the organization in a variety of ways: Giving gift donations at Christmas in honor of their children and grand children, sharing Heifer’s mission whenever they have the opportunity, and providing long-term support through the unitrust they established with Heifer Foundation.

“Heifer has been excellent and increasingly impressive over the years, the way they help people develop means to improve their lives and those of their families and communities. When they ‘Pass on the Gift’ they help others improve their lives,” Chuck said.

Through their generosity and tireless commitment to affecting positive change in the world, Chuck and Ruth continue to “Pass on the Gift.”

Jerry & Ardyth on a Heifer study tour in Albania

Jerry and I have been lucky enough to see Heifer’s work on the ground during my 15 years with Heifer.  The work matches our Midwest values and family ties to small farmer agriculture in the US.  With these things in mind it became very important to us that our estate plan include funds that would be added to the endowments at Heifer Foundation.  These endowment funds ensure income will continue to be made available to Heifer International each year for their work.

Ardyth Neill, president of Heifer Foundation

The Heifer Foundation Board of Trustees has appointed Ardyth Neill as the president of the nonprofit organization dedicated to helping end hunger and poverty through planned charitable giving.

“The board of trustees and the staff of Heifer Foundation are pleased to announce that Neill will permanently take over the position of president after serving the dual role of chief financial officer (CFO) and interim president/chief executive officer twice during her tenure at the Foundation,” said Marcia Williams, chair of Heifer Foundation board of trustees. “Having worked with Ardyth for years, I am thrilled that she has been named to and accepted this most important role at Heifer Foundation. She weaves her professionalism, ethics and dedication to the cause and many skills into service to the Foundation. I look forward to watching the organization thrive under her leadership.”
Neill came to Heifer Foundation in 2001 after serving as director of accounting for more than four years for Heifer International. Since then, she has served as CFO and vice president of asset management for the Foundation.

“I have had the privilege of working with Heifer Foundation, Heifer International and our donors for the last 15 years,” Neill said. “My goal is to strengthen our collaborative efforts, creating a solid foundation of support for families helping themselves out of the cycle of poverty. In doing so, we carry on the example given us by Heifer International founder, Dan West, while providing a model for future generations to build upon as we maintain a deep commitment to helping the poor, hungry and those in the margin of the world.”

Heifer Foundation was established in 1991 to oversee and grow the endowment to provide support for the work of Heifer International. Heifer Foundation and Heifer International are separate non-profit charitable organizations that work together to provide a comprehensive sustainable strategy supporting a common mission of ending hunger and poverty while caring for the Earth.

“I am delighted to hear that the Heifer Foundation board of trustees has appointed Ardyth Neill as President of Heifer Foundation,” said President and CEO of Heifer International, Pierre Ferrari. “She is a dedicated professional who will manage Heifer Foundation with diligence and care for the mission of Heifer International and its loyal donors. Ardyth and I have known each other for over 18 months and have found that we work very collaboratively and effectively together. I congratulate her and am thrilled to continue to build upon the successful relationship between Heifer International and Heifer Foundation.”

Neill started her non-profit work as a comptroller with the Greater Ozarks Chapter, Blood and Tissue Region of the American Red Cross. Her professional career began as an accountant for Dillon’s Springfield Division. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in business administration with minors in accounting and economics from Drury University.
Ardyth is currently a member of the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA), Society for Human Resource Management, Partnership of Philanthropic Planning (formerly NCPG), Central Arkansas Human Resources Association, the Rachel Donaldson Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and The Order of Daughters of the King. She is an active member of St. Michaels Episcopal Church where she serves as treasurer and a member of the Outreach, Finance and Audit Committees.

Neill is married to Jerry Neill and lives in Maumelle, AR.

About Heifer Foundation:

Heifer Foundation envisions a sustainable world where hunger and poverty no longer exist. Its mission is to partner with people in the global movement to end hunger and poverty and care for the Earth. To that end, Heifer Foundation offers donors a variety of planned charitable giving options, while developing and managing an endowment to provide long-term support for Heifer International. Heifer Foundation offers a variety of planned giving instruments that provide individuals from all walks of life the ability to help themselves, their loved ones, and a world in great need. For more information, visit www.heiferfoundation.org.

About Heifer International:

Since 1944, Heifer International has helped more than 12 million hungry families in over 125 countries move toward self-reliance through the gift of livestock as well as a wide variety of education initiatives, including agricultural techniques and leadership skills. For more information, visit www.heifer.org.

Songsri and her 5-year-old daughter Nareerat

Songsri, the oldest of 13 children, is married and has one daughter, Nareerat. Her family is Pow Karen ethnic minority. It is a belief and tradition of Karen people that cause women to not be treated as equals to men.

With Heifer, Songsri works hard to run project activities and follow up with project participants in the same and different communities. She travels on a motorcycle from one community to another. Although, she is a skillful rider, the steep and dirty mountainous roads cause her to have frequent accidents, especially during the rainy season when the road is muddy and slippery. “It is very difficult and I have accidents often, but it is not serious,” Songsri said. “I am more worried about the progress of the self-help group than this challenge. I want to make sure that they take good care of their livestock and apply the knowledge received from the trainings in their lives. As a woman it is very challenging to change mindset of men and women towards sustainable development, since they are used to being the receivers. But, it won’t stop my mission to improve the livelihood of my people.”

At first, many of the self-help groups didn’t fully accept Songsri, but that did not discourage her from assisting the villagers. “Before, women were voiceless and were not involved with any decision making,” Songsri recalled. “We just followed what the village headman, our fathers or husbands said.”

Songsri and her sow

When she is not busy with project activities, Songsri helps her husband at their pumpkin and chili farm and raises three pigs. Two sows just gave birth to a total of 11 piglets. Trained as a Community Animal Health Worker (CAHW), she takes very good care of her animals. She learned about pig feed formulation from other community facilitators and started to make her own. When project staff visited her family, she enthusiastically showed them the fermented feed. She wanted to make sure she did it right so that she could teach others. When faced with issues regarding her animals’ health, Songsri asked the Omkoi district livestock official for advice. “One of my sows didn’t have enough milk to feed her piglet,” she said. “but I remember the livestock official told me to apply the other sow’s milk to the piglets’ mouths so would get used to one another.”

Songsri is an enthusiastic, but humble and sincere woman. She always cooperates well with activities in the field or during meetings and training in the city. With her parents’ limited income, they could not support her aspirations for higher education, but that does not stop her from learning on her own. Even with her busy work and family schedule, Songsri continues to further her studies through informal schooling. “I want to set myself as a role model for people in my community, especially women,” she said. “I want them to be more confident to speak up about their problems and show their abilities. I also want to prove that women are as capable as men.”

Standing next to her is her daughter, Nareerat Mitsathit, who is five-years-old. Nareerat is a kindergarten student at the informal education center of Sangin Nuea village. Holding and kissing her daughter, Songsri said, “I want to be a role model for my daughter and I want her to have better education so she can help develop our community in the future.”

Story and Photos by: Sangwan Sapma,
Communication and Networking Manager,
Heifer Thailand

Additional Photo by: Bjorn Slis,
Volunteer

At first, we followed the Dan and Lucy West Model by adding a child to our family: we split our legacy five ways with one portion going to Heifer and other charities. We have more recently established an insurance trust that will expand the support to Heifer. Why? because we have seen that Heifer really works all around the world, and we believe in Heifer.