leveraging capital

Heifer International amplifies every dollar invested in our programs by crowding in additional financing and resources from third parties who recognize the value of our mission, effectively multiplying the funding and support available to drive progress in our focus areas.

We collaborate with financial institutions, the public and private sectors, cooperatives and other key players to create a powerful network of support centered around locally led change. With improved access to capital and investment, smallholder farming communities can advance their own agricultural development and establish long-term resilience. 

Crowding in Investment

Heifer-supported communities leverage multiple sources and forms of investments made available through Heifer’s programming:

• Cooperative loans and investments: We facilitate informal loans and investments for smallholder farmers through cooperatives and self-help groups in our network. These informal loans bridge the gap between farmers’ need for credit and the challenge of qualifying for formal financing from a bank or a microfinance company.
• Partnership contributions: Heifer-supported communities receive donations, grants, subsidies and other forms of support from philanthropists, governments, private sector companies and other external sources, including other nonprofits.
• Impact and formal financing: We engage with formal financial institutions and our impact investing division, Heifer Impact Capital, to provide essential funding for Heifer programs and projects. This support also helps participants and cooperatives access formal financing for personal needs and business expansion, building their credit history and financial standing for future independent financing.
• Passing on the Gift®: Key to our community-led development model, Heifer participants commit to share a portion of the assets gained through a project — such as animals, materials, cash or knowledge — with others in their community, creating a powerful multiplier of positive change. 

The graph above illustrates the power of leveraging third-party investments, which more than doubled the total volume of investments in the communities we served in 2024. 

Heifer Impact Capital

Through our Heifer Impact Capital division we also leverage partnerships with local and regional financial institutions, governments, businesses and others to increase farmers’ and cooperatives’ access to investment capital. 

This work connects smallholder communities to financial resources to strengthen selected value chains, design and commercialize new products and services, create local jobs and support more inclusive and resilient rural economies.

Learn more about Heifer Impact Capital>