I know charities have to use modern marketing, but that left a sour taste when I found out about it. Amusingly, this exact issue, of Heifer International putti

I know charities have to use modern marketing, but that left a sour taste when I found out about it. Amusingly, this exact issue, of Heifer International putting money into a common fund vs. buying a water buffalo as expected, led Philip Greenspun to make a blog post on Dec. 26, 2006 (which I just stumbled on yesterday) wherein he wrote, "We are trying to decide if this is the crummiest possible Christmas present." Then he went on to he ask what it would mean to actually buy water buffaloes for poor families. It turns out, a guy named Robert Thompson, an American living with his Chinese wife in China, left an informed answer in the comments and, long story short, Greenspun and his business partner put up the money and Thompson, with the help of his wife and her family, bought a deserving family a real live water buffalo. You can read about it (be sure to read comment #1, which is from Thompson) and/or watch the short film Thompson made of the buying and presenting of the animal to a Chinese family, which shows the impact such a gift can have: http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/2006/12/26/water-buffalo-worst-possible-christmas-present/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/2006/12/26/water-buffalo-...