How to Donate a Cow or Water Buffalo—What Do I Need to Know?
As Christmas draws closer, people wonder how to donate a cow or water buffalo as a gift to a family in poverty. The process is very easy. You can select a cow at the GFA World Christmas Gift Catalog online, and with your simple donation, it will be gifted to a family in need in Africa or Asia. Each cow helps break the cycle of poverty and shows God’s love in a powerful way.
A dairy cow can produce approximately 4 liters of milk per day in smallholder farming systems across Africa and Asia, according to global dairy sector analysis. This consistent milk production provides families with both nutrition and income opportunities that can sustain them for years.
Why Cows and Water Buffalo Transform Lives
Cows and water buffalo can make a life-changing difference to a family in need. A gift of these animals provides milk to drink or sell, manure to use on the farm or in the garden, dung to burn, and power to plow the fields. As more cows or water buffalo are added to the herd, offspring can be sold at the market, providing significant income to the family.
About 60 percent of rural households in developing countries depend on livestock for all or part of their livelihoods, research from the Food and Agriculture Organization shows. Livestock provides cash income, capital assets, and serves as a safety net during times of crisis.
Milk production contributes significantly to household livelihoods and food security in most developing countries, with approximately 150 million households globally engaged in milk production.[3]
A Real Story of Hope and Transformation
Rajvi and Parash,[1] a family in Asia, live as farmers with their four young children. The family suffered illness and was forced to sell their cows in order to buy medicine. The parents began to work in manual labor but couldn’t provide for the family. With each day, poverty tightened its grip on them.
When families grow their livestock assets, they gain a proven pathway out of poverty. Studies across 66 low- and middle-income countries found a statistically significant relationship between livestock sector development and economic growth in 36 nations, with livestock production serving as an engine of GDP growth.[4]
Mairava, a GFA pastor, knew of the family’s struggle, and he set out to help. The Lord directed him to a solution! Through a gift distribution by GFA World, the family received a cow! The cow provided fresh and nutritious milk, and the dung served as a fertilizer for their vegetable garden. Later, the cow provided 2 calves!
The impact of livestock on poverty reduction extends beyond immediate income. Animals provide benefits to agricultural productivity through organic manure, support product marketing through transport, and improve human health by reducing zoonoses and enhancing nutrition, according to research published in the World Organisation for Animal Health’s scientific journal.
What a great example of how the gift of a cow or water buffalo can make a tremendous impact on a family in Africa or Asia. Will you join us this Christmas by selecting a gift from our Christmas Gift Catalog? By doing so, you will be helping a family break through the cycle of poverty and discover hope for the future.
Tax Benefits for Your Charitable Gift
For donors in the United States, your gift is tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law. GFA World is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization, and contributions are generally deductible up to 60 percent of your adjusted gross income when you itemize deductions, according to IRS guidelines. To claim your deduction, you must maintain a record of the contribution through a bank record or written communication from the organization.[5]
What Donors Are Saying
“Since our grandchildren are all adults now, we like to order a gift from the GFA catalog in their name for Christmas instead of purchasing a gift. They seem to really like the idea that their Christmas gift goes to help others.” —Darlene, from Washington[2]
Many families across the country are discovering meaningful ways to celebrate Christmas by giving gifts that create lasting change. These charitable gifts allow donors to honor loved ones while supporting families in need around the world.
Join Darlene and purchase a transformative gift for those in poverty. It will be a Christmas gift that can change a life!
Learn more about how to sponsor a family for Christmas![1] “The Many Blessings of a Cow.” GFA World. November 3, 2019. https://gospelforasia-reports.org/2019/11/many-blessings-cow.
[2] “Christmas 2024 Gift Catalog.” GFA World. Accessed November 8, 2024. https://www.gfa.org/gift.
[3] “Milk production.” Gateway to dairy production and products, Food and Agriculture Organization. Accessed March 10, 2026. https://www.fao.org/dairy-production-products/production/milk-production/en.
[4] “Improving animal health and livestock productivity to reduce poverty.” World Organisation for Animal Health. Accessed March 10, 2026. https://www.woah.org/app/uploads/2021/03/18092014-00042-fr-pradere1-ang.pdf.
[5] “Topic no. 506, Charitable contributions.” Internal Revenue Service. Accessed March 10, 2026. https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc506.