Conners Rare Breed Conservation

Our Plan

Worldwide there are 4,000 breeds of domestic animals, over 1,000 of which are in critical need of conservation to ensure their survival. On average, one breed of livestock goes extinct each month, which is a permanent loss of valuable genetics. Family farms and farmland are slowly disappearing around the world. The skills of farming, however, can be passed on from one generation to the next, yet those skills can dissipate if not used in future generations. Conners Foundation was established to encourage the preservation and promotion of Rare, Heritage and Miniature Breed Domestic Animals as well as the Native and Agricultural Heritage connected to them through Education, Advocacy, and Conservation.

At Conners Foundation, we are working together with other breeders to increase the population size and ensure genetic diversity in our rare and heritage breeds. By promoting responsible breeding and facilitating the exchange of genetics within the population, we hope to secure the continued existence and viability of these breeds. These breeds of plants and animals hold a wealth of genetic materials that are key to the sustainability of our agricultural system.

In addition to working with rare, heritage and miniature breeds, we are working to preserve the methods of utilizing their products to create an economically and ecologically responsible pastoral system. Through educational programs, we work to share the linked history of the rare breeds and the traditional Native and agropastoralist life ways that rely upon the breeds. We are working to preserve the Native American tradition of the harmonious balance of spirit, mind and body with the natural environment. The inter-relatedness of Native American philosophy emphasizes that the family of Mother Earth includes animals, plants, and minerals. We call our animal-facilitated therapy our MINI-STRIES.

Conners MINI-STRIES – Our “MINI” STRIES encourage, enrich and empower individuals through the therapeutic benefits of using Miniature Therapy Farm Animals. Therapy Farm Animals provide affection and comfort to people in hospitals, retirement homes, nursing homes, hospices, courts, jails, prisons, schools and to people with learning difficulties, or to those who find themselves in stressful situations, such as a post-disaster area experience as well as Veterans with PTSD. Studies have shown that holding and caressing an animal provides benefits such as lowering of blood pressure, improving long- and short-term memory, sensory stimuli, the release of strain and tension, and can draw out a person from loneliness and depression. A Therapy Farm Animal is born, not made. We can teach an animal mannerly behavior, but one cannot change an animal’s inherent temperament. When an animal is put under stress, poor or marginal temperament will surface. Conners Foundation Bloodlines have been producing Therapy Farm Animals with outstanding temperaments since 1993. They were born with a gift…to love and heal.

Our “MINI” STRIES encourage, enrich and empower individuals through the therapeutic benefits of using Miniature Therapy Farm Animals. Therapy Animals provide affection and comfort to people in hospitals, retirement homes, nursing homes, hospices, courts, jails, prisons, schools and to people with learning difficulties, or to those who find themselves in stressful situations, such as a post-disaster area experience as well as Veterans with PTSD. Studies have shown that holding and caressing an animal provides benefits such as lowering of blood pressure, improved long- and short-term memory, sensory stimuli, the release of strain and tension, and can draw out a person from loneliness and depression. A Therapy Farm Animal is born, not made. We can teach an animal mannerly behavior, but one cannot change an animal’s inherent temperament. When an animal is put under stress, poor or marginal temperament will surface. Conner Foundation Bloodlines have been producing Therapy Farm Animals with outstanding temperaments since 1993. They are friendly and outgoing to all people and other animals. They were born to bring comfort and consolation to everyone and anyone. They were born with a gift…to love and heal.

Donations to Conner Foundation enable us to provide the best level of care and training to our animals as well as fund our outreach and Mini-stry programs. Thank you for helping preserve the rare breeds of Conner Foundation and helping our Therapy Farm Animals make a difference in the lives of others.

Legacy Giving

Genetic conservation of these rare breeds requires financial support from individuals like you. We invite you to consider becoming a Legacy Giver by making Conner Foundation a beneficiary to wills, living trusts, IRAs and other life-income gifts. Legacy giving is simple. By adding a few short lines to your will or trust, you guarantee your generosity continues. It’s as simple as:

“I hereby give, devise, and bequeath to Tanglewood Foundation, Inc, a Georgia nonprofit corporation, [written amount, percentage of estate or description of property] to be used for its unrestricted use and purpose”

Legacy Giving allows you the versatility to structuring the bequest to leave a specific item or amount of money, make the gift contingent on certain events, or leave a percentage of your estate to the Foundation. You can also make Conner Foundation a beneficiary of a life insurance policy or part of an IRA mandatory disbursement plan.

Your estate is entitled to an estate tax charitable deduction for the gift’s full value. If you are interested in adding Tanglewood Foundation as a beneficiary, please contact your attorney or tax professional. If you have included us in your estate planning, please contact our director at info@connersminicattles.com