It's probably no surprise to you that adoption is crazy expensive. I continually hear from people that they'd love to adopt but the cost keeps them from pursuing it. Even for those of us who have been down this road before, the expenses can be daunting.
We are in the process of our third adoption and throughout the past five or so years, I've gotten pretty good at thinking of ways to help cover fees. So, at the risk of giving away all my best ideas, I'm going share some of the ways we've been able to pay for two adoptions (soon to be three)!
Sacrifice. We are pretty frugal anyway, but when we are in adoption fundraising mode, we don't spend extra money. No trips out of town. No Stitch Fix or Birch Box. No unnecessary home projects. You get the idea -- if we don't need it, we don't get it. Why? My thinking is if I am asking others to help us financially, I need to be willing to do everything I can to make this adoption happen.
Side hustle. Throughout all of our adoptions I've done some sort of work above and beyond what we needed to live on that's helped cover fees. During Max's adoption I worked as a medical transcriptionist full-time and ran my Etsy shop. During Michael and Lorelai's adoptions, I ran/am running my Etsy shop. Yes, it means a lot of long days. I am typically up working or taking care of kids 18 hours a day right now. It's hard, y'all, but remember the first point up there? I am willing to sacrifice to bring my baby girl home! It doesn't have to be an Etsy shop. Find what you're good at, whether that be babysitting, dog walking, whatever. Find your niche!
Fundraisers. We have done a TON of fundraisers for these most recent two adoptions; some have been a great success, like our Kantha quilt auction, and others have been duds. Think creatively, look on Pinterest, ask other adoptive families what they did, and if something fails, move on. I've found that it goes best if you don't bank on any one fundraiser being HUGE, but do a bunch of them and keep trying!
Storytelling. People want a reason to invest in you. If you're not willing to share your story, people are going to have a really hard time connecting to what you're doing. Share why you're passionate about adoption, how you came to choose adoption, what you love about it... Personally, I LOVE telling the story about how God planted the seeds in my heart as a little girl and how my dream has evolved, and has now come full circle!
Networking. One of the biggest blessings of becoming an adoptive mama, aside from my beautiful children, has been the community that came along with my new title. The adoptive community is small, but very supportive and adoptive mamas are FIERCE. You would be hard pressed to find a community that will have your back more. We support each other when adoptions fail, we fund raise for each other, we cry on each other's shoulders when things suck. Search Facebook or Instagram for communities or members who love adoption and get to know them. You won't regret it for a second.
Grants. A huge portion of our fees ($20,000!!) from Michael's adoption were covered by grants. I think we had excellent luck with grants because of his medical diagnoses, but there are tons of grants available for healthy kiddos too! Ask your social worker if they have suggestions and check out the "Resources" tab up there.
Giving back. This goes back to the "Networking" point. Whenever I am able to, I donate or buy products from other families who are fundraising. My birthday is coming up in about six weeks and I told Dan I could really use a new pair of shoes, as both of my favorites have holes in the toes now. The day after we had that conversation, an adoptive mama friend posted on Facebook she had the exact shoes I want in my size, still in the box, and the money would go directly toward their adoption. I will get my new and she will get money toward her adoption. No brainer! Loads and loads of other adoptive families have bought headbands from us, donated to our Pure Charity, or even organized fundraisers for us. Like I said, we have each other's backs.
Tithe. This one didn't occur to me for a long time but when it did I was like "Duh! Why didn't I think of that sooner?" When we first began fundraising for Michael's adoption, we were having a really, really hard time raising anything. Over the course of about three months, we only made a few hundred dollars. It was frustrating and I didn't understand why it was happening. Then the pastor of our church did his first sermon ever about tithe and something clicked for me. I immediately set up for our tithe to be drafted once a month and literally overnight things changed in our fundraising. I don't know if the same will happen for you, but for us giving our finances over to God and saying "we trust YOU to do this" was huge for us!
Don't expect anything from anyone. I fully believe that God has called each and every Christian on this earth to care for orphans (James 1:27) and I long for the day that the Church truly steps up. I believe that if the Church were to take this seriously, no family would have to say no solely because of finances; however, we're not there yet. But at the same time that I feel the Church should do more, I also feel it's not my responsibility to convict my brothers and sisters' hearts; that's God's job. It's between them and Him.
I hope you've come away from this with a few ideas on how you can fund your adoption. Have you successfully fundraised for an adoption? Share your tips below! Have questions? Feel free to ask in a comment below and I'll do my best to answer.
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