In addition to grants and loans that are available for couples pursuing adoption, there are many creative ways to raise the large amount of money needed.
I always advice my couples this way:
1. Let people know you are planning to adopt. Send out a letter to family and friends, like a birth announcement! Let them know the expense that you are facing and ask them to support you if they can. Share with them your heart for adoption and allow them the joy of partnering with you. There are many people out there who cannot adopt but desire to walk out James 1:27 by giving.
2. Plan a fund raising event. Be creative.
- Choose a theme (Be unique: I just attended a Valentine themed dinner, Ours was a crazy 80's night theme, one of my couples is planning a Mexican Fiesta)
- Decide what you will serve (I've seen everything from dessert and coffee to a sit down catered dinner and everything in between.)
- Find a location (community centers, churches, restaraunts, etc)
-Get HELP! There are always friends out there who love doing this kind of thing. Get help so you don't burn yourself out. You can even see if you can get a party planner to give you a good deal and take the whole thing for you!
-Always make your fundraiser a ticketed event. My suggestion is that you give people options for their ticket prices. For our 80's night music themed fund raiser, we had different ticket prices like this: Vinyl- $25, Silver- $50, Platinum- $100, Gold $250. Friends of ours had a flower themed event and their tickets were Carnation, Daisy, Rose, and Orchid (I think).
-Other things you can add to your dinner:
-A silent auction (get local businesses to donate gift certificates, gift baskets, products or services, get local artists to donate photography and artwork)
-A live auction is fun too!
3. Raffels or Online Auctions. You can get people to donate good and services and have an online auction through ebay or even on your blog with a deadline. In the blogs people can leave their bids in the comment section and have a limited number of days until the auction closes.
Other ideas:
1. One of the couples that I am working with set up an account with www.onecause.com
OneCause is a nontraditional fundraising program that will help us earn the funds we need through everyday opportunities, such as shopping on-line, in stores and catalogs, purchasing gift certificates, by using the OneCause credit card, or through a variety of other easy programs.
2. If you like to write and especially if you have a lot of family and friends out of town, set up a blog to journal your process and allow people to stay connected and feel part of your journey. You can even set up a DONATE link on your side bar for people wanting to give to your adoption fund.
3. Non-profit Fundraising Sales: Gather a group of eager helpers, maybe even kids from your youth group at church and do a fund raiser similar to what some schools do to raise funds for band, senior trips, etc. Here's a link to check out.
4. Here's another option A Child's Desire.
(there are hundreds of other adoption fundraising ideas with just a quick google search!)
Feel free to post other ideas that have worked for you or others you know!!!
Again, Pray! Above all else I believe that God's heart is for adoption and He will provide!
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There are also affiliate programs which you can add to your blog, such as being an Amazon Associate. You add links for your viewers to click to shop at Amazon through your blog. A percentage of each purchase goes into your account and Amazon will send you check or directly deposit the funds after it's accumulated a certain amount.
Another way to raise money which you can save for your adoption is to join Ebates. You can even earn $5 for each referral you get. So pass out the word and get people shopping! You could even ask people to donate their "cash back" from Ebates toward your adoption. Thanks for this post! Great ideas!! Mainly the key is to tell people what you're adopting. You'd be shocked at the help people will give simply for the sake of your family.
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