Give1Save1-Domestic: Raising the Funds to Create Your Family

Thanks to those who are spreading the word, praying for, and donating for our first domestic family of the week, the Saubers. The last total so far is $827.00 raised!!! Let's keep it up!

Since we have gone live with our first adoptive family of the week, we have gotten quite a few emails asking for applications. Each person applying for fundraising assistance with Give1Save1 has story to tell. As I browse my emails I hear a variety of stories.

We have exhausted all of our funds..............

We have no savings for adoption after spending all we had on infertility treatments............

We have refinanced our home and taken out loans for this adoption..........

It's heartbreaking to me to read these because I too am an adoptive parent and I too have been in this position where your bills are bigger than your dreams of a family. After going through one failed domestic adoption and then on to three successful international adoptions after years worth of infertility treatments, I cannot give you an exact total of just HOW much we spent overall in creating our own family. I do know that all costs for just our adoption expenses totaled, at the end, over $90,000.

So I wanted to take a second and let you know of some additional fundraising opportunities in addition to Give1Save1. Some you might have heard of. Some you might not have.

This will be the first of many posts about resources available to help you raise the funds needed to complete your adoption and create your family. I am passionate that if I could raise a large amount of money for our own adoptions, then you can too! Check out the different opportunities below for additional resources to help make your adoption dreams come true.

And as always please send me an email at onesweetworld67 (at) gmail (dot) com to be considered as a family of the week for Give1Save1 domestic.

Lifesong for Orphans - offers grant opportunities and matching grants as well as help with fundraising through their nonprofit organization for Christian Families. Lifesong offers information for prospective parents wanting to adopt and are advocates for children in need.

Both Hands - a branch of Lifesong for Orphans, Both Hands is a sponsorship program in which Christian families apply and are accepted to participate. Families then are mentored on how to successfully fundraising by going out into the community to partner with a local widow. The family spends a day fixing up the widow's home and caring for her needs. The adoptive family asks for sponsorships for their day of work and the proceeds go to help their adoption.

Show Hope - Created by the Chapman Family, this non profit awards grants to Christian families for their adoption as well provides the Shirts for Hope program with Adoption Bug to help families raise funds for adoption. Show Hope provides many resources for families interested in adoption as well as care for orphans in country, child sponsorships, and facilitates a national adoption conference each year.

Parenthood for Me - Started by adoptive mom Erica, Parenthood for me is a non profit organization that helps build families through awarding grants for those pursuing expensive infertility treatments as well as domestic and international adoption.

147 Million Orphans - 147 started with a team of two moms who decided to help other families raise funds to complete their adoptions through the sales of tshirts. 147 offers unique tshirts, apparel, and jewelry for adoptive families to sell to help raise funds to complete their adoptions. The money paid to 147 helps with feeding programs for the hungry.

Simply Love - Kari is an adoptive mom who wanted to make fundraising easier for other adoptive families as well. Her family has created the Simply Love kits in which families pick the designs they would like and are given all the materials needed to take the tshirt images to local printshops where they can purchase shirts to sell at cost. Check out Kari's website as well for tons of information about adoption and other resources.