Fundraiser Idea: Adoption Parties

I know that as you begin the adoption process, finances is one of the main aspects of the conversation.  Every family raises the funds differently.  We have several friends currently in the process of adopting and I have loved the many different ideas that they have come up with.

I have been invited to several house parties (direct sells organizations), where the proceeds go to the families adoption fund.

If you know someone that sells Pampered Chef, Scentsy, Jamberry, Thirty-One, or any one of the other many different types of parties talk to them about fundraising, and see if they would be interested.  From what I've found, many times, they are willing to give up part or all of their commission from the party and donate it back to the families adoption fund.

A good thing to remember though- that is often a major source of income, so make sure you are conscience of it.  Often the closer the product representative is to your family (and familiar with your adoption plans) the more likely they are to jump at the opportunity so check with extended family and close friends!

As you are inviting people to the party, make sure they are aware that you are treating this as an adoption fundraiser.  I know I get invited to at least one a month, focusing on some sort of product or another... and I often decline.  However, when hearing that one was a fundraiser for a friends adoption, I went, and found items that I could buy for gifts, so I was able to support them, but also cross off some birthday/Christmas shopping.

Have any of you done something like this as you were fundraising for your adoption? How did it go?  Any tips that I can add to this post to help others have successful parties?

Featured Family of the Week: The McMillian's

                I'm happy to introduce to you our first family of 2013, Brittany and Christian McMillan.  This amazing couple has been married for 8 years, and cannot wait to grow their family through a private domestic adoption.  They struggled with both male and female factor infertility, but through all the struggles, their desire to parents only burned stronger.  Brittany and Christian were in the process of starting the foster care process when they were lead to this adoption through a relative.   They are currently matched with an expectant mother due in February.  This was a very quick match for them, so they didn't have much time to prepare.  As they wait the final month before delivery, they are working on raising money to pay off the final lawyer bills.  Let's kick off this new year with a bang and show Brittany and Christian how awesome this group of supporters are!

For the next two weeks we will be featuring The McMillian's and we ask that our Give1 community donate $1 (or more) towards their adoption costs. You can donate to the McMillian Adoption Fund by clicking the donate button below. Thanks so much!

Failed Placement - Recovered Finances

Adoption is hard. When you are adopting domestically you may go through one match with an expectant mother (or more) before you are able to adopt.

In 2009, my husband and I had a failed placement when trying to adopt domestically. What that means is that, as the adoptive parents, we paid all of our legal fees once we were matched with an expectant mother up until the point of relinquishment. When the child's mother did not relinquish, our adoption was left uncompleted. We had spent approximately over $8,000 in legal fees with our lawyer (we were doing an independent adoption) as well as for our home study. 

Starting over with adoption is difficult after having a failed placement. We knew we had to keep moving forward, but financially, it was difficult as well. At an adoption seminar we attended after our failed placement, we were told by a coordinator that 50% of domestic adoptions would fall through before relinquishment due to the child's parents changing their mind. We thought to ourselves......how many times would this happen? And if so, how could we keep moving forward financially with spent legal fees after each match?

Luckily, we found out that we could recoup some of the funds we had spent on legal fees from our tax refund that year. I often hear of adoptive parents in a similar situation we were in that did not know this was possible. I am no legal or finance expert for sure, but I wanted to make you aware of an option that might work for you as well. Also, with all the chances to the adoption tax refund in recent years, this option might not still be available or available for long for some families. I think it is worth looking into, although, for families who have had a failed placement and may be able to receive some or all of their expenses refunded.

The IRS Form 8839 has additional information about qualified adoption expenses. Read the section under the heading, "Attempted Adoption of US Children." 

For more information about the adoption tax credit, see the IRS Adoption Benefits FAQ as well as the resources at Creating A Family.

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.

These are just a few of the resources available to help adoptive parents fund their adoptions. Stay tuned, we will be continually featuring different organizations and grants to help alleviate the stress from the costs of adoption.