I am a child of the 80s. I grew up watching Growing Pains. I remember one episode, in which Ben Seaver needs money to buy his dad a Father’s Day present. His older brother, Mike (Kirk Cameron, my sister’s teenage heartthrob) handed him a soda can and told him to go door-to-door. So he did. Hilarity, as always, ensued.
We can’t really go door-to-door asking people to help us finance our adoptions. However, there are resources for everyday people to help us afford adoption.
Adoption.com offers quite a bit of information about adoption financing.
Adoptive Families magazine recently published a lovely list of grants and loans.
- Gift of Adoption, grants for any US citizen pursuing domestic or international adoption from a Hague-compliant country
- HelpUsAdopt.Org, grants for any US citizen pursuing any type of adoption
- National Adoption Foundation, grants for any adoptive family, pursuing any type of adoption
- Shaohannah’s Hope, founded by singer Steven Curtis Chapman, grants for Christian families
- Parenthood for Me, grants for parents pursuing parenthood via adoption or assisted reproductive technologies
- A Child Waits, loans for parents pursuing international adoption
- International Association of Hebrew Free Loans, state-by-state listings of interest free adoption loans available to Jewish families
- Oxford Adoption Foundation, loans for parents pursuing international adoption
- The Abba Fund, loans for Christian couples
In the past six years, I’ve also bookmarked a few sites. Note that I haven’t used or thoroughly researched any of them; they’re just ideas.
- Adoption Loans USA, secured and unsecured loans for people pursuing adoption
- Christian Advocates for Adoption, group that helps Christian couples raise funds for adoption
- Tomorrow Is a Gift, a list of adoption loans and grants compiled by individuals
- God’s Grace Adoption Ministries, financial assistance for Christian couples with incomes less than $60,000 per year
- Fore Adoption Foundation, financial aid for families adopting from US foster care
- Kingdom Kids, an organization that provides grants and financial assistance to Christian families
- Heaven Sent Adoptions, financial assistance for Christian families
The National Endowment for Financial Education provides a free booklet that you can download (PDF), How to Make Adoption an Affordable Option.
Tune in later this week when I post some ideas for creative fundraising and saving, and ask the question “Can we ask our friends and families to help pay for our adoption?”.
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