For many hopeful adoptive parents, money can be a true obstacle to achieving their adoption dreams. Adoption fundraising can be a great way to overcome this hurdle and gather the funds you need. There are so many great adoption fundraiser options as well as some other smart ways to raise funds. You can do a quick search online and get so many creative ideas. But, it can be confusing to know which ideas can really pay off. So, I wanted to share 10 of the best ways to raise funds for adoption. These were some of the most impactful ways we raised money for our two adoptions.
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1. Start a funding account
One of the best ways to raise funds for your adoption is to start an account where friends and family can donate. I highly suggest Lifesong for Orphans to set this up. One of the great advantages of a Lifesong adoption fundraiser account is that you can save 5-7% in administration fees that many crowdfunding sites charge.
With many crowdfunding sites if you had a $10,000 campaign, over $1000 in fees may go to the site. That is $1000 that could be going directly to your adoption!
But with Lifesong’s “mySTORY” only credit card fees apply. According to the site this can save families over $700 in additional fees. Also, they state that “other sites may issue project creators a 1090 and funds raised must be reported as income, mySTORY projects are grant-based.”
In addition, they offer an adoption fundraising kit that allows friends and family who wish to support your adoption to receive tax-deductions for their donations on behalf of your adoption. Tools available include a letter-writing kit, online fundraising through mySTORY, and Gobena Coffee fundraising.
Learn more here: Lifesong For Orphans
And, if for some reason this option does not work for you, you can absolutely set up a GoFundMe account.
Once you get your account set up, share, share, share! Share on all social media platforms that you use.
And, email everyone you know!
If there are some people in your life that are not big on social media, email can be a great way to reach them. In addition, it can come across as more personal and it may be more likely to get someone’s attention than a social media post.
Just share it everywhere you can and ask for friends and family to do the same!
2. Dinner Theater or Benefit Concert
This was my favorite adoption fundraiser. Our Dinner Theater was a fun “Whodunit”! We have an awesome, talented friend that put together a play and our church allowed us to use their building. We turned it into a dinner theater and did 2 nights of performances. It was amazing and raised significant funds that went directly to our adoption.
And, it doesn’t have to be theater. Do you know a musician? A benefit concert could be an equally awesome way to raise funds. Think outside of the box, ask around, check with friends and you may be surprised just how much someone is willing to help you with your adoption fundraising goal!
3. Host an Online Silent Auction or Raffle
An online auction can be another great way to raise funds for your adoption! Families can use Facebook, other social media platforms, or their blogs (if you have one) to host an online auction. You can post pictures and descriptions of various items and services, set minimum bids, and hold an auction.
Many times, you can get some awesome donations from different individuals and organizations in exchange for having their product or service featured. In addition, if you or your spouse have a skill that someone might benefit from, offer that as an auction item. For example, my husband is a horticulturist and he offered a free consultation and a couple of hours of labor. Some of our other listings included a professional photography session and a massage certificate.
If you decide to do this, put the word out to as many people as you can. Ask around. Again, you will likely be surprised by how many people are willing to help if you just ask. Many times, if someone cannot afford to donate directly, they may still have a product or service that they are willing to donate. And, if not they may know someone who would like to help.
4. T-Shirt Sales
There are a lot of companies you can go through to sell t-shirts to raise money. One company that is really great to work with and offers many free designs through their design tool is Bonfire. When you’re designing your t-shirts, consider personalizing them with your Family’s name or an adoption hashtag you created for social media.
Here are just a few of the designs from Bonfire for other families adopting.
And, they have many more designs available for adoptive families so check them out!
For more information, check them out here.
And, by using the above link, you’ll get an extra $1 profit per shirt up to $100.
5. Letters or Emails
In this social-media heavy world we live in, this “old school” method is often overlooked. Writing letters is one of the more traditional (yet effective!) fundraising ideas. With a letter or email, you can really tell your story, share why you want to adopt, and build a connection with your potential donors.
Before you start writing, think about your reader. Are there specific friends, family, or business owners you want to request donations from? This will help you build your letter. Remember to have a catchy opening and share your personal story. Consider sharing what led you to seek out adoption and why adopting a child so important to you?
And, remember you must ask for the donations. Tell them why you need the funds and what their contribution will go toward.
6. Parents Night Out
Let me just tell you this! Now, that I am a parent of two toddlers… we like our nights out! And, we’ll pay for them!
You can raise money to help with your adoption costs by hosting a parents’ night out or if you prefer to keep it simple, you can babysit your family or friends’ children for a couple of hours.
Better yet, if you want to create an event, partner with your church or school to see if you can hold the fundraiser there. Your church will likely allow you to notify the church members about the event.
Grab a group of volunteers to help you watch the children and charge for your services. The truth is most of us pay to have our kids watched and it’s normally not going to a great cause so this is an awesome way to raise funds.
I remember our church doing a parent’s night out to raise funds for college students to go on a missions trip and they received a great turnout. We were part of it! It’s awesome to get that night out while helping something you care about.
7. Message in a Bottle
I haven’t tried this method myself, but I found this idea online and thought it was a fun and creative idea worth sharing.
Send your friends and family members a “message in a bottle.” You can send bottles with a note to let them know that you’re adopting.
In the note, ask them to consider returning the bottle filled with loose change. You may be surprised how much you can raise!
I’m pretty sure if someone had tried this with me for a good cause, I would have filled the bottle and written a check to go along with it just because I love the creativity of it. Some people may decide not to fill the bottle and just donate. That’s great! Either way, you’ve gotten their attention, brought them along on your journey and gathered more funds to help reach your adoption fundraising goals.
If friends and family live close, you can arrange to drop off and pick up the bottles instead of worrying about shipping. And, try to find containers that can hold a lot of change!
8. Apply for Adoption Grants
This is a big one. There are more adoption grants than many people realize. Adoption grants are how we raised the majority of funds for our two adoptions. Without them, I doubt we would have been able to gather all of the funds we needed.
For an incredibly useful list of adoption grants, check out the freebie below.
9. Coffee Sales
Sell coffee through a fundraising site like Just Love Coffee.
People love coffee and many people would be happy to support a worthwhile cause like adoption while purchasing some amazing, high-quality coffee. Selling something people love will help make fundraising more enjoyable for those donating. And, it will help capture donations you’d likely miss out on otherwise.
10. Budget
Along with all the other ideas I shared, there is one thing you should take a good look at! And that is, the money you already bring in. It is possible, even on a tight budget, to find ways to help afford adoption. At the minimum, you can most likely at least find SOME extra funds that can go toward adoption that you can combine with the other ideas I share in this post. This can work for just about anyone if you’ll let it.
If you struggle with budgeting (I have my hand up over here!) and could use some help, Sami Womack and her “Sunny Money Method”, is an amazing budgeting resource. She has a way of turning what is often a heavy topic into an encouraging, motivational, hope-filled journey.
She taught me that living on a budget doesn’t have to be stressful or complicated, it just simply means that you’re intentional with your money. And, what possible reason could you find that would motivate you more to be intentional with your money than giving a child a forever home? I mean, really… that’s the ultimate reason to get it together!
The great thing I love about Sami’s course is that it is a simple approach to your family’s budget. The truth is there’s no magic trick to organizing your family’s budget… but there is a short cut!
Here are just a few things I love about her course.
- 14 Digital/Printable Budgeting Worksheets
- Only 30 lessons
- Lessons are short (5-15 minutes) + actionable
- Work at your own pace
- Learn from anywhere with any device (no leaving the house or finding a babysitter)
- Super affordable
- Lifetime access + free upgrades
- Money-back guarantee
If you’re ready to get your budget under control then I’d love for you to check out this amazing budgeting resource & enjoy an exclusive $10 off coupon code by using this link: Sunny Money Method
Funding Adoption is Possible!
These are 10 of the best ways I know to raise funds for adoption. Choose the ways that you’re the most excited about, think you’ll have the most success with, and feel like you can have the most fun with. To raise the most funds possible, don’t limit yourself to just one or two ideas. We used at least five of these ideas.
If you found this useful and want to gather all the info you need to raise funds for your entire adoption, this funding adoption guide pulls all of the information above and more together in one place. This is everything that it took me years to put together on my own. I designed it for the busy woman that wants to adopt but doesn’t have time to search the internet for all of the ideas on how to fund adoption. Check it out here.
Wishing you nothing but the best in your adoption journey!
