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According to americanadoptions.com, the average cost of adoption is between $50,000 and $60,000. While costs do vary case to case and can depend on whether it's domestic or international, one thing is clear - adoption can be very expensive. The adoption process is also no easy task for a family and can take a heavy emotional toll, especially when there’s financial pressure. 

GiveSendGo wants to be a resource for those families seeking to adopt and help support them in any way that we can.

So, here are a few tips and suggestions from us for families seeking to raise funds for their adoption journey!

1. GiveSendGo Adoption Campaign

We want to offer up our services to you! GiveSendGo has hundreds of families using our site to raise money for their adoptions. In fact, adoption is one of the top used campaign categories on our site. We highly encourage anyone looking to raise funds for their adoption to use GiveSendGo as a tool to make their journey easier. 

Just like with any other campaign, it’s important to tell your story and to show your family’s heart behind your decision. When creating your campaign, be sure to include those details to help other people understand your journey and desire to adopt. 

Once you’ve shared your story, share your campaign as much as you can with your family, friends, social media community, church family, co-workers, and your local community. Share it on your social media sites, send the campaign url through email to relatives and co-workers, and text the campaign url to your closest friends and family. You can’t share it too much. After all, adoption is a huge undertaking and you’ll need all the support you can get! You might even be surprised by the amount of people who want to help support you and your family throughout this process. 

The best way to raise funds for your adoption is to spread awareness, so share it in as many ways as possible to get the word out! 

2. Church Fundraising Lunch/Dinner 

Church community is a great gift from God and they’re the people who see you every week, who know your testimony, who see your heart, and maybe even who your family is closest with. Your church family can be a great support to you throughout this adoption journey whether that’s through prayer, filling practical needs, and/or even donating to your cause.

Hosting a Sunday afternoon lunch or after-service dinner fundraiser is a great way for your church to support you spiritually and financially in your adoption journey. Invite them to join you at your church for a catered lunch or dinner, carry-in potluck, or just for some simple drinks and snacks. Prior to the fundraiser meal, ask members to donate upon their arrival as they help support and celebrate your family’s decision to adopt. People love to support and give when they can, so invite them into your journey! 

Some churches may also decide to take up a love offering during the church service to support your family in this decision. 

3. Adoption Fundraising Letter

A personal fundraising letter is a great way to share your story in a more intimate way. Write-up a letter explaining your situation, telling your story, sharing your goals, and offering different levels of donations people can give to as they feel led. Don’t be afraid to share the details and maybe even tell your family’s testimony of how you reached the decision to adopt. 

This is also a great time to share the url to your GiveSendGo adoption campaign to offer a more direct way for people to give. Offering as many payment options to people will increase the likelihood of your family receiving donations. 

Once you’ve written out a message you and your family like and have clearly explained to people how they can give, mail it out to friends, family, church community, co-workers, and those in your circle. You might even get a letter in response from people who are moved by your decision to adopt and want to help support you further! 

4. Puzzle Piece Fundraiser 

Maybe you’ve already planned an adoption fundraising event and you’re wanting to know what activities will help motivate your attendees to donate. Or, maybe you want something simple that will still be special to you and your family. 

Buy a 100-500 piece puzzle (personalized puzzles can be found and purchased online if you want to add a special touch to the activity). Then encourage people to write their name on one piece and donate $20 (or whatever amount they feel led to give) for their piece. 

After all the pieces have been signed, you can frame the puzzle and hang it in your child’s room to be a reminder of all the people who were instrumental in their adoption. This will be a special memento to your child and to the whole family! 

5. Adoption Prayer Bracelet 

Prayer is such an integral part of a believer’s life and what better reason to pray than for an adoption? 

Invest in buying a few hundred adoption prayer bracelets to either give away or sell (this could serve as another fundraising method) to your family, friends, community, church, co-workers, etc. Or, you can direct people to a link with the adoption prayer bracelet you want them to buy as another way to fundraise. Each time a person looks at their bracelet, they will be reminded to pray for your family’s adoption journey! 

6. Bake Sale 

Nothing motivates people to give more than food, especially sweets! A bake sale is a great way to get your church, family, friends, and community together and involved in your adoption process. This is an event that may attract people from all over to buy baked goods and donate to your adoption journey in the process. 

Be sure to sell whole desserts, as well as individual servings so that everyone who comes to support you can be included in the fundraiser. A great personal touch might be to create personalized adoption tags to attach to each baked good! 

Bake sales can also be as big and as small as you want them to be. They can be a part of another event you may be hosting or the bake sale could be the whole event. You may also decide to make the bake sale a one time event or maybe it’s something you do every weekend for a month. It’s entirely up to you! 

7. Go Through Local or State Adoption Agencies
 
This isn’t necessarily a fundraising tip, but more of a suggestion to make your adoption journey more affordable. Adopting, especially a foster child, through local adoption agencies is often a more affordable option for families as well as helps rescue a child out of the foster care system. 

According to childwelfare.gov, “Adopting a child from foster care involves very little expense because of Federal and State adoption assistance programs that minimize financial obstacles and encourage the placement of children whose special needs or circumstances might make them more difficult to place, such as older youth, sibling groups, or children with specific medical or mental health problems.”

Families looking to adopt through this avenue will more than likely receive Federal Adoption Assistance, whether through a one-time reimbursement or recurring monthly financial support, by adopting a child in the foster system. 

These are only a few of the many tips, methods, and suggestions a family can utilize to raise money for their adoption process. GiveSendGo is proud to support families who have made the decision to adopt and we are dedicated as an organization to praying diligently for these children and families. 

Shine Brightly! 

Crowdfunding or any type of fundraising can be a bit daunting. Asking friends and family, acquaintances and strangers to donate, no matter how good and noble the cause can feel somewhat uncomfortable. 

One secret we can share that we see from most successful campaigns is how the campaign owner/recipient responds to donations. They say Thank You.  They let their givers know they appreciate the sacrifice and love behind the gift. 

There is a story in the Bible where Jesus gives a gift of healing 10 men that were outcast, suffering from their skin decaying on their body, 10 lepers.  They called out to Jesus as he was passing by and Jesus stopped and spoke the word, and healed ALL TEN!  Talk about life changing, From one minute to the next  the walking dead, to the restored. 

But what happens after? 

Of the ten lepers Jesus healed, however, only one came back, and of all the lepers, he wouldn't be anybody who could be expected to do it: I had heard this story many times but never notices the one who came back was a Samaritan. Not a Jew but the enemy of the Jews.  Yet in Luke it says: 
"And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned with a loud voice glorifying God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan." (Luke 17:14-16)

When you are truly thankful, and your life's action reflects that gratitude, it moves the very heart of God. It also moves the hearts of donors. 

To help we put together a list of ways to say Thank You to your donors: 

1. Use the  Audio message feature on your campaign to record a verbal, personal thank you each time someone gives. ( you can find this on your campaign dashboard on a computer (not mobile device) ) 

2. Send a Handwritten Note
This is one of the coolest things you can receive in our digital media age.  

3. Send a public shout out on social media 
Show your gratitude on Facebook, Twitter, or the platform your donors use most. A simple shout out on Facebook is a great way to shine a spotlight on your supporters and say thank you to donors. Learn how to write for different social media platforms to perfect your message.


4.  Send a private message or personal email.   In it, remember The donor is the hero. You are thanking them for their awesomeness. Make sure your thank you note is all about them. Not you and what you are doing. 

5. Share updates letting everyone know if it wasn't for your donors ( you can name them specifically) you wouldn't be doing what you are doing. 

6. Pay it forward. When your donor community has a cause they’re fundraising for, reciprocate by offering your help. 

7. Make sure you go through the recent donation section of your campaign page and "like" or 'love" each donation

8. Say thank you by phone call or in person. People love personal.  When you see the person make sure you let them know how much you appreciate their gift. If you know you wont see then soon give a quick call.  

How ever you say thank you, just make sure it comes from the bottom of your heart with sincerity. Remember each donation given was a sacrifice made by someone. 

 

Making sure you are thanking your Givers is a crucial part to keeping your crowdfunding crowd engaged in what you are doing and often will  be the key in prompting Givers to give repeat donations.  Here is a few ideas on creative ways to send a meaningful thank you:


1. Send a public shout out on social media 
Show your gratitude on Facebook, Twitter, or the platform your donors use most. A simple shoutout on Facebook is a great way to shine a spotlight on your supporters and say thank you to donors. Learn how to write for different social media platforms to perfect your message.

2. Make a Facebook Live shout out to each donor.

3  Make a custom GIF
https://giphy.com/create/gifmaker
A GIF brings pictures to life, and it can have a surprisingly large emotional impact. Create an animated, personalized GIF for your donors. Share it on social media with a simple thank-you message. You can create free custom GIFs at Giphy.

4. Change your Audio message on your campaign to a verbal, personal thank you each time someone gives. 

5. Write a cute or funny poem that expresses your thankfulness. 

6. Pay it forward
When your donor community has a cause they’re fundraising for, reciprocate by offering your help. Even if you can’t donate to their cause, you can still offer to volunteer, to help with their campaign, or to share their fundraiser with your social network.

7. Take a picture of yourself and how you felt when you saw the donation. Email it to your Giver.