If you’re wondering how you’ll possibly afford the costs associated with a domestic infant adoption, you’re not alone. A lack of funds is the #1 reason otherwise qualified families state for not moving forward with adoption.
Adoptions can be expensive and include fees for the home study, agency, legal representation, facilitation fees and travel, among other items.
“We faced a financial issue 30 years ago when we were hoping to adopt. What we found is that when there’s a will, there’s a way,” shares Mardie Caldwell, adoptive mother and Lifetime’s Founder.
Today, Lifetime is giving you 6 tips for an affordable adoption will help you make your adoption dreams come true!
1. Employer’s Adoption Benefit
This is becoming more popular, with many smaller companies starting to offer an adoption credit for their employees. Check with your HR department to see if your employer offers this benefit.
2. Adoption Tax Credit
Right now, the Adoption Tax Credit is $13,570, which allows adoptive families to defray adoption expenses. You can even use the tax credit before you adopt, towards allowable expenses! Visit IRS.gov/taxtopics/tc607 to learn more.
3. Adoption Yard Sales and Online Auctions
Go through your house to find unused items. You might also ask your friends for donations. For an online yard sale or auction, try selling your items on eBay, Craigslist, or a Facebook sale group. One adoptive mother that Lifetime assisted raised more than $1,200 on one garage sale, and then she also raised over $2,500 with online auctions!
4. Adoption Grants
There are many organizations which offer grants to qualified adoptive families to help meet some of the costs of adoption. Visit AdoptionFinancingInformation.com for a list of many available adoption grants.
5. Adoption Loans
An adoption loan makes it possible for you to have the funds needed to adopt a baby now. Just as with a normal loan, you’re able to repay the loan in payments. There are even loans for those with less than perfect credit. Visit our Financing Your Adoption page to learn about available adoption loans.
6. Plan an Adoption Fundraiser
Some hopeful adoptive couples have successfully planned an adoption fundraiser such a spaghetti feed at their church. They were able to receive donations of food, and local businesses contributed items to their silent auction in exchange for extra exposure. Another idea is to stage an adoption walkathon. Ask your family members, friends, and colleagues to pledge a dollar per mile to help bring your child home through adoption. A walkathon can be a great success if you spread the word about it: contact your local newspaper, radio stations, and other press outlets. Post your event on Facebook, Instagram, and Craigslist for some (free!) online publicity, too.
Hoping to get even more tips to finance your adoption?
Tune into Lifetime’s webinar all about adoption funding!
Founder of Lifetime Adoption, adoptive mom, adoption expert, and Certified Open Adoption Practitioner (C.O.A.P).
Since 1986, adoption expert Mardie Caldwell has been dedicated to bringing couples and birth parents together in order to fulfill their dreams.
“Many years ago, I was also searching for a child to adopt. We didn’t know where or how to get started. Through research, determination, and a prayer, our dream of a family became reality. I started with a plan, a notebook, assistance from a caring adoption consultant and a lot of hard work; this was my family I was building. We had a few heartaches along the way, but the pain of not having children was worse!
Within weeks we had three different birth mothers choose us. We were overwhelmed and delighted. Many unsettling events would take place before our adoption would be finalized, many months later. Little did I know that God was training and aligning me for the adoption work I now do today. It is my goal to share with our families the methods and plans which succeed and do not succeed. I believe adoption should be affordable and can be a wonderful “pregnancy” for the adoptive couple.
I have also been on both sides of infertility with the loss of seven pregnancies and then conceiving by new technology, giving birth to a healthy daughter. I have experienced first-hand the emotional pain of infertility and believe my experience allows me to serve your needs better.
It is my hope that for you, the prospective parents, your desire for a child will be fulfilled soon.”
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