Domestic infant adoption can be expensive – especially if you want to adopt a newborn. The costs can be $20,000 to $30,000 or more depending on a lot of variables such as travel expenses, agency expenses, birthmother expenses, etc.
In Julie Gumm’s book, “Adopt Without Debt”, she lists some good ways to raise money for adoption – like garage sales, silent auctions, and benefit dinners. I highly recommend getting her book.
Fundraising can be a scary word because it sounds like you have to be a great salesperson or event coordinator to raise money for your adoption. It can be difficult to sell things and ask people (especially your family and friends) for donations.
There are many fundraisers that want you to buy their products at some discount, then direct sell them to others – so you keep the difference to use toward your adoption. Not bad, but can you see the problem here?
1. You have to front the money to buy X amount of products.
How much do you buy? What do you buy that you know you can sell? What if you are placed with a child and you still have tons of stuff leftover?
2. You have to direct sell.
You are collecting the money and giving them a product. If you’ve ever bought or sold Girl Scout cookies, you know what I mean. Not all of us are born to be salespeople.
The following ideas are different.
You simply direct people to websites to buy products from someone else, who handles the money and delivery — and you get to keep part of the proceeds to use for your adoption.
Here are some ways I’ve found to raise funds for your adoption without spending your own money:
I really love this program. Mardie Caldwell was inspired by her own adoption journey to design and create the adoption prayer bracelet. This affiliate program allows you to share your heart for adoption and earn 15% of each bracelet sold through your special link.
Here’s how it works:
—Register to become an affiliate. Easy.
–Get your own unique links to share on your blog, Facebook, website, or anywhere else online. You can even post it on an adoption fundraising site for your adoption! They will even provide images you can use.
–Visitors click the link, buy a bracelet, and you receive 15% of every sale.
–You are automatically paid once your commission reaches $50.
This is a shirt fundraiser/affiliate program founded by Kelly Putty, an adoptive mother through international adoption. The program look like this:
–You sign up to be a fundraising affiliate, you’ll fill out a form with your contact info and the contact info for the adoption agency that you are working with.
–Once signed up, your name will appear at checkout when someone goes to buy an Ordinary Hero shirt.
–You will get 40% of every sale.
–After 90 days, they will mail your funds directly to your adoption agency to be applied as credit to your account with them.
When founder Robb Webb and his wife Emily were going through the adoption process, they found many adoptive families were frustrated by a lack of a good fundraising model. Their company’s program doesn’t require you to sell anything. All you need to do is tell others about it. Here’s how it works:
Step 1: Register on their website. Once signed up, you’ll be able to add a description about your need, your fundraising goal, a picture and other information to your storefront.
Step 2: Get the word out. They handle everything from roasting the coffees to order fulfillment and customer service. All you have to do is get the word out about your store. Send the link to your Just Love web page to as many people as possible to generate sales for your account.
Step 3: Reap the benefits. You can login to your user account to view your sales, and they will send you a check for your proceeds once a month.
Bonfire Funds is a T-shirt fundraising website that lets users design and sell custom apparel without any upfront costs. After designing a shirt, the organizer can spread the word on social media, giving friends and family the opportunity to show their support with a shirt purchase.
At the end of a successful fundraiser, Bonfire prints and ships shirts directly to supporters and sends the profits and donations to the organizer. Bonfire offers numerous adoption shirt designs. Additionally, check out this blog post for one adoptive family’s story running a T-shirt fundraiser.
If you use one or all of these ideas, I hope you can raise all of the money you need for your adoption.
BONUS TIP: Here’s a site where you can get your own “fundraising thermometer” that you can place on your adoption website to show everyone how close you are to attaining your goal. This is pretty cool!
What do you think? Do you have more fundraising ideas?
Enter your comments below and tell me about it.
