Exploring Adoption

How to Raise Funds for Your Adoption: Trade Services for Donations

By Ali Telfer

Guest Columnist
www.missionfielddesigns.com

The adoption process is exciting. But along with the excitement comes the uncertainty about how to come up with the funds to pay for the adoption.

There are many ways to raise money for an adoption. Most people can refinance their mortgages, or use home equity loans. For us, that wasn't a possibility. We had to think of other avenues.  After our home study is completed we plan on applying for different low-interest or no- interest loans, but being approved for those isn't certain. This is where Mission Field Designs comes into play.

About 4 years ago, I started my very first blog on Home School Blogger. Since I homeschool my four biological children, this was a great place to connect with other home schoolers. I was able to learn some basic html and css by playing around with the templates that were provided on Home School Blogger. Eventually that led to my curiousity of ways to make designs for other blog formats. Since then I have learned how to design for not only Home School Blogger's platform, but Homestead Blogger, Blogger, Wordpress, and Typepad.   

When thinking of ways I could raise funds for our adoption on my own, I decided to open up my services as a blog designer and ask for donations in return. I have already been able to use part of these donations to pay for some of the initial fees that incurred when we signed up with our adoption agency. We are no where near the amount that will be needed to pay for the rest of the adoption, but I am so blessed to be able to be raising funds little by little using the talents that have been given to me.

We are almost at the half way mark with our adoption through PLAN Loving Adoptions Now, Inc. It is becoming more of a reality the closer we get. We are all excited to bring a new baby into our home.  

If you are interested in my services as a blog designer, have heart for helping families adopt, or would just like to leave a small donation,  you are welcome to contact me.

*Note from Laura:
Ali and I "met" last week on Twitter. I visited her Web site and was impressed by the creative way she's raising funds for their upcoming adoption. If you're a blogger or a Twitterer, I suspect you can benefit from Ali's expertise.

We invite you to follow us on Twitter:

• Ali Telfer - @missiondesigns - https://twitter.com/MissionDesigns
• Laura Christianson - @adoptionexpert - https://twitter.com/adoptionexpert

Adoptionomics: How to Save for Your Adoption

Did you know that the average income of adoptive families with children under age 18 is $56,000 per year? 

With some types of adoption costing upwards of $30,000, we’re talking about a huge chunk of your yearly salary going towards adoption fees. 

At the Ours Through Adoption Conference in Green Bay, WI this Saturday, I taught a workshop called, “Adoptionomics: How to Adopt Without Breaking the Bank.” We discussed “temporary tightwad tactics” through which prospective adoptive parents can save thousands of dollars in a short amount of time. 

One of the biggest—and most neglected—ways to pinch pennies is to temporarily let go of life’s little luxuries. Bring those hidden expenses out of the closet, take a close look at how much you actually spend on them every week, and then say goodbye to them for several months.

By “hidden expenses,” I mean things such as:

Starbucks. The average American visits Starbucks five times per month. Reduce the number of trips per month you take to your favorite coffee shop and put the money you would have spent on lattes into your adoption fund. 

Mobile phone minutes. Do you use your allotted minutes each month? If not, switch to a plan that offers fewer minutes. Better yet, switch to a pre-paid plan. Due to consumer demand, pre-paid cell phones are becoming easier to find.

Dining out. When you eat out, do you order a glass of wine? A glass of house wine averages $4.50. Mixed drinks? Twice as much. Order good, old-fashioned tap water.

Today I read an article called, “How to take a bite from your food bill” by Linda Florea of The Orlando Sentinel. 

Here are some of her suggestions for saving $$ on groceries:

• Plan meals around sales. Look at the grocery store circulars, clip coupons, and plan your menus based on what’s on sale this week.
• Axe prepared foods and single serving, ready-to-drink beverages. Is it really going to kill you to chop a head of lettuce? It only takes a minute and can save you lots over pre-packaged salad mixes.
• Beans, beans, the magical food. Our family (and yes, we have boys) gets a kick out of the rhyme:

Beans, beans, the magical fruit
The more you eat, the more you toot
The more you toot, the better you feel
So let’s have beans at every meal!

Not only are beans (dry or canned) inexpensive, they’re also nutritious and filling. We won’t mention the side effects.

• Buy only what you’ll eat. This is a biggie for me. My husband is always digging through our fridge, emerging with slimy heads of lettuce, dried up carrots and other items I purchased in bulk and then forgot about.We’ve begun purchasing smaller quantities (which seems more expensive up front but actually saves money over the long haul), and making sure we actually eat what we buy.
• Don’t shop when you’re hungry! Those chips and ice cream and other non-essentials are irresistible when your stomach is rumbling. But if you go to the store with a LIST and a full tummy, you’re less likely to impulse buy.

What are your favorite tightwad tips?

Want me to teach a workshop on “Adoptionomics” at your adoption event? Contact me: laura@laurachristianson.com to book a date.

Guest Column: Update Your Estate Plan When You Adopt

By Terence S. Nunan
Rutter Hobbs & Davidoff Incorporated

Adoption is a subject that receives insufficient attention in estate planning. When a person--whether a child or adult--is adopted, the adoptee may automatically become a beneficiary to a testator’s estate and, therefore, inherit a portion of the estate.

Unlike marriage, adoption is, for most part, irrevocable. For example, if a son of the testator adopts his new wife’s child from a prior marriage, the adopted child will become the testator’s grandchild and a potential heir even if the son later divorces that wife. In the context of estate planning, the key question is whether the adopted person is, and is intended to be, included in the testator’s estate plan.

Often, a person will establish a trust for the benefit of his or her children with eventual distribution to the testator’s grandchildren. A critical issue is whether adopted persons should be included in the class of grandchildren of the testator. In the absence of defining provisions in the will or trust, adopted persons may be included, even if adopted as adults. [See Ehrenclou v. Mac Donald, 117 Cal. App. 4th 364, 12 Cal. Rptr. 3d 411 (2004) in which Rutter Hobbs & Davidoff was trial counsel to one of the prevailing parties where there were multiple adult adoptions.]

The issue is, of course, the actual intention of the testator. Sometimes a person will adopt for non-paternal motives in order to benefit a friend who the testator would probably not consider as his or her grandchild. Carefully drafted documents may limit the class of intended beneficiaries to persons who are adopted below a specific age (such as age 14 or younger) or who have lived with the adopting parent as a minor.

One aspect of California adoptions that deserves special attention is the estate planning consequence of Family Code Section 8612(b). This provision of California law requires that adopting parent(s) promise in writing that they will treat their adopted child as their lawful child. It provides that the adopted child will “…have the same rights as a natural child born to me, including the right to inherit my estate.” This contract may constrain the ability of an adopting parent to later discriminate against the adopted child in favor of natural born children in their estate planning.

As the Ehrenclou decision demonstrates, adoption can create interesting estate planning issues for the adoptive parent(s) as well as their extended family, long after the adoption of the person has occurred. Careful drafting of estate planning documents can make it more certain that wealth will be inherited as the testator actually intended.

About the Author:
Terence S. Nunan, a partner at Rutter Hobbs & Davidoff in Los Angeles, is a specialist in probate, estate planning and trust law. A significant portion of Nunan’s time is spent representing fiduciaries, beneficiaries and creditors in contested probate, trust and conservatorship matters. He also represents executors and trustees in post-death administration proceedings including formal probate proceedings, spousal property petitions, trust proceedings and the preparation and audit of estate tax returns. Nunan has special expertise in estate tax and fiduciary income tax matters and has successfully represented clients in both trial and appellate courts. To contact the author, call (310) 789-1814 or email tnunan@rutterhobbs.com.

*Note: Publication of this article does not indicate that I endorse this company; I am merely providing information that may be of help to the wide range of people who visit the Exploring Adoption blog.

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Adoption Fundraiser: Adoption Auction

Enter to win an autographed copy of The Adoption Decision: 15 Things You Want to Know Before Adopting. Just sign up for my free Adoption World eZine (send a blank email to adoptionworld@aweber.com) and follow the contest entry instructions in April’s issue. The contest runs through April 30, 2008.

Here’s an entry from Beckie Stewart:

Take items from your home and instead of having a yard sale, have an adoption auction.   

You can also ask friends and family to donate things.  Hand out flyers and send out invitations for the event, and if you can, find a place to hold it other than your home.

Related Articles:

• Adoption Fundraiser: Spa Evening
• All articles in Adoption Financing category

Sign up for Adoption World, my free monthly eZine! Just send a blank email to adoptionworld@aweber.com

For more news and information about adoption, visit www.laurachristianson.com, and check out my Amazon Exploring Adoption bookstore.

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“My Home is Your Home”

Today, guest columnist Leigh Stevens joins us. She shares how she is experiencing God's call to adopt internationally. As she and her husband await the right timing, they are providing financial assistance to other families who are adopting.

By Leigh Stevens
Guest Columnist

My family will tell you I was always inviting anyone in need to come live with us. In high school, a foreign exchange student was having problems with her sponsor family. I offered my parents' home to her and she became part of our family for that school year, so I guess the concept of “my home is your home” has always been there.

In January 1999, I went on a medical mission trip to India, 10 months before I met my husband. There, I went to a real orphanage for the first time. I remember thinking, I am going to adopt one day. On that particular visit, a little boy we’d seen in the clinic earlier in the day for a cold was running a high fever. He was curled up in the corner of a bunk bed all alone. I crawled in that bunk bed and picked him up, held him, and kissed him. I cried and cried. This precious child needed a mommy to hold and kiss him through his illness. This simple act that so many take for granted would never been known to this little child.

After my husband and I were married in 2001, we were driving back to Alabama from Massachusetts to start our married life. In the car ride, I was listening to Focus on the Family. They did a segment on adoption with Steven Curtis Chapman. He talked about adopting his daughter from China and all the fears that they had. As I listened, I knew that God was confirming in my heart that a child was waiting for me in another country.

As time passed we settled into our careers (I am a nurse anesthetist and my husband is an accountant) and married life. Little did we realize we would face infertility. After six years of marriage, we were unable to conceive a child. The sadness of infertility hit us—the whys, “this makes no sense,” the bitterness, the anger. The Lord reminded me about that child who goes to sleep every night wanting a mom and dad. That’s when I knew infertility treatment was not an option for us. I asked myself, “How can I pay all this money and waste time on something that may not work, when there are millions of beautiful children waiting for a home? We decided to adopt.

During this process I joined forces with KenyaRelief.org,  an organization that started an orphanage in Kenya. We have expanded into opening a medical clinic for orphanages and the community, offering state-of-the-art medical care and medicine year round.

I joined their adopt-a-child program and my (sponsored) child is Kevin Chacha. I love this program! When I travel to Kenya, I get to stay on the same site as the orphanage so I have developed a relationship with him personally!

During my work with kenyarelief.org, God called me to go back to school to become a doctor so that I can do more for orphans. Currently, I am in my second year of medical school. Due to my medical training, it will be at least another 2-3 years before I can actually proceed with an adoption.

During our research on adoption, we realized a common theme that broke our hearts: financial hurdles that stop or prolong many adoptions. I asked Ray, “How can we bring home one or two children and leave millions behind? We have to do something now—not later—to offer hope for those left behind. That's why we founded Our Creator's Hope.

This Christian not-for profit organization offers grants to families needing financial assistance for domestic and international adoptions. In fact, we’re just awarded our first $1,000 grant, to the Asperger family. This family is adopting two brothers from Ethiopia. Their blog is Faith for the Journey.

I hope this organization will also be used to help churches worldwide develop resources and education tools to start orphan/adoption ministries for pre-adoption, during, and post-adoption families (just like we have woman, men, youth ministries in most churches). Our Creator's Hope would also educate and encourage Churches to develop grants/loans to their membership seeking adoption.

Sign up for Adoption World, my free monthly eZine! Just send a blank email to adoptionworld@aweber.com

For more news and information about adoption, visit www.laurachristianson.com, and check out my Amazon Exploring Adoption bookstore.

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Adoption Fundraiser: Spa Evening

Enter to win an autographed copy of The Adoption Decision: 15 Things You Want to Know Before Adopting. Just sign up for my free Adoption World eZine (send a blank email to adoptionworld@aweber.com) and follow the contest entry instructions in April’s issue. The contest runs through April 30, 2008.

Here’s an entry from Kris and Jen Howell:

To help raise money for our adoption we put on a “Spa For Sissy” evening for ladies of all ages. This fundraiser works great right before Christmas or before Mother’s Day.

INVITES
A scrapbooking friend made beautiful invites using pink card stock and terry cloth fabric to make a You Deserve a Spa Day invites. She packaged the invites in a clear container with a bottle of FUJI water, pink shower puff and some lotion donated by a Body Shop dealer.

There were spots for 25 women with a suggested donation of $25. The ladies came between 4 and 8 p.m.… mingled, snacked and signed up for the spa services.

SPA
I lined up professionals (each friend donated their services to the cause):

• Hair cuts, styles
• Waxing
• Make-up
• Pedicures/Manicures
• Massage

FOOD
Women in our church made finger foods, cakes, and desserts that were served by two of my youth girls and two adopted girls from China.

DECOR
We are adopting a girl from S. Korea, so we set up a table and filled it with little girl dolls, some clothes, books, and a memory book of all our documents and adoption paperwork up to that date. The ladies wrote messages to Sissy in her book. We had a large picture of our family on the table and in the black and white picture was a pink sweater waiting for our little girl. The pic made a great centerpiece.

We had lots of opportunities to share God's heart for the orphan and most importantly saw the love that our community had for our daughter so far away.

We raised more than we hoped for and had a great time waiting for Sissy. We are still waiting (25 months) and plan on doing another “Spa for Sissy” this summer!

Find related articles on Adoption Financing.

Sign up for Adoption World, my free monthly eZine! Just send a blank email to adoptionworld@aweber.com

For more news and information about adoption, visit www.laurachristianson.com, and check out my Amazon Exploring Adoption bookstore.
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ADOPTIONOMICS, Part 3: Temporary Tightwad Tactics to Offset Adoption Fees

Did you know that 93 percent of Americans eat pizza at least once a month, and the average person eats 23 pounds of pizza each year?

Did you know that the average Starbucks customer visits their cafés six times per month, and that 57 percent of the U.S. adult population drinks coffee each day?

Most of us don’t think twice about purchasing little “extras” each week—lattes, newspapers, and video rentals.

If you’re willing to temporarily live without some of those luxuries, and funnel the money you would have spent into a special “adoption fund,” you can save half the money you’ll need to adopt a child within one year.

Consider cutting back on the following:

Fast food

Limit fast-food purchases to once a week.
Potential savings: $400/year

Alcoholic beverages

When you eat out, order tap water instead of alcoholic beverages or soda.
Potential savings: $470/year

Movies and videos

Rent movies on DVD as opposed to seeing first-run flicks in the theater. Netflix is a great deal, as is redbox, which rents DVDs for $1/night.
Potential savings: $550/year

Mobile phone minutes

If you don’t use all your allotted minutes each month, consider switching to a plan that offers fewer minutes.
Potential savings: $240/year

Paperback books

Rather than purchasing one new paperback each month, buy used books, or check out books from the public library.
Potential savings: $144/year

Newspapers and magazines

Save 80 percent off the newsstand price by subscribing to the daily newspaper and one or two of your favorite magazines.
Potential savings: $420/year

Cable TV

Order the basic cable package at $15 per month, rather than the $40 per month, expanded package.
Potential savings: $1,300/year

Automatic deposits

Perhaps the most effective way to sock away a substantial sum in a short time frame is to automatically deposit 1 percent of your paycheck into an adoption fund. If your monthly paycheck totals $5,000, immediately begin depositing $50 per month.
Potential savings: $600/year

Letting go of life’s little luxuries may make you cringe. But if you’re committed to providing a permanent home for a child who needs a family, you can make it happen. You’ll be surprised at how quickly the small sacrifices you make will result in thousands of dollars in savings that you can apply toward adopting a child.

The April issue of Adoption World eZine contains 12 more Tightwad Tips. I'll  be giving away a copy of The Adoption Decision: 15 Things You Want to Know Before Adopting, but the giveaway is exclusively for Adoption World subscribers. Start your free subscription by sending a blank email to adoptionworld@aweber.com

Related articles:

• Why is Adoption So Expensive?
• Temporary Tightwad Tactics to Offset Adoption Fees
• Can I Adopt If I'm on a Limited Income?
• Links to Series on Adoption Financing and Adoption Tax Credit
• USCIS To Increase International Adoption Fees
• Adoption Tax Credit for Ohio Residents Triples
• Adoption Statistics from 2007

For more news and information about adoption, visit www.laurachristianson.com, and check out my Amazon Exploring Adoption bookstore.

ADOPTIONOMICS, Part 2: Resources to Help You Offset Adoption Costs

You’ve decided to adopt a child, and you estimate it’s going to cost $25,000. You earn $56,000 per year. How are you going to come up with that much cash?!

Adoption professionals—many of whom are adoptive parents themselves—realize that adopting is a financial hardship for many parents. Agencies often offer some form of financial assistance or are willing to reduce their fees.

When you’re interviewing prospective adoption service providers, ask them the following questions:

• Do you offer sliding-scale fees based on my family income?
• Do you offer interest-free adoption loans or subsidies if I adopt a child with special needs?
• Do you partner with a financial institution to offer a low-interest line of credit?
• Do you offer adoption grants?
• Do you offer any other kind of financial assistance?

Workplace Benefits

In addition to obtaining financial aid from your adoption service provider, you can take advantage of workplace benefits. A growing number of employers offer adoption assistance, ranging from full- or partially-paid adoption leave to financial aid packages that cover legal fees, agency and placement fees, and even birth mother medical costs.

Tax Credit

If you have a modified adjusted gross income of $210,820 or less, you may be eligible to receive a federal adoption tax credit of up to $11,390 for qualified adoption expenses. This credit is not available in a step-parent adoption, but may be available if you are adopting the child of a domestic partner. The tax credit is not a deduction, but rather, a true credit that reduces the amount of tax you owe, dollar for dollar. Read, "The Federal Adoption Tax Credit Explained" for more details. As you might expect, the tax credit law contains permutations that would take pages to explain, so check with the IRS or your tax advisor for complete information.

Subsidies

If you plan to adopt a child with special needs, you may be able to take advantage of federally- and state-funded adoption subsidies. Keep in mind that you must apply for these subsidies before your child’s adoption is finalized.

Grants

Adoption foundations award grants to parents who are already deep into the adoption process and have exhausted other means of obtaining financial assistance. Grants, which range from several hundred to several thousand dollars, are intended to help families over the last financial hurdle. More articles about foundations who award grants will be posted throughout April.

Faith Communities

Many houses of worship have “adoption ministries,” “orphan ministries,” or “waiting child ministries.” They provide grants and discretionary funds to assist parents with adoption fees. In some cases, adoptive parents do not need to be members in order to apply for assistance.

Patience and persistence are the keys to obtaining financial assistance for adoption. Think outside the box, and don’t be afraid to ask for help.

This article is adapted from my book, The Adoption Decision: 15 Things You Want to Know Before Adopting.

In the next post: Temporary Tightwad Tactics to Offset Adoption Fees

Related articles:

• Can I Adopt If I'm on a Limited Income?
• Links to Series on Adoption Financing and Adoption Tax Credit
• USCIS To Increase International Adoption Fees
• Adoption Tax Credit for Ohio Residents Triples
• Adoption Statistics from 2007

Sign up for Adoption World, my free monthly eZine! In April, I'll be giving away a copy of The Adoption Decision, but you must subscribe to Adoption World to enter. Just send a blank email to adoptionworld@aweber.com

For more news and information about adoption, visit www.laurachristianson.com, and check out my Amazon Exploring Adoption bookstore.

ADOPTIONOMICS, Part 1: Why is Adoption So Expensive?

  Have you thought about adopting a child, but gotten scared off by rumors of exorbitant adoption fees?

Adopting doesn’t have to be an impossible dream. During this three-part series, you’ll discover some practical steps you can take to make adopting a child a dream come true.

In Part 1, you’ll learn how much adoption costs, and why.
In Part 2, you’ll learn about resources that will help you offset adoption costs.
In Part 3, you’ll learn “tightwad tactics” that will help you save half the money you need to adopt within one year.

Adoption fees vary drastically, depending on the type of adoption you pursue. Public agency adoption generally has no fees or extremely low fees, because state-run agencies usually place children who are age 3 or older, are part of a sibling group, are an ethnic minority, or have medical, developmental, or emotional challenges stemming from abuse or neglect.

Private or independent adoption (illegal in some states), in which prospective adoptive and birth parents find one another directly, is generally less expensive than working with a private adoption agency. However, there’s also a greater financial risk for adoptive parents. If a pregnant woman decides to parent, you will probably not receive a refund on money you paid for her medical bills and/or living expenses.

Fees are all over the board for licensed private-agency adoption. Fees for domestic infant adoption usually range from $15,000 to $30,000 and fees for international adoption typically range from $10,000 to $40,000.

What do adoption fees pay for?

Some people mistakenly assume adoptive parents “buy” their children. Child trafficking, while illegal, is rampant worldwide, as unethical “baby brokers” try to make a quick buck off of trading a child as a commodity.

The fees adoptive parents pay help prevent child trafficking. Adoption fees fund a variety of professional services and enable an adoption to progress safely and legally. Here are a few of those services:

• Reviewing application to adopt
• Locating children available for adoption
• Locating prospective birth parents
• Professional counseling, education, and training for birth and adoptive families
• Pre- and post-placement visits to the adoptive home by an adoption social worker
• Paperwork processing

If you’re deciding which type of adoption to pursue, collect data from a variety of public and private agencies, adoption facilitators, adoption attorneys, and adoption social workers. Ask them for a written explanation of their services and exactly what their fees will and will not cover. When you find an adoption professional with whom you feel comfortable—both emotionally and financially—go for it!

In the next post: Resources to help you offset adoption costs

I originally wrote this series for Free Money Finance, John Nardini’s popular personal finance blog. This article is adapted from my book, The Adoption Decision: 15 Things You Want to Know Before Adopting.

Related articles:

• Can I Adopt If I'm on a Limited Income?
• Links to Series on Adoption Financing and Adoption Tax Credit
• USCIS To Increase International Adoption Fees
• Adoption Tax Credit for Ohio Residents Triples
• Adoption Statistics from 2007

Sign up for Adoption World, my free monthly eZine! In April, I'll be giving away a copy of The Adoption Decision, but you must subscribe to Adoption World to enter. To subscribe, send a blank email to adoptionworld@aweber.com

For more news and information about adoption, visit www.laurachristianson.com, and check out my Amazon Exploring Adoption bookstore.

Financing Adoption – Links to Articles

Why is adoption so expensive, and how do I pay for it?

Those are the questions I’m asked most frequently. Not long ago, I wrote a three-part series on this topic for John Nardini’s Free Money Finance blog. (By the way, The New York Times recently featured Free Money Finance in an article about business blogging)

Here are links to more articles about adoption financing:

Can I Adopt If I'm on a Limited Income?

Links to Series on Adoption Financing and Adoption Tax Credit

USCIS To Increase International Adoption Fees

Adoption Tax Credit for Ohio Residents Triples

Also in this series:

Adoption Statistics from 2007

For more news and information about adoption, visit www.laurachristianson.com, and check out my Exploring Adoption bookstore.