Thursday, February 9, 2012

Adoption Fundraising Update

I've had a lot of questions about our adoption lately, and thought it might be helpful to give a little update.

The Crazy Minister and I have narrowed it down to 2 adoption agencies. They are by far the cheapest options I have found, and they are also both fairly local. When I say "cheap," I mean by comparison: one agency I liked charges over $24,000 not including legal fees or birthmother expenses!

So I'm sure this has you wondering much as I was, what in the world is all this money for?

Well here's a general breakdown of what we will be paying for along the way, and the ranges of cost from the agencies we're considering:

Application fee and orientation: $150-300
Homestudy: 1,250-1,300
Agency Fee: 12,000-14,040
Birthmother Expenses: 3,000+
Legal Fees: 2,500-8,000

Totals
Agency 1: 21,140
Agency 2: 19,400-24,400

A homestudy is the part where someone licensed by the state comes into our home and decides whether we are fit to be parents, and includes background checks, financial stability checks, interviews with us, looking over our home, and even references.

The agency fee pays for agency staff, operating expenses, advertising, and finding birthmothers who are willing to adopt instead of have an abortion.

Birthmother expenses: This is if she can't afford prenatal care etc. This one makes me a bit nervous - there is a $3,000 cap in Indiana, but no cap in Kentucky, so it depends on where the birthmother is from.

Legal Fees: We pay for the legal fees for the birthparents and us.

Our first fundraising goal is $2,000. That will allow us to commit to a homestudy with a little leftover to cover costs immediately afterward. While there are grants available, but we can't apply until we have the homestudy done. (Which makes sense if you think about it - they don't want to give us money until we're approved as fit parents).


What can you do to help?
Pray Pray Pray!!!!
Order coffee here, we get $5/bag.
When you order things on Amazon.com, do it through our store.
Donate old things to our Yard Sale, which we will be having this spring.
More things are to come!


What are we doing in the meantime?
Cleaning, organizing, and getting ready for our homestudy
Researching grants so we can apply as soon as possible
Planning fundraisers
Trying to honor God and the people helping us by being the best stewards of our finances that we can
Picking an agency


As always, thank you soo very much for all your love, prayers, and support. Together we can all do something powerful - offer a woman with an unwanted pregnancy a loving alternative to an abortion, and offer an unwanted child a loving home.

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