10 Adoption Fundraiser Ideas that Aren’t T-Shirts
10 Adoption Fundraiser Ideas that Aren’t T-Shirts
The cost of adoption can seem overwhelming when you consider that the average cost of adoptions range from $5,000 - $50,000 depending on the route of adoption you are considering. If you are looking for more information on the cost of each adoption type you can refer back to this article, click here. Or if you would like a cost breakdown checklist you can click here to have that sent to you.
Most prospective adoptive parents do not have the funds when the desire to adopt begins and oftentimes people go so discouraged by the cost of adoption they automatically decide it is not for them. My goal is to help you be empowered emotionally and financially through the adoption process. Protecting your emotional and financial investment in the adoption process is one of the main missions behind my business. I know that my husband and I considered every adoption route and had a few opportunities that did not come to fruition in some of the more risky routes, I want you to learn from our mistakes.
My best piece of advice is to fully understand the risks emotionally and financially that you are taking on depending on the route you decide to take for your adoption AND to not do it alone. Ask friends and family to help you emotionally and financially in the process. I know that talking about the cost of adoption with friends and family can be really uncomfortable so I put together a list of creative ways that you can fundraise for your adoption so that it doesn’t feel as awkward.
Before you fundraise for the adoption process they need to know that you plan to adopt. A simple announcement on social media is the most common way people announce their adoption. Another way to announce your adoption is to send a handwritten note or photo to those most special to you. This could be a great way to introduce the idea to those that don’t have social media or to those that you feel might not be supportive of your adoption journey. It could also be a bonus tip for fundraising. Including a short sentence that says something like “If you would like to support our adoption journey we are accepting donations.”
How To Accept Your Adoption Donations
Fundraising only works if you have a way to accept the donations. Obviously you want to accept the donations in the easiest way possible for the person donating. Proactively setup PayPal, Venmo, and whatever else might be popular in your circle that is specifically for the adoption. I would recommend something with a unique Adoption related username, so if your typical user name is Jane Smith I would make your user name Jane Smith’s Adoption Fund. You want the person donating to you to feel that you are keeping these funds in a special account just for the adoption.
Now, let’s get to the fun part, the Adoption Fundraiser Ideas that Aren’t T-Shirts. It is important to point out that this is not an exhaustive list but rather something to get you started. If you are looking for more ways to pay for your adoption expenses check out this article, click here, where we cover adoption grants and other creative ways to pay for your adoption.
10 Adoption Fundraiser Ideas that aren’t T-Shirts
Online Auction of Donated Items
Grants and scholarships
Ice bucket challenge
No-Shave November
Fantasy Football League
NCAA Tournament Bracket Challenge
Video Game tournament
Outdoor Movie Night
Facebook Marketplace/Craigslist purge
Coffee Fundraiser
Let’s talk about each of these Adoption Fundraiser Ideas in more detail:
Online Auction of Donated Items
Think of this as your own personal eBay with donated items. I am sure there are tons of local businesses that you frequent regularly that would be willing to donate a gift card or product basket for you to leverage for this. Then create a virtual event in your favorite social media platform. Tell your family, friends and followers that you are going to hold an online auction for these items for a certain period of time and the winner when the clock expires will be the lucky recipient of the donated item.
Logistically I would suggest that you post about this online auction every other day for 2 weeks and make the auction itself run Thursday to Sunday, since those are the peak social media usage days. Making a post for each item will help make bidding easier and if you are seeing that an item isn’t gaining traction I would comment under it and potentially tag people that I think would really like the item.
Grants and Scholarships
There are several adoption grants and scholarships available depending on the adoption path you have chosen. Additionally there are unique options based on individual characteristics of yourself or partner. For more information on adoption grants, click here.
Ice Bucket Challenge
The Ice Bucket challenge was incredibly successful because most people felt compelled to donate as well as sharing the challenge with their followers. If the Ice Bucket idea isn’t for you think of some other fun spin on it that your social network would find interesting. So if you are a die hard sports person maybe you wear the opposing team’s jersey for a game and you challenge someone else to do the same or they must pay you $20. Or if you are known to really dislike a certain food then you have to consume it at the gathering or live on social media and you challenge the next person.
The key to this being a large fundraiser is doing something that is interesting, fun and engaging and challenging others in your network to do the same AND donate. They could also share the link to your adoption fundraiser Venmo, PayPal, etc with their followers and you are getting bonus donations from people you don’t even know but that are interested in watching your challenge.
No-Shave November
Ok, so I immediately know the objection to this one….what if I am not a guy, what if it isn’t November, similar to the Ice Bucket Challenge take the spirit of what makes this work so well and adapt it to something your social network would find interesting. Maybe that is wearing a white wig to a large meeting (white is the color for adoption), shaving your head, wearing a silly outfit to the grocery store and live streaming it on social media. The key to making this idea work is to make it something that your social network would find funny, interesting, or worth paying to see you do. Then when you reach your goal for donations you do it.
Fantasy Football League
With everyone social distancing these days people are looking for ways to have safe fun. Making a fantasy football league for college, professional, for the entire season or just for the bowl games is a fun way to get your social network engaged. You could run it with a buy in for $20-30 and make half of the pot go to the winner and the other half go to the adoption fundraiser. You could also introduce little challenges throughout the league as well. If Johnny’s team wins this week they could challenge Mark to wear the jersey of Johnny’s team or pay $20 to the fundraiser. This is a great way to bring the sports lover into the adoption fundraising process.
NCAA Tournament Bracket Challenge
Another great way to bring the sports lover into the process is to hold an NCAA Tournament Bracket Challenge. Obviously both of these ideas are similar but since your adoption process is likely to take a year or more they are great ways to fundraise at different times of the year.
Since the tournament happens over a shorter period of time than an entire football season it is important to have a clear plan of what you want to do at each stage of the tournament so you can focus on maximizing your donations.
Video Game tournament
Maybe sports aren’t your thing or you just want to appeal to another portion of your social media following, a video game tournament is a great way to have fun and fundraise at the same time. You could apply some of the same ideas as the sports challenges but with a video game twist. Highest score, most bad guys eliminated, etc, make it specific to the game your social media following is interested in so they really get engaged. Of course this is something that could happen physically or digitally depending on what makes the most sense for your particular situation. If you did it in person you could add other small fundraising ideas like: most comfortable chair for an additional $20, making someone do something ridiculous like play blindfolded, or you could even run a small concession stand that is donation based as well.
Outdoor Movie Night
Another great way to fundraise with your social network is to hold a family movie night which would be even more fun if it is outdoors in your own backyard. Most rental places rent the blow up movie screens or you could go as simple as a projector (that maybe you borrow from your work or church) that you hook to your computer and favorite steaming service. Then you could project it on a sheet or the side of your home. The general idea is to pick something safe enough for all audience members to watch together (remember there are likely to be little kids present) and sell tickets.
This is also a great time to bring in some of the ideas from the video game tournament too. You could auction off the best seats in the house (think of something crazy like carrying your couch outside for them to cuddle up on), have a concession stand with items for donation, and even offer sleep it off services if that is something your crowd would appreciate.
Facebook Marketplace/Craigslist Purge
Asking family, friends and social media followers to purge their homes to help your adoption fundraising efforts is a win-win. They get the satisfaction of purging for a good cause and you get items to sell. Just gather all the items, price and photograph them. Then you could list these items on multiple sites and opt for porch pickups to make it manageable for you.
The key to making this work is to quickly search for items on the platform that you plan to use to sell them on so you know how to price and what words to use in your post. So if you call something a purse but you see that there are more options listed for the bag then you could list it as “Purse in excellent condition that would also make a great beach bag.” Then when someone searches for a bag it would come as well.
Coffee Fundraiser
Another very unique idea is a coffee fundraiser, or you could find something similar that your social network would be passionate about. This company, Just Love Coffee, has fundraising as part of their DNA. It is as simple as signing up to be eligible for their fundraising program and then you share it on social media using the tools that they provide. Then when someone purchases the coffee the company ships it out and gives you a portion of the proceeds for your adoption journey. Check them out here: https://justlovecoffee.com/Beneficiary/Fundraise
The best advice we received while funding our adoption was not to go into debt to adopt a child as you have a lifetime of expenses ahead of you once the child is home. If you would like to get a list of 25 Adoption Fundraising Ideas sent to you click below or if you want to read more about those ideas click here.
Remember this is not a sprint, it is a marathon and good marathoners need a good coach. No matter what adoption route you pick don’t go it alone. If you need to chat or get some advice I am only an email away, amanda@myadoptioncoach.com
You can do this and I have got your back!
Hi, I Am Amanda
I help women build their families through adoption by giving them the step by step guide to adopt a child and support them on their journey