25 Adoption Fundraiser Ideas
25 Adoption Fundraiser Ideas
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. 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 get 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. If you need more ideas on how to do this, click here
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 25 Adoption Fundraiser Ideas. It is important to point out that this list contains more typical ideas for adoption fundraisers. If you are looking for more ways to pay for your adoption expenses that are a bit more unique check out this article, click here, where we cover ideas that you don’t typically see in adoption fundraisers.
25 Adoption Fundraiser Ideas
T-Shirt Fundraiser
Garage sale
Bake Sale
Freezer Filler Sale
House/Pet sitting
Lawn Flocking
Handyperson service
Be Your Own Farmers Market
Home organization
Lawncare
Online Auction of Donated Items
Uber driver
Grants and scholarships
Taco night social
Pie in the face
Fantasy Football League/NCAA Tournament Bracket Challenge
Facebook Marketplace/Craigslist purge
Coffee Fundraiser
Network Marketing Parties
Buy Discounted Gift Cards as Silent Auction Items
Painting Party Night
Wine and Cheese Party
Car Wash
Bowling Night
Pancake Breakfast
Let’s talk about a few of these Adoption Fundraiser Ideas in more detail:
Freezer Filler Sale
This is a great way to get people involved with your adoption fundraiser and for them to get something yummy in return. A pretty simple idea where you would make a dish, or a few, that freeze and reheat well and sell them to friends and family. You can find healthy budget friendly meals that are super simple to make, of course I always suggest test driving them first to make sure you love them. Here are a couple of great ideas to get you started. https://www.pinterest.com/myadoptioncoach/freezer-meals/
Lawn Flocking
This fun idea takes the old toilet paper rolling adventures from your adolescent years into something that is fit for an adult and a worthy cause. The basic premise is to put plastic pink flamingos in someone’s yard and in order for them to be removed they need to make a donation to the adoption. You could make a cute sign that says The Smiths are helping us build our flock, you can donate too! Or this could be something that The Smiths pay to have them put in The Jones’ yard. There are a million different ways you can do this!
Be Your Own Farmers Market
Growing your own fruits and vegetables is a great budget saver but also a great fundraiser idea as well since your friends, family and possibly even your community can reap the benefits! Growing from seeds is the cheapest way to grow and you don’t even need much space to accomplish your goals.
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 runs 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 you 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.
Fantasy Football League/NCAA Tournament Bracket Challenge
With everyone social distancing these days people are looking for ways to have safe fun. Making a sports related challenge for the entire season or just for the bowl games/tournament 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.
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 here, or if you want to read more about the untraditional adoption fundraiser 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
