Fundraising for your adoption can seem a little daunting when you are first getting started. You are likely trying to raise $25,000+ for your adoption but you really aren’t sure how to do that.  This article is going to walk you through the step by step process that you need to go through to make sure you understand how to ask for and receive funds for your adoption.  

Before you get started accepting adoption donations there are a few things you need to be clear about:

1. How much money you need to fund your adoption 

2. When you need to have the cash in hand to pay for your adoption

3. What sources you plan to leverage for your adoption

4. Create your step by step roadmap of how you are going to reach your goals.

5. How you will market your fundraiser is even more important than how you will accept your funds

If you have not already done completed steps 1-4  I would stop reading this now and go check out My Adoption Financial Planner, it will walk you through the step by step process with quick and easy printable worksheets, checklists, and conversation guides so that you can create a plan to fund your adoption that everyone can easily understand and align to within your family.  It may sound like a little overkill but you will use this information to give some comfort to your audience that you are going to use the money for its intended purpose.

The last step before you are ready to start accepting funds for your fundraiser is to be super clear on how you will communicate your fundraiser.  The success of your fundraiser comes down to understanding how to write compelling messages that people believe in as well as having something people want to buy.  People vote with their hearts as much as they vote with their wallets so the combination of having something that they want and something they believe in is really important.  

Here are a few tips:

1. Be open and honest about your story.  Why are you adopting? 

2. Create a unique and compelling call to action for each fundraiser

3. Create compelling graphics that communicate what your fundraiser is about and how the money will be used

4. Understand what your audience is interested in and lean into that for fundraisers

5. Create a strategic messaging sequence so that you continue to drive donations throughout your campaign

It is important to clearly communicate that you are adopting, why you are adopting, and share a little bit about why you are fundraising.  It is important to be genuinely open and honest about as much as you feel comfortable with when you share your story.  The more a person believes in your cause the more compelled they will feel to help you.  Whether or not they donate themselves or share it with their network their belief in your story is the critical unlock to their support.

Having something people can easily understand that has thumb-stopping power on Facebook and Instagram is really important.  You want people to see the beautiful graphic, understand what you are asking them to do, and why all within the nanoseconds.  The average person is exposed to over 34 gigabytes of information in one day according to Fast Company (https://www.fastcompany.com/3051417/why-its-so-hard-to-pay-attention-explained-by-science) so your job of cutting through the clutter in their mind is critical to their success.

Graphics play an important role in that, if you want to learn more about how to check out my Free Facebook Group where I shared free tips on this all the time.

Now that we have laid the right foundation let’s dive into the process of how to accept funds for your adoption, here is another step by step process to make this easier for you:

1. Set up a separate checking account just for your adoption

2. Do your research as it relates to tax requirements for your individual situation?

3. Poll your audience on what methods they feel most comfortable supporting

First, having your funds separated is important to the overall success of your adoption fundraising efforts.  I know that it is a total and complete pain in the bottom to go open a separate checking or savings account but it will make things so much easier to track in the long run that it is totally worth it.  Also, do your research as it relates to savings accounts and whether or not they are a good option for your adoption fundraiser.  I know the days of high-interest rates are long gone but there is still a little opportunity to make a few more dollars for your fundraiser.  Here is a great resource to give you some ideas for savings accounts that yield great results.  https://money.com/best-high-yield-savings-accounts/

Second, do your research as it relates to tax-deductible donations for your adoption.  Certain organizations will allow this and even give your contributors a receipt for their taxes.  While I am not an accountant so you should do your research, I know that I am much more likely to contribute to a donation if I know that I am going to get something out of it.  And when you are talking about an adoption fundraiser I think you could talk about it as a triple whammy.  Not only do they get a tax donation, the item you are actually fundraising for but they also get to help you form a family--- triple whammy!  See the way you position your adoption fundraiser does matter!

Finally, polling your audience.  I know this sounds all official and such but it can really be a pretty simple question on Facebook or just what you already know about those that are likely to donate.  The answer to this question may also vary based on the type of fundraiser, the geographical location of you vs your audience, and the comfort level they have with digital technology in general.  It is important to do what works for both of you.  This should be pretty simple; it is all about ensuring you are leaving open every possible method of receiving the money they want to give you.  Here is a quick rundown of the options a little bit about each one:

Official Fundraiser Sites:

Go Fund Me

This a super popular way to make your adoption fundraising efforts seem more official.  Funding your adoption can be even easier when you think the fact that there are 50 million people on gofundme.com and their success stories are staggering.  They even allow your fundraiser to be featured on their page, https://www.gofundme.com/discover/family-fundraiser It is important to note that they do charge a service fee of 2.9% of the total amount plus .30 per transaction.  Additionally, keep in mind that it often takes 3-5 days for the funds to be transferred to your bank account from GoFundMe

Adopt Together

This amazing organization is specifically designed for adoption and has raised over $6 million for over 4,000 families.  Their story is pretty heartwarming and is a great example of how to message your own adoption story. The benefit of using this organization is that it is tax-deductible and they can contribute directly to you through the organization.  They have a full faq section to help navigate those commonly asked questions to help you get started.

It is important to know that they charge a 5% service charge on the donation so the amount you will receive will be slightly less than what was donated.  However, if this option makes people feel better about donating then it is totally worth 5%. https://adopttogether.org/

Digital Money Transfering:

The next several options all involve connecting an app to your bank account, while there are tons of options in the app store to do this it is important that you go with something you feel is safe and that your audience uses on a regular basis.  The main difference in these is its transaction fees, it is important to keep track of what you get donation wise after the transaction fee so you have an accurate accounting for your budget.  Also, note that donations run this way typically are not tax deductible but I am not an accountant so you should do your own research when it comes to tax deductions.

• Cash App: 3%

• PayPal: 2.9% + .30

• Venmo: 3%

No matter which way you decide to accept funds for your adoption fundraiser I hope that this article has helped you not only pick what partner you plan to use but also to get clear on the most important things within your adoption fundraiser.  Knowing what you are doing, why you are doing it, having thumb-stopping graphics are all equally as important as having the ability to accept funds when people want to donate.

My parting words of advice, don’t be overwhelmed by the amount of money you need to raise for your adoption.  Do everything you can to take away the power from that number.  Set small goals for each month, write a comprehensive plan to help you get there.  Use the Your Adoption Financial Planner to create yourself a clear roadmap to reaching your financial goals for your adoption.  

It is scary to pay for adoption and have so many unknowns staring you in the face so get in community with others that are walking the same journey, it really does help!  Remember you can do this and I have your back.

-Amanda

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