Adoption Fundraising Guidance, Ideas & Key Tips

Congratulations – you’ve made the amazing decision to adopt!

Adoption is an incredible experience, but an expensive one too. No doubt your research has revealed it can cost anywhere from $5000 – $40,000 to adopt in your native country or from abroad.

While there may be financial assistance in some cases, in most cases you would be expected to find those funds yourself. It is a hard truth that causes many loving individuals and couples to make the painful decision to abandon their greatest wish.

Here are some traditional ways people finance adoption:

• Remortgaging

• Loans

• Credit cards

• Downsizing

• Selling assets

These are serious financial decisions that may not be available to everyone. And, we’re not even going to go into the additional stress and worry this can add!

Could crowdfunding be a solution?

Crowdfunding is when a fundraiser creates a crowdfunding campaign with the intention of receiving donations from those who truly believe in their cause. The most successful campaigns are those where the fundraiser reaches out to everyone in their personal, social, business or community crowd to ask for donations. In other words, people they already know in some way.

If a campaign is not a private campaign (hidden from the public) and builds and gathers momentum, perhaps it will capture the attention of press, TV, social media influencers, celebrities and other sources that can elevate the campaign and spread wider and wider, faster and faster, potentially reaching what is well known as ‘going viral’.

Here, at GoGetFunding, we’ve been helping people become parents for over 10 years! If you have never considered crowdfunding for adoption, here are a few questions you may want to ask yourselves:

• Am I emotionally ready to begin asking others to help?

• Do I have a clear budget of costs and goals involved?

• Are my finances stable?

• Do I have the time to invest in running a fundraising campaign? At GoGetFunding.com, we recommend campaign owners spend a minimum of between 3 – 5 hours a week on their campaign (this includes emails, social media, working on your campaign appearance and updates, organising fundraising events and so on).

• Do I have enough time to allow my campaign to grow and gather momentum? The longer your campaign is running, the better your chances of raising more funds, spreading the word further, and assessing your finances.

• Do I have the support of family or friends, who can help organise and motivate a campaign with me?

If you can say yes to most of the above, crowdfunding could be a very real option!

If the thought of publicly sharing your campaign is a concern, you could consider running a private campaign where donors can only donate by invite and a password.

Expanding your family takes planning no matter which route you take. And as we all know the sooner you start planning, budgeting and preparing, the less stressful the whole process can be – so even if you do encounter a few bumps and setbacks along the way, they feel more manageable.

Many adoption fundraisers quietly and patiently start their campaigns very early – sometimes before they even start the adoption process because they know as soon as they do start, the bills start arriving too.

Adoption really is a journey.

Welcoming a new little person into your family is not only about making you a parent. They will often make other people become aunties, uncles, grandparents, godparents, brothers, sisters, cousins, nieces, nephews or playmates too!

A crowdfunding campaign where you can all share your journey will create a unique bond and a deep connection between you, your family and your wider circle. It really can be life-changing for everyone who comes together to help make your family a reality. How amazing is that?

If you want to try crowdfunding, how do you start? Below are some fundraising tips to help you set your campaign up for success:

Use a clear title that will attract attention
Make it clear what you are fundraising for. Short, punchy titles work best.

Make your story personal
Use the story section of your campaign to really explain what your goals are. Try to make it as personal as possible, while being clear about what funds will be paying for.

Start early
Starting early means your donors have a real chance to get behind you. They may even decide to donate on a recurring basis until you reach your goal.

Use pictures and videos
Pictures and videos convey a story instantly and are often the gateway to a donor reading your actual campaign so make sure you choose something attention-grabbing/

Get friends and family involved
You don’t have to fundraise alone: get your friends and family involved to help spread the word.

Run fundraising events
Fundraising events can be a great way to attract attention and raise funds. There are so many types of events you can run. Check out our fundraising ideas for inspiration.

Keep donors up to date
Once people have donated they will be invested emotionally in your journey, especially with this type of campaign. Use the update feature as regularly as possible to let them know how things are progressing.

So if you have everything to give – love, financial stability, protection, a home, but the one thing – the only thing – that is preventing you from opening your arms wide and welcoming your daughter or son into your life are the actual costs involved in adopting them, could crowdfunding be the answer?

If you’re ready to get started, why not start your fundraising campaign today?