Adoption $
When we started talking adoption {before we ever picked an agency}, we began discussing how we were going to manage it financially. Financially, we have a strict budget and big goals. Despite this, we knew we would not be able to pay for our adoption out of pocket.
Some conversations looked like this…
“Is it okay for us to ask people to partner with us financially on this journey?”
“Should we wait until we have enough saved?...But that would take 5 more years…”
“Let’s look online for fundraising ideas.”
“Why is adoption so expensive anyway?”
“We didn’t have to pay this much for Luke and he was a NICU baby. That’s because of insurance. Oh right, insurance. Can we use the money in our HSA?”
And the list went on…
If you have been on this adoption road with us for 1 second, you know we are humbly welcoming others to partner with us. In pure honesty, there are some days where the reality of asking people to help us financially through fundraisers has been a hard reality for us. Other days, we have seen the amazing faithfulness of our God as He uses His people to gift us in ways we never expected. Your generosity has blown our minds and caused us to hit our knees. {I have a garage full of stuff to prove it!}
Two things that have been important to us since we realized we would not be able to pay for this out of pocket are…
ONE: We had to pick an agency that we were totally on board with. We had to know what they stood for. Exactly how much our fees would be and why.
Christian Homes is very transparent regarding their fee schedule. We know what to pay when and why. They spent an entire segment during orientation discussing why their fees and what they do with the money. One of the many things we like about Christian Homes is how well they take care of the birth mothers. I will not go into great detail about it here {that is another blog for another day}; however, Christian Homes is truly being Jesus to these women during a very uncertain time in their lives. There are no strings attached and they do not have to choose adoption even after going through the program. Christian Homes is wanting to provide a safe, healthy place for these women and their babies for this season in their lives.
TWO: We wanted to be completely transparent regarding how much we pay and where this money has come from.
Why? You might ask…
We want to be extremely honest and transparent regarding the gifts we are given. You are giving these gifts to us and we want to show you great respect and thanks by being good stewards.
Also, it is our hope that showing how God is working in the numbers will encourage other families to take the adoption plunge. Adoption shows a beautiful glimpse of God, and adoptive families are so needed. Please don’t let money be the reason you choose not to adopt. If you are on the fence about adopting because you don’t know where the money will come from, stay tuned. I’m pretty sure there will be a follow-up blog showing how God blew us out of the water.
Christian Homes’ Current Fee Schedule:
Fee
Pre-Application Fee……………………………………….$100
Orientation Fee……………………………………………..$250
Application Fee……………………………………………..$750
Home Study & Pre-Placement Fee…………………$6k
Marketing Fee……………………………………………….$6k
Match Fee……………………………………………………..$10k - $25k {sliding scale based on annual income}
Legal Termination & Post-Placement Fee………$2k
Above is Christian Homes’ current fee schedule. These chunks are due at different times as we walk through the process. They get bigger with time and the biggest chunk is determined based on annual income {sliding scale}.
Note: A few have questioned the sliding scale. Why do some families have to
pay more just because they make more? Isn’t that unfair to them if really
it only cost as much as the families on the lower income end of things?
Answer: No, the top range is actually how much the adoption cost. However,
Christian Homes wants to make it as manageable as possible. They understand
that adoption is expensive and a struggle for most families. They are able to do the
sliding scale due to funds raised from donors throughout the year. Outside
donations make is possible to make the total a little more “manageable”.
So…here is where the rubber meets the road. Tim and I want to show you exactly where our money has or hopefully will come from. We are still in the middle of this process and have yet to actually start any of our fundraisers {though I feel like that’s all I’ve been doing and talking about for over a month now}.
Fee Where it came from
Pre-Application Fee…….$100 Kennedy Savings
Orientation Fee…………..$250 Lindsey’s Embroidery Sales
Application Fee…………..$750 Kennedy Savings
Home Study……………….$6k Unpaid/Have in Savings {but is ALL of savings}
& Pre-Placement Fee
Marketing Fee…………….$6k Unpaid/Don’t Have
Match Fee…………………..$10k - $25k Unpaid/Don’t Have
Legal Termination……….$2k Unpaid/Don’t Have
& Post-Placement Fee
Fundraising Goals
Dittos for Kiddos: $650
Garage Sale: $3000
T-Shirt Sale: $2500 +
Mini - Photo Session $2000
Front Porch Marketplace $750
Grants $5000 +
The total of estimated fundraising comes out to $13,900. This is the math that is making the most since to us right now; however, we are confident {as we have already seen God blow us away} that many of these numbers will actually be higher.
Oh man, my stomach is nervous going over these numbers for the billionth time because you might have noticed that even with the fundraising and potential grant money it still isn’t enough. We don’t have that part figured out yet, but believe God does and will show us along the way.
You might have also noticed that there are fundraisers on this list that we have not announced yet. I was hoping to have our calendar and details for all of them ready for you this week; however, we’re still waiting on details for a few of them. I promise to get it out soon…possibly 2 blogs in 1 week in order to get it out to you?
In the meantime, mark your calendars for Saturday October 15th for the garage sale of a lifetime. We will, of course, have all the garage sale stuff along with baked goods, coffee, sodas, embroidery items, and our t-shirt!! Our t-shirt is another thing I am hoping to properly announce soon. We are working out the online ordering details with our screen printer right now. Once those are worked out, we will show our most excellent design {thank you, Nil Santana!} and let you know how you can order them.
Photos courtesy of: Wix.com and Yours Truly