Applying for Adoption Grants Can Aid In Financing Your Adoption

Adoption costs can be very unaffordable, to say the least. It is honestly sad how expensive adoption fees are for families who have likely spent a good chunk of change in infertility and medical costs prior to adopting. Thankfully, there are ways to help aid in these outrageous adoption fees. Fundraisers, such as using a Go-Fund-Me account, selling t-shirts, or even having a yard sale can help ease some of the cost. However, adoption grants are a resource more and more families are beginning to use to help in covering some of the adoption costs.

Adoption costs can be a burden for many families and even deter them from adopting because they simply do not have a way to cover the costs without risking their financial stability to raise the child. When it comes to adoption grants, they can be a bit overwhelming and time-consuming but worth it in the end if they can help ease the adoption expenses. Typically, with adoption grants, families do not have to pay back the funds they receive. Each grant program has different criteria that the prospective adoptive parents will need to meet. The criteria are chosen by each individual grant program association.

Common Stipulations When Applying for Adoption Grants

Despite each grant organization having its own criteria, there are some common stipulations that each program might consider before approving a grant application. When applications are submitted to the grant program, the program more than likely will want to check to see if you really need financial assistance. They may want to be sure you have exhausted all your other resources before feeling they should approve you for financial assistance. After that, they will be verifying that you are sure that you are certain you are ready to adopt and that you will finalize the adoption. Oftentimes, they require your home study to be complete and approved, ready for the next step of the process, before they will issue the money for the grant.

Each grant organization awards the adoption grants the way they choose. Here are some of the specifics that these organizations focus on when deciding the amount of money they will provide:

Look at the age of the child, special needs the child may have, and if there are siblings who are also going to be adopted by the same family.
Have a set amount per child that they will grant to the family.
Hold special dollar-for-dollar matching campaigns.
Children who are harder to place sometimes have a grant associated with their name to raise interest in families and make them easier to place.

If the organization is one that does the dollar-for-dollar matching campaign, you will be asked to send out letters to your family, friends, church members, business owners, etc. to ask for donations to be made in your name. The organization then matches the donations you receive. This helps your friends and family have an incentive to help you… doubly! It extends their donation to get you closer to your goal.

Guilt in Applying for Adoption Grants

Often, families feel uncomfortable asking for help. They feel that applying for grants is begging for handouts. That is furthest from the truth. There is no need to be embarrassed that you need support. There are organizations set up that are not just willing but WANT to alleviate the burden for families who desperately want to make a difference in a child’s life through adoption. Think of it as not relieving the costs for yourself but, instead, you are setting your future child up for a more stable home financially which ultimately helps them.

Finding Resources

Some churches have adoption grants. They may not be large but every bit helps. Be sure to ask your pastor if they have any grants or if they know of any trustworthy organizations, especially locally, to apply to. Heart of Adoptions offers such a great list of resources. You can get the basic information about a grant association along with website information and even email contacts to start the adoption grant process. You can do further searches on Google to find more resources. Don’t let it overwhelm you. Take it one at a time. Leave no stone unturned. Research, research, and research some more. Then, apply, apply, and apply some more! The new addition to your family will be worth all that and more!