(by 9 people)
There are many waiting children in the world who need a family. There are many waiting parents who would love to adopt, but can't afford the expenses. Here is financial information to help bring the chidren home!
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Announcing my new lens!
Adoption Financing Websites
- Available Resources for Adoption Expenses
- An adoptive mama maintains this great list of resources. Be sure to read about her beautiful family, too!
- Adoption Bay
- An adoption 'mall' to sell products online to raise money for adoption. The prices to sell seem high, but check it out and see if it will work for your situation.
- Affording Adoption ...helping to make adoption an affordable option for every family!
- Resource for adoption grants, loans, fundraisers, tax credits,
airfare/travel discounts and many other adoption financing options! - Adopt Shops
- Adopt Shops - Adoption Fund raising stores. Helps adoptive families to afford the costs associated with adoption. They will link to fundraising pages for FREE, or will host your adoption shop.
- Adoption Fund Raising
- Raise money for your adoption, support a worthy cause, purchase beautiful adoption jewelry for yourself and your loved ones.
- Celebrate Adoption Family Fundraisers
- This section of the Celebrate Adoption website is designed to let
you know of families that are trying to raise funds to help with their adoption
related expenses. Go to the bottom of the page to find out how to list your adoption website. - Adoption Fundraiser Suggestions
- Ideas to get those creative juices flowing!
- Financing Adoption
- Financing Adoption assists adoptive parents in financing domestic and international adoption expenses through fundraising. It provides a way to donate money towards adoption by a particular family or for orphanage in Eastern Europe. Post your family profile and post a link to your fundraising webpage.
- Anna Bears Adoption Fundraising
- International flag wearing bears to sell for fundraising endeavors.
- Christian Adoption Resources
- A great story of how a family's adoption expenses were provided for, with some fundraising ideas.
Grants and Loans
- The Shepherd's Crook
- This Christian organization helps special needs chidren find homes. Each child has a fund, tax free donations can be donated into it.
- Brittany's Hope
- Go here and see the beautiful faces of children who seek homes. They are all special needs, and all have substantial grants to help their family bring them home.
- Ava's Hope
- A new organization that will be giving grants to families in the adoption process.
- Kingdom Kids Adoption
- A Christian website with budgeting ideas and grants available
- His Kids, Too!
- A ministry helping the Ukrainian people. They also award adoption grants 3 times a year- 2,000 for one child; 4,000 for two. Click on "Adoption Help" for more information on their adoption grant program.
- Compassionate Hearts
- Compassionate Hearts' mission is to aid orphans while they await a family to
adopt them. Our board members work hard to make the most of the money that
has been fundraised or donated. See their website for a grant application. - Shaohannah's Hope:
- Grants for adopting families
- Life International
- Matching grants for Christian families
- The ABBA Fund
- Interest free adoption loan program for Christian families
- Gift of Adoption Fund
- The Gift of Adoption Fund provides financial assistance in the form of grants to adoptive parents. The Gift of Adoption Fund is supported by individual, corporate, and foundation tax deductible donations.
- National Adoption Foundation -Adoption Programs
- While many people have expressed concerns that adoption is too expensive, the National Adoption Foundation has done something about it. Using private funds and a partnership with the corporate community, they give adoptive families grants for adoption expenses
- Helping Kids Cope
- Grants for homestudy ready families
- God's Grace Adoption Ministry - Christian adoptions
- God's Grace Adoption Ministry can help with financial assistance to Christian families wishing to adopt.
- Fore Adoption Foundation
- Fore Adoption Foundation wants to help United States children find permanent loving homes. Grants available for pending US adoptions.
- Open Arms
- Grants awarded twice yearly to homestudy ready families.
- A Child Waits Foundation
- A Child Waits Foundation - financial resource for those seeking loans for international adoptions. They provide low interest loans for families who have exhausted other financial options and could not proceed with their adoption without help.
- Ibsen Adoption Network
- Financial assistance for Christian adoptive families in Washington State.
- Caroline's Promise
- Their goal is to provide $3,000 - $5,000 grants throughout the year to Christian couples who are adopting domestically or international. Currently accepting applications only from couples who live in NC.
- International CARE, Inc.
- Adoption grants for internationally adopting families.
- Oxford Adoption Foundation
- Oxford Adoption Foundation, Inc. provides low
interest loans for families who have exhausted other financial options
and could not proceed with their adoption without our help. - Potter's Hands
- A foundation to provide financial assistance to Christian families in the process of adopting.
- Adoption Grants- from $1,000 to $10,000 to help make adoption more affordable.
- Adoption grant program to help make adoption more affordable.
Agencies with financing helps
- WACAP
- This agency has a program whereby certain children that have proved difficult to place are designated "Promise Children". All adoption expenses for Promise Children are payed for. They also have a revolving loan program for their waiting children.
Families with Fundraising Webpages
See what other adoptive families are doing, and support their efforts!
- Rob and Amy Adopt | Help us bring our family together.
- Rob and Amy- Artists Adopt
Help us bring our family together. - Moms On A Mission
- Two adoptive mamas work together to raise money to bring home their little girls, waiting in Thailand. Be sure to read their stories.
- Our Journey to Gabriel Wright
- Find out how you can help Gabriel come home.
- Adoption Song
- Thommie and Miki Hicks are raising funds for their adoption by selling downloads or CDs of the song Thommie wrote which anticipates his child's homecoming. It's beautiful, go check it out!
- Our Adoption Cross
- Visit the website of a family whose mission is to raise the money to adopt a baby girl from China. They sell crosses and adoption bears to fundraise.
- Adoption journey of Mike and Heather
- Adoption journey to bring home their little one from Korea.
- Mommy Matters blog
- Blog for for one mommy's adoption journal for their Haiti adoption of 3 children
General fundraising links
fundraisers that other adoptive families have used
- Antiquities Studios
- Sell antique portrait sittings
- Cell phone fundraiser
- Free Fundraisers- Ideas to raise substantial funds with zero cost by collecting used cell phones. Free shipping on 100 phones or more.
- Pace Butler
- Pacebutler offer top dollar for your used cellphones. Our friendly, professional service ensures you get the best prices when selling your old cell phones.
- Free Recycling Inkjet Cartridges
- Earn money with inkjet cartridge recycling. Cash $ for used Ink Cartridges from Hewlett Packard, DELL, Lexmark and Canon as well as Compaq and Xerox.
- Step by step Fundraising
- This page is geared specifically to non profit fundraising. Check out the free ebook.
- National Heritage Foundation Home Page
- National Heritage Foundation is a non-profit tax-exempt charitable foundation near Washington, D.C.Some people have used them to set up a trust which allows donations for adoption funds to be tax deductible. There is cost involved, check out the FAQ.
- Fund-Raising with Rada Cutlery
- Fund-Raising with Rada Cutlery-no investment- sell their Made in USA, lifetime guarentee knives to raise money.
- Welcome to Little Light of Mine Candle Co.
- We make natural soy wax candles that are clean burning and slow burning and will enhance any environment. They are perfect for gifts or to buy as a treat for yourself. We give 10% of all of our profits to orphan relief and offer our candles for fundraisers for families in the adoption process.
Adoption books
LifeBooks : Creating a Treasure for the Adopted Child
Amazon Price: $14.95 (as of 11/21/2008) 
The Sea Chest
I love this book about an elderly aunt who tells the story of a baby who was washed up on the shore of the island where her family lived, and became her new sister. At the end of the story, you find that she is tellling this to her great neice, who is waiting for her mama and papa to come back from their travels with her new baby sister. Beautiful illustrations, striking prose, fantastic story. A great read aloud, if you can keep from getting choked up.
Amazon Price: $11.55 (as of 11/21/2008)
International Adoption Travel Journal
Amazon Price: (as of 11/21/2008)
Seeds of Love: For Brothers and Sisters of International Adoption
Amazon Price: (as of 11/21/2008)
Planning Your Adoption Fundraising
Doing your best with what you've got
The first thing you want to do it examine your current budget. You want to make sure that what you are spending your money on are the top priorities in your life. So what are the most important things in your life? Is your money going to those, and things that support your goals? If not, you need to change your budget and spending paterns. There are lots of websites out there that can help you with budgeting and cost cutting. Remember, you are going to be asking others to help you bring your sweetheart home- you want to be sure you are spending your money wisely.
Next, as you look over fundraising options, make a list of the ones that appeal to you. Your spouse can do the same. You will want to choose ones that use your talents and skills, and most likely those will be the ones that sound good to you.
You will want to have a good grasp of what the time involvement for your fundraisers will be. Do you have that time available? Yes, if you just add something into your responsibilities you'll make time for it somehow- but what if you truly bite off more than you can chew? Have a good idea of where your extra time is in the week and whether there is enough of it to complete the project you want to do!
Next up is money. Many of the fundraisers require an investment. In many ways running a fundraiser is like running a small business (albeit temporary). You have to invest time, and sometimes money (for craft materials or food for a dinner). You have to have a good idea of what is going to appeal to your community. Will people be interested in bracelets? Where would you market them? Are there already tons of schools using the scratch card fundraiser? The market might be saturated. You have to be able to publicize an event or product effectively. This takes good business sense, and it is a risk. Decide how much risk you are comfortable taking, and choose your fundraiser accordingly. Make sure your spouse is in agreement with how much risk to take! Talk it over. Of course, the edge you have over a small business is often people WANT to help you. You might have volunteers, free publicity, or products donated.
The task can seem daunting, but thousands of adoptive families have done it. They started with nothing, and paid off their 15 or 20 thousand plus in expenses one step at a time. You can too!
Fundraising with Garage Sales
- Everyone has stuff they want to get rid of- if you let your friends and family know that you are holding a fundraising garage sale to bring your little one home, they will gladly give you the 'stuff' that they would have donated to the Salvation Army.
If you want a really big sale, you will need to recruit volunteers to help you sort, price, and make change. In the weeks before your sale, visit all the garage sales you find. Give them a flyer your phone number, explaining about your upcoming fundraising sale, and let them know you will gladly haul off any of their leftovers to your sale. Many of them will contact you to pick up their stuff!
I want to put some personal experiences here of people who have had garage sale fundraisers! If you are willing to share your experience, email me the following information: - 1. Do you have any logistical tips for organizing the sale? (pricing, volunteers, sorting, etc.)
2. What did you really like about this fundraiser?
3. What would you do differently if you had it to do over?
4. Is it okay if I use your first name on the webpage?
5. Do you want me to include a link to your adoption fundraising website? If so, send me the URL.
Photo fundraiser
- To do a photo fundraiser, you call the photography studio and set a date for them to come to your town. You will find a place for them to set up and take the photographs (church, community center, office). In between now and the photo shoot date, you will be selling sitting coupons. Usually there is a fee of 10$ for the sitting fee and an 8x10. You keep the entire 10$. Often studios offer incentives, such as for every fundraiser who sells 15 sittings, you get a free package. The studio makes their money off of all the other photos people buy.
These are often easy to sell because the pictures are so cute!
I want to put some personal experiences here of people who have had photo fundraisers! If you are willing to share your experience, email me the following information:
1. Do you have any logistical tips for organizing the photo shoot?
2. What did you really like about this fundraiser?
3. What would you do differently if you had it to do over?
4. Is it okay if I use your first name on the webpage?
5. Do you want me to include a link to your adoption fundraising website? If so, send me the URL.
Meal Fundraisers
- I like the meal fundraiser because it is community based- the people that come feel a part of your efforts, and get ready to welcome your little one home. There are many details to take care of with a fundraiser like this, and there must be good publicity. I have heard people say that they think they got much more money by not specifying a donation amount, and letting people give what they were led to.
Anyone have any good input on how to do a meal fundraiser? Themes, menus, serving tips? Click "Contact the Lensmaster" to tell me about them. Let me know if I can use your first name on this site, and if you have a website you would like me to add to the Families with Fundraising Pages links.
Ideas for Meal Fundraisers:
Victorian Tea
Pancake Breakfast
Spaghetti Dinner
New Guestbook
JulieMann wrote...
Your lens is wonderful! Choice Personal Loans is another source that offers adoption loans for people looking to adopt, but can not afford the expenses involved.
Posted March 19, 2008
cathyswraps wrote...
I love your lens about adoption financing. Adoption can be so expensive and puts the hopes of creating a family out of the reach of so many couples. Blessings to you for creating this lens.
A grateful mother of two precious adoptive children.
Cathy
Posted January 31, 2008
RealMom wrote...
Our adoptions were FREE! The county even reimbursed our attorney fees.
There are MANY children in foster care that can be adopted FREE.
Consider this option and read our story of how we've been blessed at www.squidoo.com/adoptionandfostercare
pass it on
Posted December 05, 2007
beth_kiley wrote...
Wow, I'm really impressed with all the resources on this site. This will benefit a lot of people. Thanks, Beth from how to induce labor
Posted November 19, 2007
SemperFidelis wrote...
A 5 to you! Consider stopping by our Recycling lens and giving a rating. We raise funds for Save The Children with this lens. :)
Posted October 13, 2007
Eduardo Alarcon wrote
ational Heritage Foundation Home Page
National Heritage Foundation is a non-profit tax-exempt charitable foundation near Washington, D.C.Some people have used them to set up a trust which allows donations for adoption funds to be tax deductible. There is cost involved, check out the FAQ.
State of MState of Maine
Office of Securities_
21 State House Station
Augusta, Maine 04333-0121
IN RE: NOTICE OF INTENT
06-073
JAMES L. CLIFFORD
ALLEGATIONS
1. James L. Clifford (?Clifford?) (CRD # 1419478) is an individual who has been licensed in Maine as a sales representative or agent since at least 1985. His last known address is 955 Eastern Avenue, Holden, Maine 04429.
2. From December 4, 1997, to the present, Clifford has worked as a sales representative or agent at the Brewer, Maine, branch office of Investors Capital Corp. (?ICC?).
3. Pearl P. Schoppe (?Ms. Schoppe?) was a life-long resident of Orono, Maine, and the valedictorian of the 1936 graduating class of Husson College in Bangor, Maine.
4. In May of 1996 Ms. Schoppe established a living trust (the ?Schoppe Trust?) with herself as trustee and with two of her relatives designated as trustees upon her death. The original trust document directed that upon Ms. Schoppe's death, after payment of any of Ms. Schoppe's debts, expenses and taxes, and certain distributions, the remainder of the trust property was to be held in trust for Husson College with income distributions to fund a scholarship program.
5. Ms. Schoppe was conservative with her investments. She essentially bought only certificates of deposits and fixed annuities.
6. In October of 1998, Ms. Schoppe, then age 80, amended the trust document to, among other things, change the trustee upon her death to Clifford. The amendment also changed the provision regarding the distribution of the remainder of her trust property. As amended, instead of the property being held in trust for Husson, the trust instrument dictated that the property was to be ?distributed to the National Heritage Foundation F.B.O. Pearl P. Schoppe Foundation.?
7. The charitable purpose stated by Ms. Schoppe on the National Heritage Foundation application was ?Assist students of the Greater Bangor/Brewer, Orono/Old Town, ME area who need financial aid to attend Husson College. To be paid out interest only 80% of interest to go to students, 20% of the interest to go back into the Foundation so foundation will continue to grow.?
8. Ms. Schoppe died on January 19, 2000.
9. On March 7, 2000, in Singer Island, Florida, Clifford and John T.?Dock? Houck, II, CEO of National Heritage Foundation, (?NHF?) completed the paperwork for ?National Heritage Foundation Inc. FBO Pearl Schoppe FNDTN? to purchase a $150,000 variable annuity from Conseco Variable Annuity Insurance Company through ICC, using funds from the Schoppe Trust.
10. On May 11, 2000, Clifford sent an additional $50,000 from the Schoppe Trust's checking account to Conseco to add to the variable annuity.
11. The subaccounts chosen by Clifford and Houck were largely more-risky growth funds, when Ms. Schoppe's stated intent and investment history dictated the use of more conservative income-producing investments.
12. The variable annuity sold by Clifford to the foundation was unsuitable for the charitable purposes expressed by Ms. Schoppe. There was no tax benefit and no value to having a death benefit on the life of Mr. Houck to offset the higher costs and reduced liquidity of the investment.
13. Clifford received $12,600 in commissions on these transactions. In addition, Clifford has paid himself trustee fees exceeding $42,000.00 from the trust assets despite the fact that he appears to have provided little if any valuable services to the trust.
14. Since the purchase of the variable annuity in March of 2000, Husson College has received no scholarship money from the Pearl P. Schoppe Foundation.
15. Under federal law, variable annuities are securities and the offer and sale of variable annuities is regulated by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the ?SEC?) under the Securities Act of 1933 and Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
16. The NASD is a national securities association registered with the SEC under §15A and in accordance with the provision of §19(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
17. NASD Rules are filed with the SEC and promulgated under §19(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. NASD rules apply to ?all members and persons associated with a member. Persons associated with a member shall have the same duties and obligations as a member? under the association's rules. NASD Rule 0115.
18. ICC is a member of NASD and Clifford is a person associated with ICC.
19. NASD Rule 2310 requires that a member have reasonable grounds for believing that a recommended purchase is suitable for a customer based on the facts disclosed by the customer including the customer's investment objectives.
20. By virtue of his training and experience, Clifford knew the requirements of NASD Rule 2310. Through his customer relationship with Ms. Schoppe, Clifford knew her investment objectives and the charitable purpose for which she established the Pearl P. Schoppe Foundation. Thus, Clifford intentionally or knowingly failed to comply with NASD Rule 2310. 32 M.R.S.A. §10313(1)(B).
21. By using funds of the Schoppe Trust to purchase an unsuitable investment, Clifford engaged in unlawful or unethical conduct in the securities business. 32 M.R.S.A. §10313(1)(G).
22. Pursuant to 32 M.R.S.A. §§10313 and 16702, the Securities Administrator may, after notice and opportunity for hearing, issue an order to revoke the license of a licensee or impose a bar on a licensee if the Securities Administrator finds that the order is in the public interest and that the licensee: (1) has engaged in unlawful, unethical or dishonest conduct in the securities business; or (2) has intentionally or knowingly violated or failed to comply with a rule under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
NOTICE
Notice is hereby given that the Securities Administrator intends to issue an Order to Revoke Clifford's Agent License and Censure Him or Bar Him from Association under 32 M.R.S.A. §§10313(1) and 16702(1).
If Clifford wants to request a hearing in this matter, he must do so in writing within thirty (30) calendar days of the date of this Notice of Intent. 32 M.R.S.A. §§10708, 16702(1).
Date: November 28, 2006 /s/ Michael J. Colleran
` Michael J. Collera
Securities Administrator
Date: November 28, 2006 /s/ Bonnie E. Russell
Bonnie E. Russell
Assistant Securities Administrator
Date: November 28, 2006 /s/ Willis P. Smedberg
Willis P. Smedberg
Investigator/Examiner
Last Updated: December 20, 2006 4:42 PM
Posted August 27, 2007
