Finances are a huge part of adoption, and the #1 reason why people decide against it. Â Let me assure you, no one is getting rich off of adoptions. Â That would be unethical, and the adoption process should be as ethical as possible (though this is a loaded sentence – in some countries, the only way it is possible to bring an orphan home is to be unethical to some degree, such as bribing a public official – how messed up is that?). Â I want to inform you about where all the money goes and why the financial sacrifice is one we should be willing to make.
The cost of adopting a child from China is approximately $30,000. Â Is this a big number? Â Yep. Â Are we afraid of it? Â Not at all. Â Being a part of the Live 1:17 Ministry at TPCC has given me a front row seat to see how God provides the money for adoption. Â “If God has called you to it, He will pay for it” is a common saying in the adoption community. Â Time and time again, as He has called families to adopt, He has provided the money to make it happen.
So, where does all that money go?
- Approximately 25% goes to the agency, for the work they do to help you bring the child home
- Approximately 20% goes to the orphanage, to pay for the care of the child before you brought him/her home
- Approximately 30% goes to travel, as we will be buying tickets about 2 weeks before we leave and will spend 2 weeks in China, and possibly a one way ticket home for the child
- Approximately 25% goes to prepare the dossier, home study, Â and immigration
One thing we love so much about our agency, CCAI, is how transparent they are. Â You can view the breakdown of costs of adoption through CCAI here.
How do you come up with that much money?
- Sacrifice. Â This should be the first thing we do when we know God is calling us to adoption. Â We are thankful that we have known adoption would be a part of our family for several years now, so we have been able to plan for it financially. Â We have dropped our cable, cut our spending, and lowered our expectations over the past few years. Â When we bought our house last year, we made sure we were living below our means so we still had margin to save for adoption. Â I feel very passionately that if God is calling you to adoption, He may also be calling you to sacrifice your lifestyle to make it happen. Â And though there are times I am cranky about spending that money on adoption and not a new kitchen, I am overwhelmingly thankful that through our sacrifice and saving, we have saved over half of our adoption costs.
- Fundraising. Â The bible is very clear that we are to care for orphans. Â And while not everyone is called to adoption, everyone is called to care for orphans in some way. Â Helping families by supporting them financially is a huge way you can be a part of the solution to the orphan crisis. Â There are a number of ways you can support a family financially. Â You can give directly, buy a t-shirt, or help organize an event. Â God moves in huge ways through fundraising, and helps show these families He is in control.
- Grants. Â There are a number of grants available to families pursuing adoption, though most of them aren’t available until families have completed their home study. Â Grants can be direct give or matching grants. Â TPCC has a matching grant for families in our church.
If you’d like more information on how to pay for adoption, check out “You Can Adopt Without Debt” by Julie Gumm. Â
What is our plan?
We are thankful we can get a good start on our adoption with the money we have saved before we think about other ways to raise money. Â Once our home study, immigration and dossier are done we can think about specific plans. Â We will definitely be applying for grants and fundraising in some fun ways. Â We hope to have some really fun ways you can support us soon!