Finances are a huge part of adoption, and the #1 reason why people decide against it.  Let me assure you, no one is getting rich off of adoptions.  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?).  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.  Is this a big number?  Yep.  Are we afraid of it?  Not at all.  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.  “If God has called you to it, He will pay for it” is a common saying in the adoption community.  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?

1. Approximately 25% goes to the agency, for the work they do to help you bring the child home
2. Approximately 20% goes to the orphanage, to pay for the care of the child before you brought him/her home
3. 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
4. Approximately 25% goes to prepare the dossier, home study,  and immigration

One thing we love so much about our agency, CCAI, is how transparent they are.  You can view the breakdown of costs of adoption through CCAI here.

How do you come up with that much money?

1. Sacrifice.  This should be the first thing we do when we know God is calling us to adoption.  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.  We have dropped our cable, cut our spending, and lowered our expectations over the past few years.  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.  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.  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.
2. Fundraising.  The bible is very clear that we are to care for orphans.  And while not everyone is called to adoption, everyone is called to care for orphans in some way.  Helping families by supporting them financially is a huge way you can be a part of the solution to the orphan crisis.  There are a number of ways you can support a family financially.  You can give directly, buy a t-shirt, or help organize an event.  God moves in huge ways through fundraising, and helps show these families He is in control.
3. Grants.  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.  Grants can be direct give or matching grants.  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.  

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.  Once our home study, immigration and dossier are done we can think about specific plans.  We will definitely be applying for grants and fundraising in some fun ways.  We hope to have some really fun ways you can support us soon!