FUNdraiser

As I've thought recently about using a more expensive agency, I've also thought in general about the money needed to fund an adoption. I've had a few little things in mind to craft and sell for funds. One project is still in its gathering and preparation stages and I've not made one item yet but have a bag of supplies ready. The second item came to mind as I searched over and over for a black baby doll for Bethany only to find one on the internet for way more than I can dish out and decided to make her one. I have made two to date but have yet to put faces or shoes on either of them. That will take time to perfect I'm sure.

The third idea I came up with is a Dinner and Auction. I'm hoping to get my divine food friend to help me out with the meal portion (she has done some amazing stuff with my Sweetheart Supper). Charge a few dollars over the cost of the meal for people to come in. In addition to that, there would be a silent auction in another room. The items, I hope, will come from donations. I made a list of the things I love - some of which are handmade items from friends/family and some of which are purchased. I'm hoping to get some of both. As I made the list I figured why not ask some local businesses (though they're not buddies of mine) to participate. The more I thought about it, the more I thought about doing an online auction so that friends and strangers abroad could participate.

Visiting with a friend about the idea, she suggested I start the auction online and the ending bids of that would be the beginning bids at the Dinner. That's an idea as well. I have yet to decide exactly what I'll do but I plan to ask friends and family and businesses in the coming two weeks if they'll participate. The donation part is critical. So, if you would pray for God to encourage people to participate through donations and then again through purchases I would appreciate it. Also, if you have something you would like to donate and I don't specifically ask you, please let me know. Thanks.

Thanks for your support

Yesterday I received an email from a family member stating that he wanted to support us financially with our adoption. I about cried. Here's an excerpt of his email:

[my wife] and I talked last night about helping with a financial contribution to your adoption fund. Since God has been laying it on my heart for some time we feel we want to do something. We've been going out on a date/shopping night... we are going to forego the eating out [this summer] and take the about $20 per week and commit to you guys

Needless to say, I was more than thrilled at their willingness to give. And I love to see how God is working in their lives and that they are (as they said) standing with us in this process, committing to prayer and putting their money where their prayers are.

Lots of Questions

I recently sent a list of about 30 questions to our agency. Some were answered well within reason and a few were pretty vague. I think I need to call the agency directly to converse more about those questions in question. In the mean time, we're still saving money towards our adoption fund.

Money Matters

Maybe I've mentioned it before, maybe not. On our already very tight budget, I saw no room for saving for anything, let alone an adoption. I asked Ryan to stop investing in my Roth IRA to save for the adoption. He set up a seperate savings account for that. I was so excited and encouraged when I checked the account balance yesterday. Now I know that $700 doesn't go far in the world of adoption, but I didn't care about that, I was thrilled to see us investing in adoption beyond our paperwork and prayers.

About A Child Fee Info

$4,000 Case Management ($2k due with service agreement, $2k with dossier submission)
$ 900 Home Study ($250 fee if someone else provides)
$ 400 Post Placement Report ($200 ea. done at 30 days and 12 months)
Travel for Homestudy & PPR is $0.35/mile plus $10/hr travel time
$ 8,500 Ghana Program ($10k for siblings...c'mon twins. $2k at dossier submisison, $6,500 when travel arranged))
$ 830 USCIS I-600 (permission to adopt form) (670 + 80 per fingerprinting)
$ 300 Medical/police clearances, marriage license, birth cert, other dossier documents
$ 500 Authentication (notary and apostile/cert)
$ 400 DS-230 (child's immigrant visa)
$ 100 Child's medical eval for DS-230

Fees

One agency we've done a pre-application with and are digging through the information provided is All God's Children. The following are the fees associated with adopting through them:

Agency Fees
$300 Application
$6000 Agency Fee
$1700 Homestudy fee (this amount will likely be higher as AGCI can't do the homestudy in Iowa and will hire someone else)
$350 each Post adoption report
$1000 Post adoption translation and administrative fee

International Service Fee
$7500 for adopting from Ethiopia

Additional US Fees
$670 US CIS Fee
$160 Fingerprints for two
$1000 Notarization, Certification, Authorization
$600 Translation Services

So far, we're up to $19,980 assuming three post adoption reports but I think there's more than that. So, we're talking almost 20grand and there are more fees associated with adoption:

Medical review, medical insurance, travel fees (I'm sure its cheap to fly to Ethiopia and stay a while, right?) airfare, food, incountry transportation, in-country travel coordinators, passport update (wish I could say I did that already), travel visas, immigrant visas, etc.

Why is it so expensive to love a child in need? To give a comparison, here's a run down of Bethany's fees for adoption from Ethiopia:

Total Cost: $20,500-$28,750 (for 2 people traveling)
1. Bethany Fees: $5,400-$10,250(vary by branch - we'd hope to be on the low end). This includes:
Formal Application Fee
Home Study Fee: due at the completion of the Home Study
Program Fee/Administrative Fee: due at Home Study completion
Post-Placement Services Fee: due dates vary by branch
2. Ethiopia Country Fees: $8,500
$6,000 Partial Country Fee: due at dossier submission
$2,500 Remaining Country Fee: due at referral
$6,000 (per sibling) Additional Processing Fees for Siblings Fees due when traveling to Ethiopia:
$400 U.S. Consulate Immigrant Visa Fee
3. Ethiopia Travel Costs: $5,000-$8,000 (approximate costs for 2 people)
Travel from the U.S. to/from Ethiopia: $1,500-$2,500 per person
7-10 Days in Ethiopia: $1,000-$1,500 per person (includes meals and transportation)
4. Miscellaneous Fees: $1,600-$2,000
Immigration and Naturalization Service filing of orphan petition (I 600A): $670
Plus fingerprinting: $80
Notarization, state seal of each document: $100-$200
Authentication: $400
Ethiopia travel visas: ($48 per person)
Certified copies of birth certificates: $40 (varies by state)
Certified copies of marriage certificate: $20 (varies by state)
Doctor’s appointments and immunizations: $160
Passport photos: $40 (Ryan's is up to date)

Again, I'd say, why does it cost so much to love a child?

Adoption funding

Okay, Okay, I admit it... I'm a wanna be graphic designer. Problem is that I can copy anyones ideas but I have a hard time creating my own. With the proper tools I bet I could have a lot of fun... and maybe make enough money to fund our adoption...