International adoption requires the services of many professionals so the cost can be considerable. Families often turn to fundraising for affording adoption. Involving family and friends in an adoption is not only an important way to educate them about adoption but also a good way for them to offer both financial and emotional support. This will allow them to be an integral part of your adoption journey. Here are two creative ways to raise funds for your adoption that involve the help of family and friends!
Tag the Bag is one way to raise funds for your adoption. Buy an inexpensive cloth suitcase and some fabric or sharpie markers. Offer to let family and friends sign their name on the suitcase when they donate to your adoption. Use this suitcase when traveling in country. Those who donate feel as if they are part of your journey and you will be reminded of the love and support of family and friends waiting for you back home. After the trip, the bag can be used to hold keepsake items from your child’s adoption story or from his or 
her country of origin.
The Puzzle Fundraiser is another way to raise funds for your adoption involving family. Buy a puzzle that you would like to hang in your adoptive child’s room. This could be a world map puzzle, coordinated decor for the room, or even a picture that you have taken and turned into a puzzle. There are many resources online that will turn your picture into a puzzle. You can set a price per puzzle piece and sell them. You can either let donors fill out their own puzzles pieces or you can fill them out yourself. The bigger the puzzle is, the greater number of people will be able to sign the puzzle, the more you will raise give towards your adoption. When the puzzle is completed and glued together with puzzle glue, you can frame it with a mirror frame. This will allow you and your child to take the picture off of the wall and see the names of the family members and friends that provided support during your adoption journey.
These are two great ways to get others involved in your adoption and also a wonderful way for your adoptive child to begin to understand their adoption story.
Photo Credit: Brad Montgomery
Brittany Smith
Brittany Smith works as a full-time Home Study Assistant with MLJ Adoptions. Adoption and orphan care became a passion for her on a mission trip to China with Show Hope, an adoption and orphan care advocacy organization.
Brittany Smith
Brittany Smith works as a full-time Home Study Assistant with MLJ Adoptions. Adoption and orphan care became a passion for her on a mission trip to China with Show Hope, an adoption and orphan care advocacy organization.