Organizations Offering Financial Assistance to Adoptive Families
State Employee/Veteran/Service Member Benefits: The Governor signed a bill on June 9, 2020 extending existing adoption benefits for qualifying adoptive employees of state agencies to veterans and servicemembers as well. The updated language can be found at sec. 409.1664, Florida Statutes. The bill took effect on July 1, 2020 and allows certain military veterans and service members to receive a monetary benefit ($10,000 per child if the child has special needs, or $5,000 per child if the child does not) through the State Employee Adoption Benefit Program, if they adopt a child through the state’s child welfare system. Prior to July 1, 2020, only employees of state agencies, public schools, charter schools and the Florida Virtual School could qualify for the monetary benefit. The updated Section 409.1664, Florida Statutes will take effect on July 1, 2020.
Using a Personal Loan to Finance Adoption Expenses: The cost of adoption can be quite expensive and for some families, too expensive to afford all up front. Due to this, we wanted to share an article that would inform families hoping to adopt a child on ways they can finance this cost in order fulfill their dream of becoming parents.
Forever Home Foundation grants: The grants go directly to major expenses associated with the legal adoption process for both public and private agency adoptions – international or domestic. You can apply anytime for grants from the foundation. There is no income requirement set on either end. Our only prerequisite is a simple application to be filled out during or after your home study.
Extend Your Tent: Stephen and Melissa started a new ministry, Extend Your Tent, which officially launched in 2018 after working on it for over a year. The mission is to provide financial, informational and spiritual resources to Christian families interested in adoption. They do this through social media and also church classes for those interested in adoption. They provide prospective families with information on different agencies, attorneys, and consultants. We know in this world of information overload it can be cumbersome as adoptive families start their "what next" search.
The Orphan Foundation: The Orphan Foundation provides financial support and information to adopting families, as well as services to institutionalized orphans around the world. They currently provide grants of $1,250 to families who have successfully completed their home study, and who can demonstrate to the foundation's Board of Directors that a grant will make the pivotal difference in families ability to adopt a child.
Help Us Adopt: Help us Adopt is a national non-profit 501(c)(3) financial assistance grant program providing qualified couples and individuals - regardless of race, ethnicity, marital status, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or disability - with grants of up to $15,000 towards their domestic, international, foster, or special needs adoption expenses. Visit for more information.
Tinina Q. Cade Foundation (TQCF): TQCF is a nonprofit organization that serves the needs of families battling infertility, which provides grants for adoption or fertility treatment. Please visit the Cade Foundation's grant page for more information about grants which provide up to $10,000 per family for adoption or fertility treatment. Grants are awarded twice per year and the number of applications funded as well as the amount of funding depends on the success of the Cade Foundation’s fundraising activities (i.e. the more we raise, the more we can give away). To date, 121 families have been provided financial support for adoption and fertility treatments nationwide.
Jaya Laxmi Co.: Jaya Laxmi Co./123Fundraising.net is a fundraising organization that works to raise funds for people wanting to adopt. There are no up-front fees, and they only accept prospective adoptive parents who have already passed a Home Study and have affiliated with a legitimate Adoption Entity.
Gift of Adoption Fund: This nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation provides grants to adoptive parents in order to alleviate the financial burden of the adoption process. Its singular mission is to support adoption by providing funding to build bridges of hope for children and their families. Visit their website (click the above link), or call 877-905-2367 or email info@giftofadoption.org for more information.
Fifth Third Bank—Naples, Florida: There is a new financing program offered by Fifth Third Bank in Naples, Florida, which is meant to help families more easily afford adoption. The program offers families who are looking to adopt a home equity credit line or installment loan to help cover their expenses. Adoptive parents can be approved for a credit line that will allow them to borrow up to 100 percent of the value of their home, minus the amount of their mortgage. Payments need only be made on the money used, and there is an option of making interest- only payments. Checks are issued along with a MasterCard that enable the borrower to access their credit whenever needed, and one can take up to 20 years to pay back the principal amount. Please call them at 239-530-1460 for more information.
A Child Waits Foundation: A Child Waits Foundation is a 501(c)(3) Charitable Organization that provides grants up to $7,000 for both domestic and international adoption. It also has an international adoption loan program, with loans up to $10,000 at a 3% fixed interest rate. It accepts applications without regard to race, age, ethnicity, religion, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, or disability. It welcomes applications from singles and heterosexual or same-sex couples adopting domestically or internationally. A Child Waits Foundation can be reached during the week at 866-999-2445, by email at cnelson@achildwaits.org, or on the web at the link above.
Military Subsidies: If you are an active-duty member of the Armed Forces of the United States, you may be eligible for a $2,000 per child military subsidy. Check with your base commander for more information.
Employee Benefit Programs: Many private and governmental employers offer adoption assistance and benefits. These might include financial reimbursement, paid and unpaid leave and resource and referral services. Please inquire with your Human Resources or benefits department.
Family Medical Leave Act: After you adopt, what about job security while staying home with your new child? The Family Medical Leave Act may provide the benefits you need. The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993 is a federal law that requires employers of more than 50 workers to give full-time employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for the birth or adoption of a child. One must have been employed for at least 12 months and worked at least 1250 hours during the previous 12 months. Your employer may have more generous benefits, but this offers minimum protection.
PayPal: An Internet service that allows you to pay for adoption expenses and fees with your credit card.
Adoption Tax Credits: The IRS released Revenue Procedure 2019-44 (a link is here: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-19-44.pdf ) listing the Adoption Tax Credit adjusted numbers for 2020. The maximum amount allowed is set at $14,300 per child for 2020 (it was $14,080 in 2019). The tax credit starts to phase out for families with modified adjusted gross income in excess of $214,520, and is completely phased out for families with modified adjusted gross income of $254,520 or more.
Lifesong International: Lifesong for Orphans helps Christian families remove the financial roadblock to adoption by offering matching grants, which encourage the adopting couple’s church family to financially and prayerfully support the adoption. It also offers interest-free loans.
Bank Of America: Keith McKinnon, Loan Officer, and Bank of America may be able to help you finance your adoption. For more information call (813) 367-5669 or email: keith.r.mckinnon@bankofamerica.com
Sacred Selections: Sacred Selections mission is to financially assist Christian couples whose hearts and homes are open to loving and raising a child in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Sacred Selections is committed to providing the financial means of bringing together the need for and the longing to give love, through the process of adoption. For more information call (916) 770- 0336 or visit the website at the link above.
Americas Christian CU: ACCU provides financial solutions to individuals and ministries that empower them to reach their financial goals while expanding God's Kingdom. Every dollar entrusted to ACCU gets reinvested to build churches, fund ministry, and serve members. Find out how banking with ACCU supports ministry.
AdoptTogether “Fundraising Grant”: Check out the AdoptTogether Fundraising grant. Families can create a profile on AdoptTogether's website (all profiles are reviewed for eligibility), and family and friends can donate to your adoption through this tax-deductible organization. Money donated is awarded to adoptive families as a grant.
The Buscher Foundation: The Buescher Foundation was established in 2014 by adoptive parents James and Krishtian Buescher who experienced adoption firsthand. The Buescher Foundation is committed to providing the support and resources to families going through the adoption process domestically. Grants are assessed on a quarterly basis each year.
Hand in Hand Christian Adoption, Inc.: Hand in Hand Christian Adoption, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) private operating foundation formed in 2007 to help children become part of "forever" families. After seeing the high cost of adoption and the many perspective adoptive couples discouraged from adopting because of those costs, Hand in Hand felt compelled to do something. Hand in Hand knew that it didn't have the resources to help people in the way they needed, so it chose to enlist the help of both supporters of HANDinHAND and the family and friends of adoptive couples. Hand in Hand understands that not everyone is called by God to adopt, but believes we are called to care for the orphan. Hand in Hand believes we are to fulfill that calling by using our God-given resources to financially help those who have been called to adopt. Hand in Hand believes that although individual resources are limited, together, each one doing our part, we can make a huge impact in helping children become part of “forever” families.
Family Formation Charitable Trust: The mission of the Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproductive Attorneys Family Formation Charitable Trust is to provide financial assistance to those individuals and nonprofit organizations seeking to build families through adoption and assisted reproductive technology. The Trust is supported through a variety of fund raising efforts, including personal contributions of Fellows of the Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproductive Attorneys, personal contributions of personal donors, corporate giving, grants, educational programs, and through charitable events.
The Tim Tebow Foundation: From the website: This foundation and all of our outreach initiatives were primarily created to show God’s love to children around the world.
The NEXT Family: Creating a family is expensive, and for same-sex couples even more so, which is why Men Having Babies was formed. They saw that gay male couples or individuals who wanted to have children struggle significantly in terms of raising the finances to have a child. Men Having Babies found that gay men spent over $110K on their parenting journey, so in response they decided to create an organization to support gay men financially toward becoming parents.
JSC Foundation: JSC Foundation began as a private foundation in the fall of 2000 when one couple realized the financial chasm that must be crossed when families so desperately want to bring an orphan home through adoption. The financial hurdles are often the only obstacle preventing a couple from making that decision to adopt and seeing their dream become a reality. At JSC Foundation, our hope is to assist Christian couples for which the cost of adoption is a hardship. We are pleased to be able to partner with some of these families as they step out in faith by following the call, allowing one more orphan to come home to their forever family!
National Endowment For Financial Education: The National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) champions effective financial education. We are the independent, centralizing voice providing leadership, research and collaboration to advance financial well-being.
Show Hope: Show Hope is a movement to care for orphans. We work to restore hope by breaking down barriers that exist between waiting children and loving families.
St. Frances Fund The cost of adoption in the United States and abroad can be staggering for many adoptive families. Heart of Adoptions Alliance, Inc. provides financial assistance to needy families who are hindered by the lack of available resources for an adoption. These monies are provided as interest-free loans to adoptive parents. When the adoptive parents file their year-end tax returns, they apply for a tax credit for their qualified adoption expenses. These expenses include, but are not be limited to, adoption fees, court costs, legal fees and travel. When this credit is received with the couple’s tax refund, they repay the agency the original loan. The repaid loan is then used to help other families wanting to adopt so more children benefit. For more information please contact Heart of Adoptions Alliance, Inc. at 800-590-1108.
Jewish Fertility Foundation The Jewish Fertility Foundation provides financial assistance, emotional support and educational programming to Jewish people with medical infertility.
Ongoing Adoption Subsidy: Monthly maintenance payments and non-recurring expense reimbursement may be available if the child qualifies as a “special needs child” under §409.166 of the Florida Statutes. Click HERE to learn more about Subsidy.
If you have questions about adoption, or if you are interested in obtaining adoption information, please contact Jeanne T. Tate, P.A. (info@jtatelaw.com or 813.258.3355). The attorneys at Jeanne T. Tate, P.A. have focused their practice on adoption law for a combined total of over 120 years and have helped complete thousands of adoptions. Click HERE to learn what considerations to take into account when selecting an adoption attorney.
We Adopt Too: (We Adopt, Too) Black Family Adoption Assistance, Inc is a 501 (c)(3) organization that provides adoption grants to black families seeking to adopt. Our mission is to help increase the number of black adoptive families through financial assistance. https://watadoptions.org/
Yes We Adopt: A New Jersey-based organization, is dedicated to helping people open their mind, heart, and arms to adoption and fostering. We work with individuals and couples to assure them that they are not the first to consider adoption to create or expand their family. In the best interest of the child and when safe, we believe in open adoption as “some level of contact between a child’s adoptive and birth families.” http://www.yesweadopt.com/
