Friday, April 9, 2010

Fund Raiser Update

I'll admit this round of fund raising has been slow going. I know we've fund raised a lot for others, for our mission trip, projects in Ethiopia and everyone has given so much. Our adoption community, family, and friends have given above and beyond. We are SO thankful for that.

It's incredibly hard for us to be in this waiting season. I'm a get er done kind of girl yet the Lord has seen fit to keep us waiting on His perfect timing. I had one friend remind me that their adoption was provided for just one T-shirt sale at a time. I keep repeating that to myself. Just one T-shirt at a time, just one yard sale at a time, just one paypal donation at a time. Above all else it is more about Gods timing and not my own.

I remember when we were in the adoption process with Silas and we were waiting for our referral I read this verse in Habakkuk. It has stuck with me and has been a constant reminder in so many areas of my life. For everything there is a time and and it won't be late it will be in Gods perfect timing.

For the revelation awaits an appointed time;
it speaks of the end
and will not prove false.
Though it linger, wait for it;
it will certainly come and will not delay.
Habakkuk 2:3

For those of you that have adopted do you struggle with how to go about funding your adoptions? I'll admit this is a first time task for us. Its much easier to tell others how to fund raise then it is to carry it out yourself. Its incredibly humbling every time I re post my facebook status about our facebook-a-thon. Every time I hear someone say they want to help but can't right now, leaves me struggling because I don't want people to feel like they have to give. I'm not asking every single person to donate to our adoption. I'm asking you to pray about it, spread the word, and consider if God may be asking you to stand with us and help bear this financial burden with us. If you can only pray, we are SO thankful for that!! We have the means to raise another child. We don't have the means to fork out $25k to bring her home. As Americans we are among some of the richest people in the world. Collecting $25k is still not an easy task.

I will say that I fully believe God has called David and I to sacrifice. To save out of our own budget, to sell off anything extra we have, to give up luxuries and that this adoption WILL cost us financially. We're so excited to be able to do that. With Silas the Lord literally did provide in HUGE ways, ways we never saw. We didn't have to fund raise but we absolutely sacrificed. This is new ground and its humbling. Yet we are confident that God will provide again and He has asked us to call on our friends and family to participate in a real adoption adventure. To partner with us and to participate in this story of bringing our daughter into her forever family. So many of you have already stepped up and I can't thank you enough.

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
James 1:27

I am looking for ideas and maybe even some encouragement from those that have done this from the ground up. Those that have fund raised for their entire adoption. Did people question you? Did you get negative responses? What did you say in response? What fund raisers did you do that worked? Share them all, we're open to trying anything!

10 comments:

Shelly Roberts said...

Loved this post!! ..... wow, it was a reminder to me that I don't think we really shared a lot about our adoption journeys on this issue of finances and fund-raising. Back then our agency didn't allow us to post anything on our blog concerning fund-raising. I have too much to share for just a comment ... but let me leave you with this. During our second adoption (of which we had to raise all the funds again on our own - no tax credit, employee credit, nothing) ... Eugene, founder of the ABBA Fund, encouraged us with these wise words! These children (orphans) HAVE WORTH and THEY ARE WORTH WORKING HARD FOR! Wow. That reminder kept me going week after week after months. Our journeys were quite grueling but GOD WAS FAITHFUL!!! Keep pressing on and seeking the Lord for ideas. He's gonna help you get there. Love you, friend!!! ~Shelly

Christy. said...

Praying for you, praying for direction and praying for peace in the waiting!!

Hubbards said...

When we started our journey over three years ago our finances were set and we were great to fund our adoption. Then Vietnam closed and as you can imagine we lost A LOT of money. We began the journey again knowing we did not have the finances to complete it but knowing that God was leading us to adopt. We had a large yard sale and many friends and family donated. I did check in to some different fund raisers and such. Do you have access to a Little Ceasars? You get $5 per item sold and you just need someone(other than yourself) to run the fundraiser for you. Also, there is a Christian grant/loan place that will match donations as long as they come through them. I can't remember the name but I am sure you can google it. I wish I could be more help BUT I am praying! It is very humbling to receive checks in the mail or from others that just walk up and say they want to help! We look at Elijah now and know how loved and wanted he was by so many besides us! What a blessing to be able to share with him one day. Hang in there! God has an amazing plan set forth and I am so excited to watch it unfold for you!!

Missy said...

We went into our first adoption with 100% of the funds. Or so we thought. Taking all of the boys with us added about $8,000 to the cost of travel. Our income tax refund will cover that, but I wanted to use that money to put away for the next adoption...someday...:)So now, we will be faced with fundraising. Not that another adoption is imminent, but I am pretty sure it will happen in the next few years. I will follow your journey closely for ideas...and start saving my pennies NOW!
Good Luck and I hope your goals are met...and quickly so baby sister can come home!!!!

Meliski said...

Fundraiser Idea:

(1)Friends of mine hosted a dinner at a local restaurant. They arranged for a pre-paid buffet ($5-10/plate) but asked people to pay $25/$50/$100 per plate. It was a great fundraiser, lots of money was raised, and EVERYONE had a wonderful time!

(2)Pajama bowl at local bowling alley. You rent the lanes and ask people to pay $10 (+) dollars a game. Another SUPER fun family night!

ashley said...

Thank you for your honesty! We are right there with your family. We are farmers and we will get a tax credit when this is all done,but nothing before. So we are fundraising:) Its humbling and this last week I have just been in tears at peoples love and generosity. If you need some ideas for grant apps email me and Ill send you what I know. ashleyskiles29@msn.com. God bless you as you work to bring home another precious orphane!

Deena said...

I can really appreciate where you are coming from! We are in the middle of financing our adoption (almost done...). It has been very humbling to sell things, fundraise, etc. to help offset the adoption expenses. One really fun thing that I did was host a gold party. It was basically a great time to celebrate our adoption with my girlfriends. I had a jeweler on hand and he paid people cash for their old gold. He also gave us 15% of what he brought in. It helped that the jeweler paid people in cash, because I also used that setting to sell Suubi bead necklaces (many were sold that night) and I had an iPod touch raffle at the party. I ended up getting $700 from the jeweler (I had a little old gold as well). It was a very fun night and I raised some pretty good cash. I'm praying with you! Good luck with your fundraising!

Amy @ Literacy Launchpad said...

We are fundraising for our entire adoption pretty much. We are getting close to the end, and I am feeling so burnt out. (Shelly's wisdom from the ABBA Fund was encouraging to me just now.)

We did 2 huge yard sales, and I think there are friends getting ready to do another one for us. We are thrilled about that!! We have also been selling t-shirts which have done well. I just did a read-a-thon that brought in a chunk. We sent out support letters. We sold 147 Million Orphans merch. We've been selling Just Love Coffee. And once we pass court, we're planning to do a facebook/twitter-a-thon.

We've had people be totally supportive, and then some family that has been not so supportive (behind our backs). It's hard. But I just remember that it's all for my kids. What would I NOT do to bring them home?

Karen & Brad Hernke said...

Hi Erika,
My husband and I are also tryig to raise money for our adoption to bring 2 kids home to WI. It HAS NOT been ez at all. I must say we have a HUGE support group that prayers for us and lends a ear to listen. As for the finance part of it....I have done rummage sales and I'm doing another one in a month.I have asked for donations for the sale and honestly had one wonderful gal donate. I have gone through our entire house selling what we do not use.I added a donate button and had a few donations. I will do anything to make this happen. I understand your feelings...TOTALLY. God will follow through for both you and I. Somehow, this will all work out. Keep the faith:)

Karen

Adopting 2 kids for Ethiopia.
REFRRAL COMING SOON:)
www.hernkekid.blogspot.com

Tif said...

Hi! I don't know you at all, but came across your blog. We will be traveling soon to pick up our two little guys - brothers in Ethiopia. The money issue was huge for me. It was terrifying. Sibling adoptions cost about $40,000 and we didn't have it. I would encourage you to check out Lifesong for Orphans. They do matching grants which we received. We sent out fundraising letters through Lifesong. They attach their letter to yours which gives it validity and any gift sent to your account is tax-deductible. It has been wonderful. They also have a program called Both Hands which could literally bring in all the money you need. It is a lot of work, but it is the neatest idea I've ever seen. It benefits the widow and the orphan. We had plans to do a project and had just begun, but we got our referral months before we were expecting and didn't have time to complete it. Check out www.lifesongfororphans.org. I hope this is helpful! I completely understand where you are coming from.