People often name money as the number one reason they’re hesitant to move forward with the adoption process. The fact is that adoption can be expensive, but many people don’t even think about the possible fundraising opportunities they have when they’re getting their finances in order.

Adoption costs usually include fees for home studies, application fees, agency fees, facilitation fees and travel costs, birthmother expenses, and more. If you want to adopt a baby, you can open a saving account before you even start the process to begin saving up. While there are a number of adoption financial assistance options you can take advantage of, there are also many creative ways to raise money for your adoption. Here are just a few examples. 

1. If you have a blog about your adoption journey, add a PayPal button to it and solicit donations from your readers, friends, and family. If you don't have a blog, you could also set up a crowd-funding website for the same purpose. Encourage them to share your blog and ask others to contribute.
2. Host a yard sale. This is a great way to raise money for adoption and clean house at the same time! If you have friends, family, or local businesses or organizations who are willing to help you, you can organize a rummage or yard sale where others also donate items to sell. Make sure you advertise the sale well and hang up signs to tell visitors what the money is for.
3. Everyone loves delicious food, so think about a bake sale at your local farmer’s market, school, church, or other popular location in your community. Consider selling items like cupcakes, cinnamon rolls, cake pops, bread, or canned jam to raise some money for adoption. This is another opportunity to ask friends and family to donate items to sell.
4. Raising money for adoption through online auctions isn’t a bad idea if you have lots of old items lying around your garage or attic. You can also ask your friends for donations of items they don’t use. Try websites like eBay, CraigsList, or BiddingOwl to raise a good amount of money.
5. Ask your friends and people from your local community to participate in adoption walkathon or bikeathon and pledge a dollar per mile to help you bring your new baby home.
6. Use holidays as an opportunity to raise money for your adoption. When family members ask what you'd like as a gift, you can ask them to make a contribution to your adoption fund in lieu of buying you a gift.
7. Dinner or breakfast silent auctions are also great opportunities to raise more money for adoption. You can make a great waffle or pancake breakfast or a spaghetti dinner and auction off donated items you've solicited from local businesses and organizations. Delicious food and a variety of items can attract anyone to participate in a silent auction.
8. A car wash in your neighborhood is another great fundraising idea. All you need to do is to gather a group of volunteers on a hot summer day and have a water fundraising blast. You can also sell lemonade, hot dogs or donuts to customers who are waiting for their cars to be cleaned.

There are tons of great ideas you can use to raise money for adoption. Just open your home and host all kinds of fun events and your adoption fund will fill up in no time!