A 35-year-old man and his 45-year-old wife badly want to have a child. So far, they have been unable to conceive one, and they have been told that at the wife’s age, the chances of conception may be as low as five percent. Accordingly, just like many couples in Alabama and elsewhere in that predicament, they decided to go through an adoption. The difficulty they still faced, in addition to being approved to adopt a child, revolved around financing the adoption process.

Costs can vary, but their estimate was that they might need around $20,000. They did feel that they had the ongoing income and other needed resources to be able to afford to raise a child. But, they lacked the initial lump sum to get the child to begin with and do the formal legal process. So, they decided to do fundraising to raise the money, showing their determination to do whatever was necessary to give a child a loving home.

They first held a public event at a local music venue, and they raised an initial $1,000 to get them started. They then started their own fundraising campaign on a crowdfunding website, using social media to promote it. Funds are often needed during the adoption process for money needed by the pregnant woman for the health of herself and the baby, travel, counseling, court costs, a home study and legal services.

Guidance from an experienced adoption attorney is essential in the process as there are legal rules about what kind of expenses a birth mother can and cannot be paid for by adoptive parents. This couple is not alone to turning to fundraising to put together money for expenses,. Some other families are doing such things as garage sales or donations from friends, family or others. Ultimately, when they are holding their new son or daughter in their arms, it will all be worth it.

Source: The Gainesville Sun, “Couple hopes crowdfunding will help them adopt a child” Hannah O. Brown, Feb. 11, 2014