We have BIG News…we are adopting a child! We are beyond excited!
After 16(!) years of marriage we have done a great job raising Golden Retrievers, but starting a family has always been on our minds. Adoption has been on our hearts from the beginning as we know there are little ones born into difficult situations, and birth moms face overwhelming circumstances. In choosing how to start our family, we felt in our hearts a burden for these children and birth mothers and wanted to do our part.
We are excited to be on this journey and filled with anticipation for the road ahead of us. Also, the process of adoption can be long, complicated, difficult, and expensive, but we believe the challenge will be rewarding and worth it. While we have been open in sharing our intention to adopt with many, we are also looking to recruit some strategic partners to help in support along the way.
As part of our adoption process, we have started a crowdfunding campaign. It may surprise you to hear that adoption-related costs can easily total up to $50,000 or more. Therefore, we set a goal of $16,000 to help ease the financial burden that often overwhelms adoptive parents.
We hope that by inviting you into this process, you will see yourself as a part of the community we hope to build around our child as he/she grows up.
We understand that you may have some questions about the crowdfunding campaign and adoption in general. To help, we have included some Q&A below.
Please understand that we have no expectations for you to give; we want you to feel completely free in your choice. If you cannot contribute financially, please pray for us as we continue on this journey.
Lastly, feel free to email this webpage with others who have a heart for adoption and who may want to contribute financially or through prayer.
Thank you so much for taking the time to consider partnering with us in this process!
Kate & Joe
Questions & Answers
Q: Does an adoption really cost $50,000?
A: Yes, and possibly more. The bulk of the cost goes towards helping the birth mom with expenses, fees to the agency, and attorney fees. These items alone can cost $50,000. This number does not include costs for the home study, agency applications, background checks, transportation, food & housing (minimum of 2 weeks) when we pick up our child, or medical costs in case the birth mom does not have insurance.
Q: Didn’t you start a crowdfunding page a few years ago for adoption?
A: Yes, we did have a crowdfunding page that was live for a few weeks several years ago when we began looking at adoption. Any donations provided to us in that first effort have been applied to expenses related to this adoption.
Q: If the adoption can cost $50,000 (or more), why are you raising $16,000?
A: Would we love to have 100% of the expenses covered? Of course. However, since we started this journey, we fully understood that we would incur personal expenses. When having a biological child, most couples tend to have a hospital bill of several thousand dollars, so it isn’t unreasonable for us to experience a similar financial impact. Personally, we’ve made our own financial commitment to this journey over the past year through savings, applying for grants and taking on a personal loan. Any amount raised will be a tremendous help.
Q: Doesn’t the government help with adoption costs?
A: Yes, they do. There is an adoption tax credit of $15,950 for adoptions that take place in 2023. While this is very helpful, it also falls very short and places an enormous burden on the adopting family to shoulder the remaining costs.
Great news, we're adopting a girl!
Over the past 3 weeks we have been talking with a birth mother and she recently informed us that she chose us in this adoption! We are beyond excited!
The due date is June 23rd so we have been quite busy gathering items and preparing for this little girl's arrival.
Again, thank you all so much for your generosity and for your prayers!
Kate & Joe
