The Riehm Family successfully crowdfunded over $36,000 through more than 50 individual donors over the course of 2 years.
“Nothing will save you more money than the generosity of your community.”
– Tacy Riehm
Tacy is emphatic in her message to other AdoptTogether parents; “Keep getting your story out there. Keep asking.” Tacy was shocked at the response from her community once she started spreading her family’s story throughout her community and beyond.
“If I would have realized how generous my community was when I started the adoption process, I would have been far less afraid.”
Tacy believes that the goal is to make it easy for your community to give. So posting your AdoptTogether fundraiser everywhere you can as often as possible is what allows it to really stick in people’s mind and eliminate barriers for potential donors.
“I was shocked at how many people wanted to support our adoption and how deeply their heart was stirred by our story.”
Another tip Tacy had based on her experience with her family, is to “celebrate all the mini victories.” Both the adoption and the crowdfunding process can take years, so it’s important to not only create ways to remember that you are indeed making process. It’s going to be hard, it’s going to take time, but it’s imperative that you…
remember to celebrate!
Tacy says her family would celebrate every time a donation email came in, no matter how small or large the amount, and eventually it “became a family bonding experience.”
Lastly, Tacy said one of the biggest things she learned was how important it was to stay in touch with all those who donated to her fundraiser. Tacy sent regular emails to her donors throughout the adoption process, but once her son was home she soon decreased her email correspondence until completely stopping them after her son’s first year home. It didn’t take long before Tacy was frequently asked “What happen to those email updates about your son? We loved hearing about his progress and seeing photos!”
You may think you’re bugging your donors by communicating with
them often, but it usually turns out that donors, no matter how
unfamiliar they may be with you, tend to feel connected to your
family story after participating with your AdoptTogether campaign.
At AdoptTogether, we turn crowds into communities, so be prepared to expand yours a little when you start fundraising with us!
Check out the Riehm Family Story on CNN: Impact Your World featuring Hank Fortener & AdoptTogether
If you enjoyed this post, you may also enjoy:
Testimonial: 5 Important Crowdfunding Reminders
Remember... You're Not Alone "Feeling scared to ask people for money? Me too!" Most of the families I have talked with about starting their AdoptTogether crowd fundraising say, “I am nervous to ask people for money.” I felt the same way when we started crowd...
Andrea Wittig: The First AdoptTogether Family on Crowdfunding Tips
Andrea Wittig's family was the first family ever to fundraise for their adoption on AdoptTogether. The Wittigs were able to crowdfund over $35,000 to adopt their child form Uganda. Watch her interview here with our AdoptTogether Editorial Team and learn how you...
AdoptTogether Fundraising Tips from the Radtke Family
The Radtke Family was one of the first families to successfully fundraise using AdoptTogether. Check out their fundraising tips here to help get your crowdfunding campaign off to a great start! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jH-D2PvbIHs If you enjoyed this post, you...
5 Ways To Support AdoptTogether
1. Shop the AdoptTogether Store The AdoptTogether Store is filled with great gifts for the whole family and was designed by our creative development team this year. All proceeds from store sales go to support families currently fundraising on AdoptTogether. 2. Amazon...
How AdoptTogether Works
AdoptTogether is the world's largest nonprofit, crowdfunding platform for adoption. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtPpIDOkKaM If you enjoyed this post, you may also enjoy:
5 Steps To Successfully Launch Your Adoption Crowdfunding Campaign
Crowdfunding has steadily grown in popularity over the past ten years and you've undoubtedly heard of someone ask for support with their KickStarter or GoFundMe campaign. Crowdfunding campaigns allow fundraisers to cast an extraordinarily large net in the hopes of...
Let’s Get Started!
I want to personally welcome you to AdoptTogether and wish you and your family the best of luck as you begin this incredible, life-changing journey of adoption! Whether it’s your first or fifth adoption, we’re grateful you’ve chosen to partner with AdoptTogether in...