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Saturday, January 10, 2015

**Jan. 17th Winter Carnival** and "Buy a Brick"

This is going to be a BUSY MONTH!!!  While we wait for our travel dates we are working hard to be "fully funded" !

Do you feel compelled to help us bring home "Little A" ?

There are several ways you can help and we appreciate a $5.00 donation as much a $100 !! THANK YOU!

January 17th - Owensville, MO Lions Clubs
Chili Cook Off and Winter Indoor Carnival
Chili Cook Off & Winter Carnival ~ Details on Facebook

Come and join the fun from Noon - 3:00 p.m. !
Chili ! Games! Face Painting! Cake Walk! Music! Silent Auction!

Buy A Brick ! $100 or $200 sizes available!
Do you want to be forever remembered as one of the people who changed our son's life forever and helped us create a family for him? This is a unique way to always have a place in his heart!

When you "Buy a Brick" you are actually making a donation and in return we will receive a personalized brick complete with your name and/or message to place permanently in our son's play area! You can purchase one as an individual, a group of friends, coworkers, or extended family. There is clip art to choose from or you can choose to laser engrave just your name or a favorite scripture or quote or well wishes for our son.

Our goal is to sell 50 bricks and incorporate them into a pathway through his garden.



As always you can also donate directly to our Reece's Rainbow family grant!
Click Here: http://reecesrainbow.org/73356/sponsorgreene

Once we begin traveling, this blog will no longer be public. Please sign up via the e-mail link if you would like to remain able to view our posts while we are getting to know our son in South America.


Friday, January 2, 2015

SOME ADOPTION GRANTS & LOANS

Here are just some of the grants out there for adoption that we have tried in hopes of getting a little closer to our dream and becoming fully funded. 

Many applications require a non-refundable application fee or donation ranging from $10.00 to $50.00. 

At least 99% of all adoption grants will require the approved Home Study before applying.  Most require a pastoral letter, letter from your placement agency, income verification, cash flow/net worth statements, and personal testimonials of some nature.

Some have specific points you can apply (after receiving your referral, after submitting your dossier, etc.).

You will need LOTS of paperink refills, and large yellow envelopes. I would suggest tracking the mailers as most organizations kindly request you refrain from calling to confirm they have received your application. I scanned copies of all the completed applications and saved them to my computer.

Most grants have different review cycles you need to pay careful attention to deadlines. Some distribute grand as rarely as twice a year, some do so monthly, or anywhere in between.

Grants we have applied for:

Local Family Assistance Grants  APPROVED! 2/26/14
Three Rivers Electric - "Change for Life" Helping Hands Grants
Applied February 18th for the cost of installing a fence. ($1145)

Unless you are my neighbor, this will not apply to you.  However, I wanted to include it to remind you to check your local resources.  Especially if you are adopting a child with special needs and need some financial support for expenses that are related to your child, but maybe not the adoption specifically. (Perhaps you need to modify your existing bathroom or yard or need a wheelchair or special assistive technology?)  Three Rivers provides funds to families and organizations to help veterans, families in crisis, or those who have specific needs such as a wheel chair or ramp access or dental work.  Check around your local resources and you may find similar blessings in your own backyard!

Reece's Rainbow FSP APPROVED! 2/24/14
Submitted application for Family Sponsorship Profile on February 17, 2014.  $25.00 donation required.  $250 donation preferred.

This is an amazing site!! They are a way to get your child's case out in the public and a safe, tax-deductible way for people to donate.  Your child must have special needs.  They convert the donations into a grant you can use for travel or other related expenses.  They are not intended for "start-up" costs of adoption. Rumor has it there are lots of Reece's Fairies who like to help boost family's funds! It's a great organization and the once you are approved you can be part of the support team of the other RR families- which has helped me A LOT!! Funds become available at the VERY END of the process- just before traveling to your child's country.

Gift of Adoption Fund (RECEIVED! $3500 ! )
We applied Jan 13th.  Fee: $50.00 Potential: "Grants range from $1,000 to $7,500 with the average grant award at $3,500."
  • Completed and signed grant application
  • Copy of your most recent tax return
  • Copy of recent (last two months) check stub for all reported income earners
  • Copy of your approved and current home study
  • Two (2) letters of reference
  • Check in the amount of $50
JSC Foundation ( DENIED )
Submitted Part I Feb 13, 2014. Submitted final documents Mar 6, 2014. Undisclosed amount; private grants.

Well, back in November of 2013 I began filling out this online application and then I needed to save it and put it on hold until we had an official home study approval.  I had completely forgotten about it until an inspired adoptive mom posted a comment on Facebook asking if I had applied for JSC !!  It seemed familiar but I have looked at literally 20-30 different grants and so I assumed it was one of the ones we did not meet the eligibility for.  However, once I checked it out and went to "register" I learned I had a saved application that was so nearly complete I was brought to tears.  I completed the on-line portion and am now waiting for the request for documentation.

Show Hope (Steven Curtis Chapman) (DENIED, no specific reason given) We applied Jan 26th/Feb 5th.  Potential amount: $4,000 average grant. There are two pretty involved parts to this application. First is an online portion, then an extensive packet of supporting documents to submit via snail mail that needs to be submitted with two weeks of the online portion.

God's Grace Adoption Ministry, Inc.  (DENIED 2/25/14- insufficient funding)
We applied Jan 13th.  Potential amount: Matching Grants up to $2,500; Must be a Christian, two-parent (married) family.

Life Song for Orphans (DENIED March 4th, 2014, insufficient funding).
We applied on Jan 13th.  Potential: Matching grants up to $4,000.  Interest free adoption loans up to $10,000. Fundraising support when no grant funds are available.  Approval process generally takes 8-10 weeks.

From Life Song website:
Approval & Fundraising: If approved for a Matching Grant, we will establish a “goal-date” to have all funds received by Lifesong in order to be applied towards the ‘dollar-for-dollar’ Matching Grant.
You must develop a mailing list of 100-200 potential supporters. This group would include individuals from your church, family, friends, business contacts, co-workers, etc.

Golden Dawn Adoption Assistance (no response to inquiries of status) DENIED December 2014, insufficient funding.
Submitted March 12, 2014 Maximum grant: $2,000. Fee: $20.00
Requires your USCIS approval letter (LOA) to submit application. (We received our LOA on March 1st).

ABBA Fund Loans: (DENIED due to being members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints- not considered "Christian" )

A Child Waits Foundation Grants for international adoption- DENIED, no reason given.

Kinsman Redeemer Grant: (DENIED due to being members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints- not considered "Christian").

Others:

Christian Family Adoption Grant Fund – A new initiative in our portfolio of programs is the Christian Family Adoption Grant Fund that allows families to activate their communities of friends and family to give into a charitable fund to help reduce the financial burden of their adoption by providing the key services to help transform an orphan into a son or daughter — including home study costs, agency fees, legal costs, and even major medical needs  after the child is home.

Lydia Fund - (we did not meet qualification and/or deadline)

Katelyn's Fund - (we did not meet qualification and/or deadline)

National Adoption Credit Card
I would NOT recommend this unless you have absolutely no other option.  We applied for (and received) a lower interest credit care to pay for our first placement agency installment of $9,000.  I've applied twice for their grants (making a$10 donation each time) and never heard back from them.