To all CREATIVE soul cysters I Need YOU

One tattered Angel · 03-23-2004, 08:31 PM

What do you do to help raise money for adoption expenses? I found a lady out of California who specializes in infant adoptions but she is $7,500.oo and we dont have that type of money laying around. I Know we have some creative ladies in soul cysters so please help me find a way.

dms · 03-24-2004, 09:48 AM

Well, this isn't very creative but we used our line of credit (loan). Then, we paid it off slowly until the adoption was finalized and we got our tax money back. Then, we were able to pay the balance of the loan and bank the rest of the money for our next adoption.

Good luck to you.

Dawn

Sari · 03-24-2004, 12:34 PM

You might try organizing yard sale, bake sale, selling Avon, or some other product while making it well known (even include flyers or posters) that say all proceeds or profits go to fund your adoption. I think people will be more willing to buy items when it is going to a good cause.

DolciLady · 03-24-2004, 01:28 PM

If you don't have time or energy to put into frequent yard sales, you can become an Ebay seller. I've seen several sellers note that their sells are for adoption (yard sale type stuff or crafts they make). I wish I'd thought of that before we donated 12 bags of clothes and stuff to charity because I was too lazy to have a garage sale. I still may round up stuff to sell online, but what we used to fund our adoption is a loan against my husband's 401-k. We're paying ourselves back, which is a big plus, and it will be paid off in 5yrs, which is another big plus because we KNOW exactly what to expect. And it's automatically deducted from his pay so it's teaching us a crash course in extreme budgeting. LOL

My mom suggested we throw Adoption BBQ's and put a donation bucket out. I decided against that because it seems counterproductive to put money out to throw a party and expect to make a profit.

Hope these ideas help!
Robin

cbeldner · 03-24-2004, 11:16 PM

You would be surprised too at how family and friends will want to help. My mom owned a bar during our adoption process and whenever she bartended she saved her tip money and gave us almost $1100. Then when we found out at the last minute it was going to cost $6000 more than we planned we called everyone we could and my Dad sent $2500 with anote saying keep it because I love you note. Then a coworker gave us a loan for $1600. We paid her back as soon as our taxes came back.

I really sat back during the process and said "If God wants this child to be mine He will provide the opportunity." SO I never stressed about the money at all. I went with the flow and he provided because I had faith. Just a thought.

We also had a "Baby Fund" jar. We kept loose change and $1.00 in it and deposited it occassionally. You would be surprised how much that adds up too.

We had a garage sale this past weekend and we got $300. Plus we still have a fish tank to sell for about $600.

Just some ideas!

KiwiKitten · 03-25-2004, 06:27 AM

I don't know how much this will help, but i once got myself in a lot of debt and needed to come up with extra money ASAP. This is mostly how i did it. Might seem small stuff, but boy does it add up. A lot of it you probably already know, and just need reminding.
* Make a grocery list and stick to it. If you forget to add something to the list, tough, do without it.
* Don't buy cosmetics, cleaners or paper products at the grocery shop. Use the cosmetics you already have, and how many cleaners do you really need? Normal hand soap shines the bath and shower as well as expensive cleaners. One surface spray is all you need.
* Use up all the shampoos and conditioners you have in your bathroom. Even the ones you don't like. When you have to buy more, buy them from the bulk shops. Towel dry your hair before you condition, and then put half the conditioner in your hand that you would normally use and make it up to the full amount with water. Your hair will still feel as good after.
* Go through your panty and bring out all the stuff that has been sitting there for a while. Get creative with your cooking and use it.
* Do you treat yourself to coffee out once a week, or some other small treat? Time to drop it and put the moeny saved into your adoption fund.
* Get a seperate bank account for your adoption fund. It does help. Because you won't be withdrawing from it until you have all you need, you can get one with low fees that has a higher fee for withdrawals.
* If it is at all possible to walk or bike where you are going, then do so. Don't take the car or bus unless you really have to. (About here you are allowed to picture me going to a party in my nice dress and 4 inch stilletos. Bike didn't seem to want to stay upright on the way home though

)

Hope this helps you. And yes, i did clear my debt fast. Good luck.

jamim · 03-25-2004, 02:16 PM

Are you an animal lover or do you like cleaning? If so you could offer a dog walking service or cleaning service, you could even offer a scheduling or concierge sort of service- donations to go to adoption......
OR..... do you sew or craft? I could come up with some fun ideas. There are always craft shows and stuff like that....if you don't really craft but would like to and need easy easy ideas- I can give you some.

One tattered Angel · 03-26-2004, 03:17 AM

Now I think I have my brain going. If you have any more ideas please send them my way.