The cost associated with adoption scares a lot of hopeful adoptive parents at first glance. And that’s understandable – the process can be expensive. But, it’s not impossible. After the initial reaction passes, you’ll find there are many options available to make adoption an affordable option for growing a family. One of the primary options used by adoptive families is adoption grants.

Adoptions grants are incredibly popular in the adoptive community, and for good reason. Unlike other adoption financing options such as adoption loans, grants have no interest and no personal cost. Grants are not financial lines of credit that you pay back over time; they are, simply put, like gifts. If you receive any grants for adoption, you do not pay them back. They are essentially free grants for adoption.

The reasons for their popularity are obvious, but there are also challenges that come with adoption grants. If you are in the adoption process or considering adoption, understanding the ins and outs of adoption grants is important. Successful adoption financing is accomplished through careful preparation and planning. Having a plan of action when applying for grants for adoption is an important part of that. This guide to adoption grants is the perfect place to start.

Benefits of Adoption Grants

The primary benefit of adoption grants was stated above. When you receive an adoption grant, you don’t have to pay it back. Many families choosing between adoption grants and loans will choose to apply for grants because of this.

Similarly, because there is no payment, there is also no interest. While there are some interest-free adoption loans available, most are standard personal loans with an interest rate ranging from 5–20 percent. Not only will there be a monthly payment to the loan, but in the end you will be losing money on it. The primary advantage of a loan is the immediate cash on hand. Adoption grants accomplish a similar purpose without the payments and interest.

Grants for adoption are also appealing because they do not create any financial risk. You can’t default on a grant like you can with a loan. There are no collateral assets required to apply for an adoption grant. It is a financially risk-free option that can give an adoptive family a massive boost toward reaching their adoption financing goal.

Challenges of Adoption Grants

There are some challenges to relying on grants for adoption. These challenges shouldn’t deter you from researching and applying for adoption grants, but they are important to keep in mind during the process.

The first challenge is time. Typically, adoption grants are awarded by nonprofit organizations. These organizations will have extensive application processes for their adoption grants. After an application has been submitted, there is usually a waiting period while a group of applications are being reviewed. Traditional personal loans from financial institutions can, in some cases, give you cash on hand the next day. This will not be the case when applying for adoption grants.

The reason for the first challenge comes from the second challenge: funding. Most adoption grant organizations are nonprofits. They operate within limited budgets and, in most cases, cannot fund every qualified application they receive. This means that even if you feel that you are highly qualified to receive grants for adoption assistance from a certain organization, you still may not be awarded the grant due to funding restrictions.

What does this mean for you? Two things:

• Don’t turn to adoption grants in a last-minute attempt to secure funding

• Don’t plan your adoption financing around the assumption that grants will be awarded

Grants for adoption can be very beneficial to a hopeful adoptive family. The best way to approach grants is with careful planning and plenty of time to spare.

How to Get an Adoption Grant

So, where can you apply for adoption grants? There are so many options. A quick Google search will give you more than 40 million results, which is a bit ridiculous. But, there are some great adoption grant organizations in there.

You may be able to find grants that are perfect for you and aren’t listed here. That’s great. This list isn’t exhaustive, but it can hopefully give you a few places to research and apply for adoption grants. Be sure to carefully review each organization’s qualifications and instructions for how to apply for a grant for adoption.

• A Child Waits Foundation: This organization awards grants for adopting to families who are in the international or domestic adoption process. The maximum grant amount (in most cases) is $7,000.

• Gifts of Adoption Fund: Founded by adoptive parents who experienced how prohibitive the cost of adoption can be, this organization award grants for adoption fees to families adopting domestically and internationally.

• Help Us Adopt: The adoption assistance grants awarded by Help Us Adopt can be up to $15,000, which is higher than most organizations.

• National Adoption Foundation: Families adopting through any process can apply for a grant from the National Adoption Foundation. That means they award domestic adoption grants as well as international. They require applicants to have a completed home study, or be in the process of completing the home study.

• Associates Home Loan: This organization awards $1,000 grants to home-study-approved families twice a year. Applications are open to anyone adopting, regardless of age, race, ethnicity, religion, marital status, gender, sexual orientation or disability. 

These are only a few of the many available adoption grants that hopeful parents can apply for. These grants can be a great way to supplement the cost of adoption. If you would like to talk more about adoption grants with an adoption specialist, or ask questions about other adoption financing options, you can call 1-800-ADOPTION at any time or request more information online.

Disclaimer
Information available through these links is the sole property of the companies and organizations listed therein. America Adoptions, Inc. provides this information as a courtesy and is in no way responsible for its content or accuracy.