Adoption grants provide financial assistance to families to help cover the costs of adoption.
Unlike loans, you don’t have to pay them back — and unlike tax credits, the funds are available upfront rather than after your adoption is complete.
These grants can help with agency fees, home study expenses, legal and travel costs, and sometimes even post-placement support.
We’ll work with you to build a personalized adoption budget and guide you toward grants, loans, and funding options that meet your needs. Fill out our easy form to get started.
How to Apply for Adoption Grants
There’s no one-size-fits-all way to apply for adoption grants—every organization does things a little differently. But if you want to set yourself up for success, pay attention to these three things:
1. Pay Attention to Application Deadlines
Many adoption grants follow a set schedule, accepting applications quarterly or once a year. Missing a deadline could mean waiting months for another opportunity to apply. Mark important dates on your calendar early and give yourself plenty of time to prepare.
2. Understand Who’s Eligible
Each grant has its own eligibility criteria. Some are designed for specific groups such as teachers, military families, or cancer survivors, while others focus on certain types of adoption, like domestic infant, foster care, or international placements.
Always read the requirements carefully so you can focus your efforts on programs that are the best fit for your family.
3. Plan for Decision Timelines
Response times vary widely. Some organizations make decisions within a few weeks, while others may take several months.
Keep these timelines in mind as you plan your adoption process, especially if you’re depending on grant funds for agency payments or travel expenses.
What You’ll Need to Apply
Most applications want things like proof that your home study is approved, financial documents, personal essays about why you want to adopt, and letters from people who can vouch for you.
Start pulling these together early so you’re not scrambling at the last minute.
Which Adoption Grant Is Right for Your Family?
Adoption grants come in all different shapes and sizes. Some organizations tailor their support to families going through specific situations.
Whether you’ve dealt with infertility, you’re in the military, or you work in a helping profession, there’s probably a grant out there with your name on it.
Adoption Grants for Infertile Couples
A lot of grant organizations get that infertility can drain your bank account before you even start thinking about adoption.
These adoption grants for infertile couples are designed to help you transition from fertility treatments to building your family through adoption:
- Gift of Adoption Fund – Gives out grants up to $15,000 for all types of adoption
- RESOLVE Family Building Grant – Helps families who are moving from infertility treatment to adoption
- National Adoption Foundation Grants – Offers help based on financial need, especially for families who’ve been through infertility
Adoption Grants for LGBT Couples
Several organizations specifically support LGBTQ+ families with adoption grants for LGBT couples:
- Family Equality Council – Provides money and resources for LGBTQ+ parents pursuing adoption
- HRC Foundation’s Family Project – Offers grants and guidance for same-sex couples
- Men Having Babies – Awards grants to gay men building families through surrogacy or adoption
Adoption Grants for Cancer Survivors
Adoption grants for cancer survivors recognize that beating cancer shouldn’t mean giving up on your dream of having kids. These foundations get it:
- Hope for Two – Specifically helps cancer survivors with adoption or fertility preservation
- Pink Fund – Assists breast cancer survivors with family-building costs, including adoption
Adoption Grants for Military Families
If you’re active duty or a veteran, you’ve got access to adoption grants for military families:
- Adopt America Network’s Military Adoption Grant – Awards between $1,000 and $2,500 to military families
- Operation Homefront – Helps military families with domestic adoption costs
- AFCF Military Family Grant Program – Offers support for families stationed overseas
Adoption Grants for Teachers and Nurses
A lot of organizations want to support the people who take care of others for a living. That’s where adoption grants for teachers and adoption grants for nurses come in:
- Abba Fund – Gives $500-$2,000 grants to Christian families, with a preference for teachers and ministry workers
- Lifesong for Orphans – Provides matching grants up to $3,000 for families, including educators
- Show Hope – Offers grants for families adopting kids with special needs—a lot of recipients work in education or healthcare
What If You Could Stack Multiple Funding Sources?
Most families don’t rely on just one source of money to pay for adoption. Adoption grants usually work great alongside:
- Federal adoption tax credits: You can’t double-dip and claim the same expense twice, but grants can help with costs the tax credit doesn’t fully cover. Right now, qualified families can claim up to $15,950 per child.
- Adoption loans: Plenty of families use grant money as a down payment on an adoption loan, which means they don’t have to borrow as much.
- Employer benefits: Some companies have adoption assistance programs that reimburse you for adoption costs—and you can stack those on top of grant money.
- Fundraising: Grants give you a solid foundation that your friends and family can build on through crowdfunding or fundraising events.
Common Barriers to Getting a Grant (and How to Overcome Them)
Even families who are perfect candidates sometimes struggle to land adoption grants. Here’s how to dodge the most common mistakes:
- Incomplete applications: Grant reviewers look at hundreds of applications. If yours is missing documents or gives vague answers, they’ll just move on to the next one. Use a checklist to make sure you’ve got everything they asked for.
- Bad timing: Don’t wait until you’ve already finished your adoption or until you’re desperate for money. Start researching grants as soon as you begin your home study.
- Applying for the wrong grants: Read the requirements carefully and be honest with yourself. If a grant is for international adoption and you’re doing domestic, don’t waste your time hoping they’ll make an exception.
- Boring essays: Grant committees want to hear your story. Tell them specifically why adoption matters to your family instead of writing what you think they want to hear.
Get Complete Cost Clarity Before You Commit
One of the biggest things that holds families back from adoption is not knowing what it’s really going to cost. Hidden fees and surprise expenses can throw off your whole plan and blow your budget.
At American Adoptions, we think you deserve to know what you’re getting into from day one.
When you reach out to us, we give you a complete breakdown of our agency fees upfront—no surprises, no hidden costs. And once a birth mother picks you, we’ll also give you a detailed estimate of what her expenses will be based on the cost of living in her state.
This kind of transparency helps you plan realistically, figure out which grants to apply for, and move forward feeling confident.
Start Your Adoption Journey with Financial Confidence
Thousands of families have made their adoption dreams happen by piecing together adoption grants with other financial resources and working with agencies that respect their budget.
You don’t have to figure this all out on your own, and you don’t have to let money worries keep you from becoming a parent.
Take the first step—get your free adoption information today.
