Through fundraising for our adoption, I’ve met many determined adoptive mamas. I never tire of hearing others stories of adoption and how, despite seemingly impossible odds, God brought in the funds.

When I meet other families that have fundraised I am always amazed and inspired. Each person puts their own spin, and uses their own passions, to come up with unique ideas to get those fees paid. One such adoptive mama is Sarah and today, she shares her story and how they raised the funds to bring home their son, Liam.

Our adoption journey started years before we picked an agency or started looking through waiting child pictures. I believe it started in Brentwood, Tennessee right after we had done our “debt free scream” on Dave Ramsey’s radio show and the video producer started interviewing us. He asked what our ultimate goals were now with money and my husband told him we were hoping to one day adopt.

I don’t think shocked is an adequate word for the look on my face in that moment. We had mentioned it from time to time throughout our marriage but in that moment, it all felt real. We had paid off $39k in two years so it finally didn’t seem impossible.

About a year later, we went to an informational meeting from an agency and I really saw the numbers and my legs began to shake. I didn’t know how we could come up with that kind of money in a year. I’m blessed to have a cousin who adopted from China in 2010 and her words echoed through my heart as we began the process, “Never let money be the thing that holds you back.” I had watched their story of God providing in amazing ways and their church family rallying around them to bring their daughter home.

I didn’t know how it was going to look for our family but we took the leap of faith and began our journey to our son Liam in 2014.

I believe that we can share and learn from each other in the ways we raise money but each family has to look at their support network, their own skills and talents and unique set of circumstances to know how to best fundraise.

I had a sizable following on social media so I was able to get a large audience to share our story on Twitter and the bulk of our funds came from direct donations to our crowdfunding page.

I made some crafts, had a garage sale, and we sold some t-shirts. We received one grant. We had a pancake breakfast with a silent auction a few months before we travelled and that brought in the remaining funds. In the end, we were able to save half the money we needed through our monthly budgeting and the other half was raised through fundraising.

When families ask me how to get started with fundraising, I always advise them to look at what they think will work best in their situation. Some churches will allow a large event like a yard sale or spaghetti dinner. Social media has made it possible to have online auctions and crowdfunding websites can reach far beyond your local community. I believe each journey will look different but there are more options than ever to be successful.

Through our fundraising journey, it made me more dependent on God and incredibly thankful for all of those who are now part of bringing our son home. It also inspires me every day to give more and listen to where God is calling my heart financially. I believe that fundraising is an opportunity for anyone to participate in the miracle of adoption.

We hope you loved Sarah’s story as much as we do – be sure to check out her Facebook page here where you can get tips, advice and encouragement for your fundraising journey!