| Adoption
Financing Resources
Adoption Grants
Adoption Loans
Companies Providing Adoption Benefits
Employer Benefits
Financing an Adoption
Federal and/or State Tax Credits
Lifestyle Adjustments
Military Families
----------------NOTE - this
is an in-development partial list, more to come...--------------
"How to Make Adoption an Affordable Option"
is a booklet for people who would like to consider adoption
but are reluctant because they believe that the process is too
expensive. This booklet lists organizations, internet sites,
and other resources where you can find more information and
assistance on adoption. From The Federal Consumer Information
Center in Pueblo, CO.
http://www.nefe.org/adoption/default.htm
Download a copy or order the booklet through their free Consumer
Information Catalog.
After choosing international adoption as the means to build
your family, the next decision is how to finance the adoption.
You Don't Have to Be Wealthy to Adopt! More resources
are available today that make adopting a child more feasible
than ever before. Some ways that families have underwritten
part of their adoption expenses are listed here along with ideas
that adoptive families have used to successfully cover their
adoption expenses.
Federal and/or State Tax Credits, go to WWW.IRS.GOV
and type in "adoption benefits" under the search bar.
The publication that defines the benefit is there for you to
download.
http://www.irs.gov/irb/2005-26_IRB/ar18.html
, www.irs.gov
The U.S. federal government offers an Adoption Tax Credit of
$10,000 to all adoptive families on qualifying expenses paid
for a child's adoption. For more information on the federal
adoption tax credit, click Federal Publication #968 - Tax Benefits
for Adoption to receive this free publication from the IRS website.
To learn more, download the article: The Adoption Tax
Credit Explained
In addition, many states offer adoption tax credits or an income
tax deduction for families who are adopting a child. Check
with a local tax accountant for possible tax credits and/or tax
deductions available to you from the state in which you are residing.
Check your individual state Reimbursement of Non-Recurring Expenses.
Military Families
Active-duty military families may be reimbursed up to $2,000
in eligible adoption expenses. Contact your specific branch
of the military for more information or download the NMFA
Adoption Fact Sheet from the National Military Family Association.
•
The ABBA Fund
A
Child Waits Foundation
Adoption
Policy Resource Center
A
Mother's Love
Christian
Advocates for Children
Gift
of Adoption Fund
Helping
Kids Cope
IRS
Adoption Tax Credit
Kingdom
Kids Adoption Ministries
Life
International
National
Adoption Fund
National
Endowment for Financial Education
North
American Council on Adoptable Children
Open
Arms Children's Charities
Oxford
Adoption Foundation
Shohannah's
Hope
The Dave
Thomas Foundation
Every day new grant programs become available which offer funds
to help defray adoption expenses. Here are some of the
programs;
Shaohannah's
Hope, a foundation established by Steven Curtis Chapman
and Mary Beth Chapman to provide information and assistance
to families interested in adopting.
Life International encourages
God's people to adopt a child by relieving some of the financial
burden of international adoption. They provide adoption
matching grants from $1,000 - $4,000 per child. Visit
their website or call 309/747-3556 or email for more information.
Adoption Loans
Some adoptive families have utilized a bank loan or a line of
credit to assist them with their adoption expenses. While
borrowing money for an adoption may not be an adoptive family's
first choice, adoptive families may find a loan helpful in covering
the large and immediate adoption expenses especially if they
will be able to repay the loan quickly with a tax credit or
an employer's adoption benefit reimbursement. Several
possible loan sources include:
*
HOME EQUITY LOANS. Interest rates often are reasonable and the
interest is tax deductible. Just remember, you're putting your
home at risk.
*
INSURANCE. You may be able to borrow from the cash value of
your life insurance policy.
*
LOW-INTEREST LOANS. Some banks offer low-interest loans or credit
lines for adoptive parents.
*
PRIVATE GRANT AND SPECIAL LOAN PROGRAMS.
The National Adoption Foundation offers adoption grants and
low-interest loans, both home equity and unsecured, to qualified
adoptive families. Visit their website for more information
and how to submit an application. Lifetime Adoption offers
a simple loan program to qualified families with average credit.
There are no upfront fees. Families may repay the loan
at any time and can finance the loan up to five years.
Visit their website or call 530/271-1740 to receive an application
via fax or email.
*
RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS. Many church congregations
welcome the opportunity to help fellow church members adopt
a child from another country by organizing community fundraisers
or by offering a cash gift to help cover adoption expenses.
The Hebrew Free Loan Association offers Jewish families interest-free
loans to adopt domestically or internationally.
*
RELATIVES. Don't overlook the potential generosity of
extended family members who might be waiting for an opportunity
to help out with your adoption in order to be a part of making
your dream a reality.
*
CREDIT CARDS & RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS. Two other possible
sources to use for adoption expenses are credit cards and loans
on retirement accounts, such as 401(k)s and profit-sharing plans.
Credit cards are an easy source of cash, but typically charge
high interest rates. Loans on retirement plans offer somewhat
lower interest rates; however, if either spouse loses or changes
jobs and the loan cannot be repaid within a short period of
time, the loan becomes a taxable withdrawal with an additional
10% early withdrawal penalty fee. Although tempting to
use, adoption loans by credit card or on retirement accounts
should be considered only as a last resort. (Loan information
courtesy of the National Endowment for Financial Education's
booklet "How to Make Adoption an Affordable Option.")
Employer Benefits
Many companies offer adoption benefits to their employees which
may range from financial assistance for their adoption expenses
to paid/unpaid parental leave. The National Adoption Center
has compiled a list of companies who provide adoption benefits.
Check to see if your company has been listed or contact your
company's human resources department for more information on
potential adoption benefits available to you.
If your employer doesn't currently offer adoption benefits,
and you would like to lobby for the addition of this benefit
to your employer's benefit plan, The National Adoption Center
also offers a FREE "Adoption-Friendly Workplace Guide"
on its website, which offers many helpful suggestions on how
you might approach your employer to have this benefit added
to your employee benefit plan.
To learn more, download the article: How to Lobby your
Employer for Adoption Benefits
Talk with your health insurance company to see if they offer
maternity benefits for an adoption
*
Refinance your house and/or car
*
Have a garage sale or use the internet to sell items that you
don't use anymore
*
Visit A Mother's Love for other fundraising ideas to cover potential
adoption expenses
*
Save earnings from a second job to go toward adoption expenses
*
Ask your church about helping with your family's adoption expenses
*
Begin subtracting "known baby costs" from your paycheck
to help save money for adoption expenses, but also to learn
how to live on a smaller income
*
Skip your vacation, stop eating out as much, and shop more for
bargains
Companies Providing Adoption Benefits
The company list below has been provided by the National Adoption
Center, National Adoption Information Clearinghouse (NAIC)
**Employers which may provide financial reimbursement of $4,000
or more for their employees' adoption expenses
AARP**
ABB CE Nuclear Power**
Abbott Laboratories
Advanta Corporation**
Advocate Health Care**
Ag Processing**
Aetna Inc.**
Aetna Life & Casualty
Air Products & Chemicals, Inc.
Allegiance Corporation
Allstate Insurance Company
American Express
American Home Products Corporation
American International Group**
American Management Systems**
American Ref-fuel Company**
Ameritech Corp.
Amgen, Inc.
Amoco Corp.
Applied Communications, Inc.
Arthur Anderson LLP**
Ashland, Inc.
ASTRA Merck, Inc.
AT&T Global Information Services
Avon
A. W. Restaurants, Inc.**
Autodesk, Inc.
Bank of America**
Bank One
Baptist Hospital of Miami
Barnett Banks
Basic American Foods
Baxter Healthcare
Bayfront-St. Anthony's Health Care
BDM International, Inc.
BE&K; Engineering and Construction
Bell Atlantic**
Bell South Corp.
Beneficial Corp.
Ben &: Jerry's Homemade, Inc.
Berger Brunswig Corporation
Best Foods
Blue Cross &: Blue Shield of Mass.
Book of the Month Club, Inc.**
Booz, Allen & Hamilton, Inc.
Borden Inc.**
Boston Scientific Corp.**
Brentwood Services, Inc.**
Bristol-Myers Squibb
Builders Square**
Bureau of National Affairs, The.
Calvert Group
Campbell Soup Company
Capitol Cities / ABC, Inc.
Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital
Ceridian Corporation
Chase Manhattan Bank, NA
The Chester County Hospital
Chevron Corporation
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP)
The Chubb Group of Insurance Companies
CIGNA Corp.
The CIT Group, Inc.
Citicorp/Citibank
CMP Publications
Coach Leatherware
Colgate-Palmolive Company
Comerica Incorporated
Compaq Computer Corporation
ComputerWorld, Inc.
Conde Nast Publications, Inc.
Consolidated Rail Corp.
Control Data Systems, Inc.
Coopers & Lybrand
Corestates Financial Corp.
Corning Incorporated
Cranston Print Works
Crozier-Chester Medical Center
Dartmouth College
Date General Corporation
DDB Needham Worldwide
Deere & Company
Deloitte & Touche
Delta Dental of Pennsylvania
Dispatch Printing Company
Domino's Pizza, Inc.
Donnelly Corporation
Dorsey & Whitney
The Dow Chemical Company
The Dupont Merck Pharmaceutical Company
Eastman Kodak Co.
Eaton Corporation
Eddie Bauer
EDS
Elf Atochem North America, Inc.
Eli Lilly Pharmaceuticals
Ernst & Young
Fannie Mae
Fel-Pro Incorporated
Fidelity Investments
First Chicago Corporation
First Tennessee Bank
First Union Corporation
Flagstar Companies
FMC Corporation
Frankford Hospital
Freddie Mac
The Gallup Organization
Gannett Company, Inc.
General Electric Co.
General Mills
Genentech
Glaxo Wellcome, Inc.
Glen Cove School District
Gorden Flesch Company
GTech Corporation
GTE Telephone Operations
G. T. Water Productions, Inc.
-H, I, J, K, L-
Hallmark Cards, Inc.
Hanna Anderson
Harris Bank
Harvard University
Hasbro, Inc.
The Hearst Corporation
Hewett Associates
Hewlett-Packard
Hill, Holiday, Connors, Cosmopulos, Inc.
Hoechst Celanese Corporation
Home Box Office
Holt International Children's Services
Home Depot
Household International
Hughes Aircraft Company
Hunt Manufacturing Co.
IBM (International Business Machines Corporation)
Intermetrics
International Brotherhood of Teamsters
International Game Technology
ITT Hartford
J M Family Enterprises, Inc.
John Hancock
John Hopkins University
Johnson & Johnson
Johnson International
W. K. Kellogg Foundation
Kemper National Insurance Companies
KPMG Peat Marwick
Lancaster Laboratories, Inc.
Lincoln National Corp.
Little Caesar's
Lotus Development Corp.
Louisiana Tech University
Manatee Community College
Marquette Electronics, Inc.
Marriott International
MassMutual (Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co.)
Mattel, Inc.
MBNA America Bank, NA
MCA/Universal City Studios
MCR Corporation
Mentor Graphics Corporation
Merrill Lynch & Company
The Miami Herald
Microsoft, Inc.
Millipore Corporation
3M (Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing
Monsanto Co.
Morrison & Foester
Motorola
Mutual of New York
Nabisco Foods Group
National Adoption Center
Nations Bank
Neuville Industries, Inc.
Newly Weds Foods, Inc.
Newport Creamery, Inc.
New York Life Insurance Company
Nike, Inc.
Northern Trust Corp.
Northern States Power Company
NYNEX
Oracle Corporation
Owens-Corning Fiberglass |
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