How To Run A Successful Adoption Fundraiser With Pool

For many, adoption is an incredible way to welcome a wonderful new family member. But it can be costly, too. According to American Adoptions, private domestic adoptions in the U.S. typically range from $40,000 to $85,000 in 2025 — covering attorney fees, home study fees, court filing fees, and more.

It's a hefty and overwhelming price tag. But, adoption fundraisers can help overcome this hurdle and turn dreams into real-life love stories. You've probably seen adoption fundraisers every November when people celebrate National Adoption Month and World Adoption Day.

But you can set up adoption fundraisers anytime with Pool. We'll show you how, so you can help bring adoptees and families one step closer together.

Contents:

• 5 adoption fundraiser ideas (plus a fundraising secret no one's telling you)
• Is adoption fundraising tacky?
• How to give donors a seamless donation experience with Pool
• How do you celebrate National Adoption Month?
• 9 adoption charities to fundraise for

5 adoption fundraiser ideas (Plus a fundraising secret no one's telling you)

Adoption fundraisers aren't just about raising money. They're also about raising awareness and opening people's minds to adoption. Nonetheless, it can feel awkward and embarrassing to ask people for money. So, don't.

Try this fundraising secret instead. Create a donor-centric event focusing on giving to donors rather than asking them to give.

Here are five adoption fundraiser ideas that put this secret into action:

1. Invite people to walk with their favorite family members at an Adoption Walk or Run. Set up a photo booth and merchandise table at the finish line so they can commemorate the event.
2. Treat donors to yummy baked goods and hot coffee at your home, local school, church, library, or farmer's market in exchange for free-will donations.
3. Let donors buy a custom T-Shirt for their wardrobes. For a $20 donation, people can support your fundraiser and get a cool new piece to wear.
4. Spoil donors with a home-cooked or catered dinner in exchange for donations. Send them home with a thank-you gift, like homemade cookies.
5. Ask people to donate rather than give gifts during a Birthday Campaign. There's one condition: they provide you with their birthdate so you can send them a personalized card on their special day.

Is adoption fundraising tacky?

We've designed this blog post to support and inspire your upcoming fundraiser. So, we'd be remiss to ignore an important question: Is adoption fundraising tacky?

Like any other initiative, some people support adoption fundraisers, while others do not. Rather than focus on the latter group, concentrate on running a fundraiser that feels correct and true to you. This will resonate with the right people and raise the funds you need.

How to give donors a seamless donation experience with Pool

Sign up at Poolmoney.com — a Pool is your one-stop shop to collect, manage, and spend donations. Set up one Pool to collect all donations, or create separate Pools for different adoption expenses, such as attorney fees, home study fees, and court filing fees.

• Collect and manage funds for as long as you need. With Pool, there are no fundraising caps, limits, or deadlines. Keep your Pool active throughout your adoption journey and organize contributions in one dedicated place.
• Manage your Pool on your own or invite family members and volunteers to join. Once they sign up and accept your invitation, you can collaborate on managing contributions, tracking expenses, and overseeing funds together.
• Spend Pool funds directly with the Pool debit card to cover adoption-related expenses, or transfer funds to a linked bank account when needed. Pool helps you keep adoption finances organized in one dedicated place from start to finish.

Pool helps you collect, manage, and spend adoption funds in one dedicated place. Create a Pool for your adoption fundraiser and invite family members, friends, or volunteers to join. Once they sign up and accept your invitation, they can contribute funds, help manage fundraising efforts, and collaborate based on the permissions you assign.

You can personalize your Pool by:

• Choosing a name
• Uploading a photo
• Writing a description that explains your adoption goals and fundraising needs.
• Sharing your story helps supporters understand your journey and the impact their contributions can make.

No matter what type of fundraiser you organize, Pool can help keep contributions organized in one place.

• Adoption Walkathons? Invite volunteers to help manage fundraiser expenses and contributions.
• Selling custom T-shirts? Use a dedicated Pool to track fundraising proceeds and related costs.
• Hosting a Birthday Campaign? Invite family members to contribute toward your adoption goals and follow your fundraising progress.

As you fundraise, remember these three tips to build stronger connections with supporters and encourage participation:

• Share your adoption story and explain why the fundraiser matters to your family.
• Respect the adoptee's privacy and avoid publishing their name, image, or family history without appropriate consent.
• Show supporters how you are preparing financially for the adoption and how contributions will be used.

As you fundraise, remember these 3 tips to build better connections with your donors and increase donations:

• Behind every successful adoption fundraiser, there's a personal story. What's yours? Share your adoption story with potential supporters and explain how contributions will help cover adoption-related expenses.
• Personal stories help people understand your journey and encourage them to support your fundraising efforts.
• Respect the adoptee's privacy and avoid publishing their name, image, or family history.
• Share how you are financially preparing for the adoption.

How do you celebrate National Adoption Month?

Whether you raise money for your family's adoption efforts, foster care services, birth parent support centers, adoption organizations, or charities, check out how people celebrate adoption every November during National Adoption Month. These ideas can enrich your adoption fundraiser and create a powerful movement.

• Learn about adoption via websites, social media, podcasts, etc. The more you know, the more you can share.
• Use the power of storytelling to showcase families brought together by adoption.
• Volunteer at foster care centers or charities. Invite your donors to do the same.
• Invite people to collect and donate resources with you, like gently used baby items, diapers, formula, children's clothing, school supplies, and more.

9 adoption charities to fundraise for

Adoption fundraisers aren't just for hopeful parents. Anyone can set them up and provide much-needed financial support to various organizations. Consider these nine adoption charities for your next fundraiser.

They provide much-needed support for everyone involved in the adoption process: from expectant mothers to children in foster care, from legally-appointed volunteers to mental health support for families brought together by adoption.

Pick one and use your Pool to organize funds quickly and conveniently.

1. Together We Rise is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization "dedicated to transforming the way youth navigate through the foster care system in America." Together We Rise strives to provide a sense of normalcy and belonging to foster children in what can be a disruptive and chaotic period.
2. With the help of donors like you, the Dave Thomas Adoption Foundation ensures that adoption professionals can find permanent families for the most often overlooked foster care children.
3. Help Us Adopt is a 501(c)3 financial grant program that helps couples or individuals with adoption expenses, irrespective of ethnicity, gender, marital status, or sexual orientation. Financial support allows Help Us Adopt to award grants of up to $20,000 to hopeful parents.
4. Center for Adoption Support and Education (CASE) tackles the challenges adoption may present by providing mental health services and educational resources for everyone in the adoption and foster community, from adoptive families to adoptees.
5. Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children (CASA) volunteers advocate for the child's best interests until they are safely placed in a permanent home, working with legal and child welfare professionals, educators, and service providers to ensure judges make the most well-informed decision for each child.
6. On Your Feet Foundation (OYFF) provides parents who choose adoption for their children with the physical, psychological, and emotional support they need during and after pregnancy.
7. Parenthood for Me was founded by adoptive parents who believe that "having a family is fundamental to the human experience." Their organization provides emotional support, educational tools, and financial support through grants to those pursuing adoption.
8. The Gift of Adoption Fund brings children closer to a permanent family. You can choose where your donations go: to local organizations, sibling adoptions, critical medical needs, or foster care children.
9. Love Without Boundaries works with local citizens worldwide to identify children at risk of abandonment or abuse, finds local homes for them until they can be reunited with their birth families, and supports domestic and international adoptions when a return to birth families is no longer possible.

Both hopeful parents and organizations need financial support to unite adoptees with their permanent families. Running an adoption fundraiser is a simple yet powerful way to help. Make it even simpler with Pool.

Set up as many free Pools as you need, organize contributions in one dedicated place, and manage funds on your own or with others — all from one platform.