We adopted our daughter Emmanuella from Ghana in 2016. We lived there with her from 2016-2018. Read about our amazing journey HERE.
YOU CAN ADOPT WITHOUT GOING INTO DEBT!
When we first started the adoption process in 2016, we were overwhelmed by the financial toll we knew it would take on us. We had just become debt free following Dave Ramsey's plan, so we didn't have a lot in savings since we had been piling everything onto debt. We knew God would provide for us and He did - EVERY STEP OF THE WAY. God wants kids in families, so He will provide for you too.
Here's what helped us on our journey!
COFFEE FUNDRAISER
We launched our little coffee company Level Grounds Xpresso to help us raise money for our daughters adoption. Our dream was always to help others, so as soon as we got home from Ghana we started doing coffee fundraisers for adopting families! Here's how our fundraising process works:
We create a special blend of coffee for your adoption and a custom label with the photo of your choice. 100% of proceeds go to YOU! Our fundraising families have raised $200-$800 doing this fundraiser. Read more about the details here!
FUNDRAISER YARDSALE
We posted in our towns Facebook page about doing a fundraiser yardsale, and EVERYONE had something to donate! It was amazing to watch our community come together to help us. We collected yardsale items for about 2 months before having a HUGE yardsale. We raised over $1k. We also had coffee for people to buy, and someone donated a bunch of baked goods.
KARAOKE NIGHT
This one was probably the most fun! This event was hosted at the music studio where I worked. People paid money to sing karaoke, but you could also pay money for someone ELSE to sing, but they could pay more money and get out of singing. It was so hilarious! We raised around $400. People brought snacks and drinks to share. Everyone had a blast!
THIS BOOK
The book that helped us the most was "You Can Adopt Without Debt" by Julie Gumm. There are so many fantastic fundraising ideas in this book, and we had plans to do them except we got the call that we could fly to Ghana!
"The practical tips and information will help prospective adoptive parents prepare for and avoid the high costs associated with adoption. The book gives advice on how to budget, save, and earn extra income so that families can afford to make their adoption dreams come true."
Here's her website and you can buy her book on Amazon. http://www.juliegumm.com/
ADOPTION GRANTS
There are lots of grant options and quick google search will help you find the best ones for your adoption! The Tim Tebow Foundation gave us $8k and that paid for 1/3 of our costs. Here is our story featured on their website: https://www.timtebowfoundation.org/stories/finding-purpose-wait
We hear so many families say that they wish they could adopt, but they just can't afford it. That is FEAR and excuses speaking! There are so many ways you can fund your adoption. It will take sacrifice and commitment but it is soooo worth it! We are starting our second adoption as I write this, so I am right there with you! Email me if you have questions or need encouragement on your adoption journey - kaylee@levelgroundsxpresso.com
-Kaylee Wilson
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Founder/Owner of Level Grounds Xpresso
levelgroundsxpresso.com
We shared our story LIVE on the Dave Ramsey Show! Here's the link to our video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04ujc0r6QZk