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FAQs About Holt’s Families Not Finances Campaign

Answers to the most frequently asked questions about Holt’s new adoption fundraising and family recruitment campaign to help waiting children with special needs join families. 

What is the Families Not Finances (FNF) campaign?

At Holt, we believe money should never stand between a child and a loving family. That’s why we launched the Families Not Finances campaign — to help cover the cost of adoption for families who have the desire and capacity to care for a waiting child with special needs, but may lack the financial means to cover all the fees and expenses required to adopt. Continue reading “FAQs About Holt’s Families Not Finances Campaign”

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For Families, Not Finances

Announcing Holt’s new adoption fundraising and family recruitment campaign to help waiting children with special needs join the loving, permanent families they deserve!

In an ideal world, money would never stand between a child and a loving family.

But far too often, that’s what it comes down to for families who would love to adopt but can’t.

As prospective parents, you may meet every eligibility requirement. You may have a stable home environment and the resources to meet a child’s physical and emotional needs. You understand the complexity of international adoption — or you’re willing to learn. You might be the ideal family — or single mom or dad — for a child with a particular medical or developmental need. You are flexible, adaptable, nurturing, patient and willing to go above and beyond to advocate for a child and ensure they have everything they need to thrive. Most of all, you have ample love to offer a child waiting for a family.

But the one thing you don’t have is $30,000+ to cover all the fees and expenses required — and necessary — to ensure an ethical adoption process. Meanwhile, the child you would adopt if only you had the money continues to wait in an orphanage or foster home.   Continue reading “For Families, Not Finances”

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How The Adoption Tax Credit Can Help You Afford to Adopt

With tax season upon us, take a minute to learn about the Adoption Tax Credit and how this benefit can make adoption more affordable.

A form of federal financial assistance, the Adoption Tax Credit lowers your overall tax liability — up to $14,300 per adopted child in 2020! Although currently nonrefundable, any credit in excess of your tax liability may be carried forward for up to five years. In other words, if you don’t have $14,300 in tax liability one year, you can apply the remaining credit to your future taxes.

The credit covers qualified adoption expenses, which include:

  • Reasonable and necessary adoption fees
  • Court costs and attorney fees
  • Travel expenses (including amounts spent for meals and lodging while away from home)
  • Other expenses that are directly related to and for the principal purpose of the legal adoption of an eligible child

View this recently recorded webinar to learn more about how the Adoption Tax Credit can help you adopt! Recently, the National Council for Adoption also released an updated guide to Understanding the Adoption Tax Credit.

To learn about more ways you can fund your adoption, visit our financial assistance page here!

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Transracial Adoption — Its Effects on Children and How Parents Can Help

Ways you can help a child of a different race and ethnicity who joined your family through transracial adoption or foster care feel more secure and safe in your home.

Foster care and adoption bring uncertainty to a child’s life. These children face a continuum of unanswered questions, searching for where they came from, who they are and who they will become. When looking at a child in the system from a bird’s eye view, most of their identity has been taken away from them, and everything they ever knew has vanished.

Now try adding race on top of that. Continue reading “Transracial Adoption — Its Effects on Children and How Parents Can Help”

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How the Pandemic is Affecting Sponsored Kids in China: a Q&A With Sue Liu

An interview with Sue Liu, country director of Holt China, about how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting children and families in China — and how sponsors and donors are meeting their most urgent needs. 

Children in Holt programs celebrate New Year's Eve with local volunteers.
Children in Holt programs celebrate New Year’s Eve with local volunteers.

How is the pandemic affecting children and families in Holt’s China programs right now?

Because of the epidemic, some families have less direct or disposable income since they cannot go out for work opportunities or have to change their type of work — especially families who worked in restaurants or as laborers before. So they have to do whatever they can find, and their income is lower. Continue reading “How the Pandemic is Affecting Sponsored Kids in China: a Q&A With Sue Liu”

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Story Behind The Photo: No, That One’s Mine!

When we ask sisters Mew and Nan if they’ve kept any of the letters they’ve received from their sponsors over the years, their mom already has them on hand. She gives a small stack of letters to each of her girls.

“No, that one’s mine!” Nan says to her sister, excitedly exchanging her stack of letters with Mew’s.

Mick, their social worker, laughs. “They know exactly which one is their sponsor!” she says.

Among the letters are birthday and Christmas cards, as well as well wishes for back-to-school season. The girls proceed to show us their stuffed animals and ride a small tricycle that they keep near the back door of their kitchen — toys they received because of the support of their sponsors.

In addition to providing these fun things, their sponsors are the ones who make it possible for Mew and Nan to go to school.

This is an excerpt from a longer story that appeared in Holt’s fall 2017 sponsorship magazine. Read it here!

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Hayden’s Adoption Story

Adoptive mom Elizabeth Curry describes her family’s journey to adopt Hayden, an older girl with special needs. 

Elizabeth and her family meeting Hayden for the first time. Hayden was the first older child that the Currys adopted, joining their family at the age of 9.
Elizabeth and her family meeting Hayden for the first time. Hayden was the first older child that the Currys adopted, joining their family at the age of 9.

We were done adding children to our family; our plate was very full. Our twins, who were our eighth and ninth children, were just two, and a couple of our other children required some fairly intense parenting as well. Besides being done adding children, we didn’t qualify for most programs due to our over-capacity status. I wasn’t even tempted to look at waiting child lists because there was no point. Did I mention we were done? Which is why I was a bit surprised to find myself scrolling through a long list of children who needed families. Continue reading “Hayden’s Adoption Story”

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A Few 2020 Christmas Party Photos

A special message to sponsors from Holt president Phil Littleton. 

Tommy with the remote control plane he got for Christmas!
Tommy with the remote control plane he got for Christmas from his sponsor!

I just had a chance to see some of the photos from the 2020 holiday and Christmas parties you helped throw for children in sponsorship around the world. I love seeing these every year. But especially now, with all that’s going on in the world, it warmed my heart to see children laughing and playing and opening presents and having a wonderful, happy time together — and all because of you, their devoted and loving sponsors.

Continue reading “A Few 2020 Christmas Party Photos”

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Thoughts on Racism From an Asian American Adoptee Parent

Adoptee Kit Myers shares how his life experience as an Asian American shapes how he plans to parent his daughter.  This piece was originally posted in 2015 alongside reflections on race and parenting from two other Asian American adoptee parents. 

Dr. Kit Myers with his daughter.

My biological daughter is 16 months old. She is half Chinese, half Hmong, and I’m hyper-aware of how outwardly friendly new people are to her. I think this parallels the experience of many adoptees. Continue reading “Thoughts on Racism From an Asian American Adoptee Parent”