adoptive mother with daughter adopted from china

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.  

At Holt, we get it. And we strive every day to ensure that every single child can join the loving, permanent family they deserve. That’s why we created the Families Not Finances (FNF) campaign — to help cover the cost of adoption for families who have the desire and capacity to care for a waiting child but may lack the financial means to adopt.

Funded through the generosity of Holt donors, adoption grants as high as $10,000* will go to help find families for children on Holt’s waiting child photolisting who have waited the longest or need the most help finding the right loving family capable of meeting their unique needs. Some of these children have special needs like cerebral palsy, dwarfism or Thalassemia. Some are part of sibling groups and need a family open to adopting two or three children. In some cases, their only special need is that they are older — 10, 11 or 12 years old and otherwise healthy. For all of these children, international adoption is their last and best route to a permanent, loving family.

Visit our photolisting to read about the waiting children eligible to receive these grants.    

Not looking to adopt right now but want to help a waiting child join a family?

Even if you can’t adopt, you can still help a waiting child join a loving family! Your gift to the Families Not Finances campaign will help cover adoption fees and expenses for a child who has waited longest or needs the most help finding the right loving family. Through your gift, you will also help provide food, medical care and education for other children with special needs in Holt’s care. Give a gift now!

All About Adoption Financing & Special Needs Adoption

No doubt about it. International adoption is expensive. But it’s a myth that you have to be wealthy to adopt. Throughout the coming weeks, we will share many more ways you can come up with the funds you need to adopt a child who is waiting for a loving family. We’ll also share more about children who are waiting for families, what “special needs” mean and what it takes to parent an older child or a child with a specific medical or developmental need.

We’ll share interviews with experts on adoption financing and special needs adoption. On May 13 at 5 p.m. PST we will host a virtual event with Kelly Ellison, creator of Your Adoption Finance Coach. Follow Holt on Facebook and Instagram and subscribe to our stories so you never miss a post!

If you have the desire and capacity to parent a waiting child, we will help you fund your adoption. Because money should never stand between a child and loving family.

Learn more about this campaign, the children who need families, the adoption grants available, and how your donation can help a child join a loving family!

* Because our goal is to help children in greatest need join loving families, we want to eliminate as many barriers as possible. To that end, families do not have to demonstrate financial need for the special adoption grants. Once a family has been approved to adopt a waiting child who has been pre-identified to receive the grant, the grant will automatically be awarded to the family — reducing Holt’s adoption program fee. Read our FAQs to learn more.

smiling girl with Down syndrome waiting to be adopted

Help a Child Join a Family

Your gift will help a waiting child join a loving adoptive family as quickly as possible.

Stories Up Next

All Stories