Grant money

Adoption isn't cheap. It generally costs between $25,000 and $38,000 to adopt internationally. That includes the cost of travelling overseas, preparing documents, court fees and mandated donations, and fees charged by agencies or the country. These costs are on top of the costs any family might have when adding a child--clothes, food, a bed, a car seat, a larger vehicle, and any sort of changes that might be needed to accomodate a child with special needs.

It isn't any cheaper to adopt a child with special needs. In fact, the changes a family may need to make to their home and lifestyle probably mean it is much more expensive. Part of how Reece's Rainbow helps families who want to adopt a child with special needs is by raising grants for these children. After a family commits to a child, they can continue to raise money with Reece's Rainbow, and donations through Reece's Rainbow are tax deductible. Many families are able to get their adoptions fully funded, though they are still responsible for initial home-study costs and a few other things. Children with large grants get families. Children who are fully funded get adopted. The child with a $20,000 dollar grant find a family, every time. Many people cannot adopt because of the incredible cost of international adoption. They have the love, the space, the income--just not the huge sum of money to go get their son or daughter. Does that describe your family?

This is Juris. His grant is at almost $12,000. I'm not sure what country he is in (and couldn't tell if I was), but that may be over halfway to the full cost that would be needed for his adoption.

Ten thousand dollars is still a lot of money. But it's also a lot less than twenty thousand. Obviously someone cares enough about Juris to do some fundraising for him--or a lot of people cared about Juris enough to donate. Either way, if he's your son, there are people who love him and would love to help you bring him home. If people donated over eleven thousand to Juris, not knowing if he would ever have a family, just to help give him a chance, then he can be fully funded if you need it--even more people will want to donate knowing that it will bring Juris home!