How Much Does Adoption Cost?

The cost of adoption can be intimidating. We want to help!

We know that adoption costs can feel overwhelming—but we believe in a God who will open doors to miracles! AGCI never wants finances to stand in the way of a family standing up for a child child through adoption—that's why we're determined to help with the grant process. AGCI families have been awarded more than $550,000 in adoption grants in the past two years alone.

We created a free informational video on funding your adoption, so you can learn some of the creative ways AGCI families have covered their adoption costs. Watch now. We also have a digital “Funding Your Adoption” packet for download that you can download by contacting us today!

Adoption Grants

It’s important to remember that you are not alone—we will walk alongside you throughout your adoption journey. We have witnessed God make the impossible happen for families countless times. To date, AGCI families have been awarded more than $6.3 million in adoption grants.

AGCI ADOPTION GRANT FUND

Established in 1997, the AGCI Adoption Grant Fund provides financial assistance to home study-approved families adopting waiting children with specialized needs, adopting older children, or adopting sibling groups. Begin the process.

Begin The AGCI Grant Process

BRITTANY’S HOPE GRANT

Brittany’s Hope Foundation is a non-profit dedicated to aiding the adoption of children with specialized needs, sibling groups, or older waiting children by providing adoption grants to qualifying, home study-approved families. Since 2007, 150+ AGCI families have received grants from $3,000 to $20,000 totaling more than $1.1 million. Families must have a referral in order to receive this grant. Begin the process.

ADDITIONAL GRANT RESOURCES

We’ve compiled a list of the adoption grants that AGCI families have had the most success with and added them to our financial resources packet. Please reach out to us to learn more.

Frequently Asked Questions

In most cases, not until you have an approved home study.
Most organizations will send the awarded amount once you have a referral or travel approval.
There is a wide range depending on factors such as family income, the needs of the child, and the country program.
Many are needs-based and begin to phase out when a family's income is over $150,000.

Tax Credits

Did you know tax credits can cut the cost of adoption by up to $17,000? While these credits are only available after your adoption process is completed, they can make a substantial difference in the affordability of adoption!

To learn more, check out Publication 968 – Tax Benefits for Adoption or contact your state’s Division of Family Services and State Tax Office to ask about your state’s tax credits for adoption, or to find out if you qualify for any special state subsidy programs.

Additionally, adoptive parents may take the same dependency exemption on their income taxes for their adopted children as they would for their biological children. This exemption reduces a family’s taxable income. It’s important to remember that families must provide more than half of their children’s support to list them as exemptions.

A reimbursement for non-recurring adoption expenses (agency fees, legal costs, and transportation) is available through many states for families who adopt children with special needs. Half of the expenses are paid through state funds, and the other half through federal funds, up to $2,000.

Financial Assistance

We never want finances to prevent a child from uniting with their forever family. We believe no child should be alone. And we’re relentless in our support of adoptive families! Remember, you’re not alone—95% of families use a combination of strategies to finance their adoption journey. AGCI’s adoption advisors are here to help navigate the often-stressful aspects of financing your adoption.

Our adoption advisors can help:

Walk through the financial piece of your adoption journey.
Unlock ideas and resources for adoption funding.
Provide counseling regarding common ways to finance adoptions.
Discuss financial arrangements and payment schedules.

Loans

If you own your own home, you may be eligible for a home equity loan, or you may be able to refinance your mortgage. Often the interest is tax-deductible. Also, many banks offer home equity lines of credit. Rates on these loans are often low and the interest is also tax-deductible. Your bank may have a special loan program for adoptive parents.

Some financial institutions offer low-interest loans with special terms strictly for adoption expenses. The National Adoption Foundation (NAF), American Christian Credit Union, Child Welfare League of America (CWLA), Funds4Families, MBNA, and First Union Bank of Maryland, offer loans for adoptive parents. Lastly, many life insurance companies have a provision in their whole life insurance policies that will permit you to borrow a percentage of the cash value at a low-interest rate.

Loan resources:

We’ve compiled a list of the adoption loans that AGCI families have had the most success with and added them to our financial resources packet. Please reach out to us to learn more.

Employee Benefits

Many U.S. corporations, including Wendy’s, Capital One, Home Depot, Intel, Johnson & Johnson, and Hewlett-Packard, offer adoption assistance to their employees. Benefits range from extended paid leave or unpaid leave, to cash payments or adoption reimbursements of $1,000 to $15,000. Currently, there are more than 500 corporations that assist families with adoption costs.

If your company does not currently offer this benefit, consider asking them to! Adoption benefits are considered good personnel practice, and qualified adoption plans receive favorable treatment from the IRS on a company’s tax return. Download The National Adoption Center informative packet to learn more about employee benefits.

Contact us to download our financial resources packet and find other ways to fund your adoption.

Fundraising

Adoption fundraising looks different for every family. If you are considering fundraising, we encourage you to look into AdoptTogether.

AdoptTogether is one of the largest adoption fundraising platforms online. Similar to a crowd funding platform like GoFundMe, you can create a profile for your family where people are able to donate and designate their gift toward your adoption fundraiser. You can set your fundraising goal, track progress, send thank you notes, and tell your story through updates to your supporters. AdoptTogether is a non-profit 501c(3) organization, and all donations are tax deductible, allowing donors to use their employee matching services through work, donor-advised funds, etc. Several All God’s Children families have used this service and raised thousands of dollars toward their adoptions!

“It’s such an encouragement when you’re praying that God will move people’s hearts to give even without being asked, which is how we were praying, and that really did get answered so many times in so many ways… God gives us what we need and a little bit more… That has been our story. One of asking for big things from God and then watching him show up, and being reminded that God wants to do big things all the time and sometimes we just miss out because we don’t ask.”
AGCI Grant Recipients, The H. Family
“Our adoption process for our second child has gone very quickly. We feel absolutely called by the Lord to add this precious boy to our family, but the costs and the fast pace have been scary. Getting word that we, once again, have been chosen to be grant recipients at a crucial point in our adoption process is a tremendous blessing and a great encouragement.”
David and Kallie, AGCI Adoptive Parents
“The financial burdens in adoption are very heavy, but even greater is the responsibility and commitment to raise and love the child that is found and put in a family. It is such a joy and relief when that financial burden is lifted, so that the focus of our family can be put on the child’s needs.”
AGCI Grant Recipients, The M. Family
Words cannot express how grateful we are for this added security as we navigate through an ongoing path of medical appointments, therapies, and other procedures for our sweet girl. Ayla truly is thriving being home with us and experiencing the love of a mom and dad, and caring brothers, too.”
Ben and Bethany, AGCI Adoptive Parents