Friday Feature: I will go! 5 ways to Be the Body

I want to introduce you to the Darling family.  Tiffany used to be a Fuller, like me.  She is an original and I am just a married in one.  :-)  Just so you know we are not related.... not by earthly terms anyway.  However, we are sisters in a different realm. 

I "met" Tiffany in an era where we were just entering the blog world, being moms, loving our children, and sharing recipes.  In fact, I won my first ever blog giveaway, a storybook Bible, from her corner in the blogosphere.  I don't think I have won a giveaway since.  Adoption, Africa, complete undoing had not yet blipped on our radar.  Little did we know, years later we both would travel to Africa and bring home sons.  Little did she know that her blog, testimony and story would be a catalyst in my own adoption journey.

I followed her story to Ethiopia and back as they adopted their first son.  I watched and read as they fell in love with a street boy named Habi. I joined with them in prayer as they fought to bring him home legally because he was already a son in their hearts.  This most recent chapter has me reeling.  It is one of complete and utter surrender.  I watch it unfold before me with a sacred beauty that can only be God divined.  And well, I love divine moments if you haven't noticed.

The Darling family is willing to surrender all, give up everything and follow God's call to the mission field of Ethiopia.  Please watch this video as they recap and share their story.  This is the Gospels of today people!  Be part of it.




Will you please join me in this rally call for the Darling family in one of these ways?  For after all, are we not the body?

²⁷ Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

One: Will you pray about supporting them with a financial gift so they may go and minister to the least of these? 

Two: Will you sign up to be a prayer warrior as they continue on this amazing journey that God is scripting through their willingness to be empty vessels?

Three:  Would you consider sharing this video with your village?  I know many of you share my passion to promote, uphold, show love in action as we rally together for causes of our hearts.  A simple share on your blog or social media raises awareness to how the body of Christ is moving and how they can be a part.

Four: Will you go like their awesome facebook page and join the journey at Mercy Branch Inc?

Five: Would you consider purchasing an amazing photo gift through Then & Now Doubletakes?  A great gift for an adoptive family this Christmas.  A then and now photo is ONE picture that displays two separate images.  An idea for a gift would be a referral picture of the adoptee and then the second picture one of that precious child smack dab in the middle of that family picture.  Or you could do your wedding day or a senior picture from baby to graduation, the possibilities are endless.   A portion of the sales will go toward supporting the Darling family in their ministry in Ethiopia.

Example for photo gift idea:

A Then and Now Doubletake is one photo with two separate images. Depending on the angle you are viewing the photo determines the image you see. - See more at: http://thenandnowdoubletakes.com/#sthash.CFJX2p72.dpuf

                                                      Check it out here ------> Shop with a cause

Hint... Hint... The giveaway happening at 150 facebook fans just might be a gift certificate for #5 option above.  

A Then and Now Doubletake is one photo with two separate images. Depending on the angle you are viewing the photo determines the image you see. - See more at: http://thenandnowdoubletakes.com/#sthash.CFJX2p72.dpuf

Feature Friday: Fundraising *GUEST POST* & Link Up

I am so excited to have author and adoption loving mom, Katie Ganshert, join us on the blog today.  I instantly felt a bond with Katie when I found out she was from the Midwest.  The bond grew when I found out she lived in the area where I was born, the corn filled state of Iowa.  I have since became a Missourian but we are still linked by our Midwest roots.  When our correspondence revealed that not only was she adopting from the Congo, but she was also an author I was ecstatic.  I am a bonafide book worm. So if you like to read, make sure to put "Wildflowers from Winter" and "Wishing on Willows" on your list.  Katie was kind enough to share some tips on how to do a successful puzzle fundraiser.  

Link-up!  Link-up!  For those of you fundraising right now... don't forget to link-up below. 

How to Do a Successful Puzzle Piece Fundraiser

by Katie Ganshert

What is it?

A very easy, amazing, enjoyable way to raise funds for your adoption!

Supplies Needed:

A puzzle of something you’d like to hand in your child’s room
A fine-point Sharpie
Willing hearts

How does it work?

You decide on the number of pieces your puzzle will be, as well as how much each piece will cost to sponsor. Then you invite friends and family, co-workers and acquaintances to sponsor a piece (or multiple pieces) of the puzzle. You write names of each sponsor on the back of the puzzle pieces. When the puzzle is complete, you frame it in a double-sided glass frame, and hang it in your child’s room.

The finished product is such an amazing testimony of all the people who came alongside of your family and helped you bring your child home!

3 Tips for Success:

#1 - Partner with a non-profit organization.
It’s so much less awkward when people can make their checks out to a non-profit organization instead of yourself. Plus, people are much more inclined to give if the donation is tax-deductible.

Consider applying for a matching grant with Lifesong for Orphans or Hand in Hand before starting your puzzle fundraiser.

#2 - Post the fundraiser on your blog.
If you don’t already have a blog, create one especially for your adoption puzzle fundraiser. Write a post explaining how the fundraiser works with a picture of the puzzle and how donations will be accepted.

Then email everyone you know the link and invite them to join you on your adoption journey!

#3 - Utilize Facebook!
Seriously, Facebook is your best friend. The thing about fundraisers such as these is that people have the best of intentions, but often forget and don’t send anything in.

This is where Facebook comes in.

Every time somebody sponsors a puzzle piece, write their name on the back, take a picture, and post the picture to Facebook (make sure to tag the person), publicly thanking the donor for being a part of your child’s adoption puzzle. Then include a link to your blog post.

Every couple evenings or so, take a picture of the puzzle as it comes together. Post the picture to Facebook, let everyone know how many pieces have been sponsored, and how many more are left. T hank everyone who’s already participated. Then end with an enthusiastic invitation to become a part of the puzzle and ask people to share on their on Facebook pages. Don’t forget to link to your blog as well.

I’ve had so many people tell me, as I post pictures of our adoption puzzle progress, how much they love seeing the puzzle come together. How it feels like a joint effort. How everyone who donates has a vested interest in getting this child home. People want to be a part of the journey. This fundraiser is a great way to make that happen!

About the author: 

Katie Ganshert was born and raised in the Midwest, where she writes stories about finding faith and falling in love. When she’s not busy plotting her next novel, she enjoys watching movies with her husband, playing make-believe with her wild-child of a son, and chatting with her girlfriends over bagels. She and her husband are in the process of adopting from the Congo. You can find her online at her blog and on Facebook. 

Feature Friday: Fundraising *GUEST POST* & Link Up

ONLINE/FACEBOOK AUCTIONS

I would like to welcome our guest post writer today, Sara Gentry.  Sara was very kind to write up her tips on doing an online facebook auction as a fundraiser.  She has provided many helpful tips below on how to set one up and some great guidelines to make it a success.  

 Hey everyone! I’m here today to talk to you about fundraising, specifically online auctions. I’ve completed three auctions through Facebook, so I guess that makes me an “expert”. Ha! Definitely not an expert, but I have learned a few things and continue to learn new things with each auction, so take that into consideration as you plan your upcoming fundraiser. And good luck!

My favorite way to host an auction is through Facebook. The other option is to host it through your blog, but I think Facebook is easier to navigate. For an auction on your blog, each item gets its own post, with any information you want to include (see later in this post for tips on that). For an auction on Facebook, it is best to make a group for your fundraising endeavors and then make a photo album that is open to the public. I haven’t been able to find a way (on Facebook) to make it completely open to the public, but I just let anyone who wanted to “friend” me do so, and then they can defriend me after the auction if they choose. In the photo album, list each item in a different picture with a description of the item. Bidders place their bid by commenting with the dollar amount they wish to bid.

Step #1 - Create a Facebook Group 

Step #2 - Collect Donations

Before the auction-

• Collect donations- I did this almost 100% through Facebook. Over the course of a couple weeks I put on my status that I was hosting an online auction and needed donations to raise money for our adoption. Donations can come from anywhere. If they’re local, you can take care of shipping, but if they aren’t local they can ship the item directly to the winner of the auction for that item.
• Make sure people know what kind of donations you’re looking for- ANYTHING! I received donations from people who made some sort of craft (chidren’s clothes, hairbows, knit items, etc.), people who sell a “home party” brand (Scentsy, Thirty-One, Mary Kay, Premier Jewelry, etc.), people who have a skill to offer (hairdresser, painter, babysitter, etc.). I also had several people donate very gently used items with high value (a video game system their child didn’t use anymore, high end clothing they had only worn once, etc.).
• Gather pictures of items people donate- organize this well so you’ll be able to find it easily when it’s time to make the photo album. I made a folder on my desktop for “FB Auction” and saved photos in there. I would save them with the name of the person who donated and any important information about the item. This helped me remember who donated and the information about the item without having to dig through old emails and/or Facebook messages when the time came

During the auction-

• On the photo album, in the description of the album, put all your “rules”. I hate that these are necessary, because it’s a good case and fundraising... all that, but there are still people that are just there trying to get something really cheap and not in the spirit of fundraising.
• Promote, promote, promote! Make sure your friends and family share your fundraising group and your photo album 

Step #3 - Promote your auction 

*add in tip from article "Fundraising on Facebook"*

Hold a 24-hour Facebook awareness campaign

One additional Facebook strategy you can use is to do a 24-hour Facebook awareness campaign
Here’s how it works —  with a 24-Hour Facebook awareness campaign you don’t actually ask people to donate money.  Rather, you simply ask that everyone “donate” their Facebook status message for 24 hours by changing it to “Please Help [NAME OF YOUR FRIEND]” then a link to your online fundraising page.

The idea is that even if your friends can’t afford to donate money, they will be happy to “donate” their status message.  With hundreds or even thousands of people all with the same status message many friends, family and strangers around the world will see it and will be inclined to donate.

Step #4 - Contact Winners & Send Items

After the auction-

• Comment on each picture, congratulating the winner. This prevents people from commenting or messaging you with “did I win” questions, and lets people know that you are working on getting their things to them. I do this asap when the auction is over. Because of this, I make sure my auctions end at a decent time (didn’t think about it the first time and had my auction end at midnight... tired momma the next day!)
• Let everyone know how they will receive their winnings and how they need to pay. When I comment to congratulate the winner I say something like this- “Congratulations Jane Smith, you are the highest bidder! Winners will receive a message via FB in the next day or two with further instructions.” This gives you a day or two to get in touch with everyone, and it lets them know more information is coming.
• Message everyone- if you say “in the next day or two”, make sure it’s really done within that time frame. Try to schedule your auction to end at a time that you’re not going to be slammed with other things. When you message them, let them know how to pay. The easiest way to accept payment is through Paypal. If they are local I would schedule a time to meet (often the next time I would be seeing them anyway- ie: church, MOPS, child’s school, etc.) and they could pay me then. You will also need to get their address when you message them so you will know where to send their item, or you can pass their address along to the donor who will be doing the shipping.
• Message all the donors- if the person who donated needs information about where to ship, etc. make sure to let them know it’s coming.
• Follow up- make sure everyone received everything they were suppose to. No one will participate in another auction (or any other fundraiser) if they paid, but never received their items!
• Thanks- make sure all participants (donors and bidders) in the auction know how grateful you are to them for supporting your adoption. I had people (donors and bidders) from all parts of my life contribute- family, current friends, people I knew in high school and are “Facebook friends” with now, new adoptive mom friends, and friends of friends that wanted to support a good cause.

My “rules”- after each of my auctions, I learned something new, so for the next one I added a rule. This is just what I suggest, you do what you think is best!

• Minimum bid- for each item, in the description I thanked whoever donated, described the item, and put a minimum bid. My first auction I had the “ebay mentality” that things would get more bids if they didn’t have a minimum bid. This was true for some things, but then other’s ended up selling for a good deal less than they were worth. Some of the donors were upset their item sold for so low because it actually cost them more to make the item than I made off it.
• Bidding increases- each bid must increase by $1. For my first auction I didn’t have this rule either and people were increasing their bids by 1 penny.... just not in the spirit of fundraising, so I made this rule for subsequent auctions.
• “Winner pays shipping”- if the item is coming from you, I highly suggest adding shipping to the end bid. I included shipping with all my items for the first 2 auctions and ended up paying up to $20 to ship a box to someone, when their winning bid was $30. Sort of defeats the fundraising idea. Many people who donate items will include shipping in their donation, which is great. I had many donations from local friends who gave me their donation in person to deliver to the winner. For those things I added shipping to the winning bid.
• State *exactly* when the auction ends- this is what I learned after my last auction. I ran it from 12pm on Monday to the following Monday at 12pm. Some people took that to mean they could still bid at 12:00pm and some people took that to mean bidding was over when the clock struck 12:00pm, so be very clear about when bidding will end.

I have had a lot of success with these auctions. It’s an easy way for a lot of people to get involved and help with your adoption, either by donating something or by bidding.

I'm Sara and my husband is Andrew. We have 2 biological daughters, ages 4 and 3 and just returned with our daughter Emily, 2 1/2 from the DRC.  Sara blogs at Our Adoption Adventure. 


Have you used an online auction as a fundraiser?  Do you have additional tips?  Please add them in the comments below and I will update this blog post to include them.

It is time for a fundraising linky as well.  Please link up to your fundraiser below.  I love supporting adoptions and and always share this post on Monday with my friends and family and encourage them to shop as well.  

SHOP and SUPPORT an adoptive family....

Need a new spring purse?  Or get a head start on your spring cleaning and get organized?  Check out either one of these Thirty One fundraisers going on....

Roberta Nielsen or Stephens Adoption Fundraiser

Talk about crafty - So many items to choose from - Congo T-shirts, bracelets, necklaces, magnets...just to name a few.  You will love the items created by Andrea Domitrovich all which go towards her adoption.

Check out these great shirts at: http://www.dojusticelovemercy.bigcartel.com/

 

Feature Friday: Fundraising *GUEST POST* & Link Up

Sarah, Jeff & Odette

Hey all! 

This is Sarah from nothinglefttopaint.com. I'm honored to have been asked by Tessy to guest post about fundraising. Tessy and her husband Craig are dear friends through the adoption blogosphere. We used the same agency and they loving visited Odette while they were in Congo picking up their son.

First of all, my hat's off to all of you in the thick of fundraising. It is one of the most humbling and difficult things I've ever done. I am a get-things-done-myself kind of person. If there is something I want to achieve I set a goal and get it on my own. Unfortunately, like for so many adoptive families, we couldn't do it on our own. We needed financial support from others to make our dream a reality. Going into the adoption I thought fundraising would be like a giant girl scout cookie selling party. I'd share our decision to adopt, people would jump for joy and hand over their wallets. Not so much. That isn't to say that we didn't get TREMENDOUS support from others, we did, it just wasn't easy or fun. Asking (begging) people for money stunk. 

Opportunity in Fundraising
Here is what I learned. Fundraising is an awesome opportunity to educate and involve others in your adoption. We opened so many people's eyes to the beauty of adoption and the reality that normal people just you and I can do it. I loved that we allowed others to live the gospel. Yes, adoption is the gospel. God calls us to look after widows and orphans, and our fundraising allowed others the chance to say yes to the call in the manner that was best for them. We sold several things like 147 Million Orphans shirts and holiday candies, but with both of those I felt like we were hitting up the same circle of people again and again. They bought something they (maybe) wanted and we got a cut of the proceeds. To avoid this from happening again we turned to a garage sale.

#Tip: View Fundraising as an opportunity to educate and involve others in your adoption

Collecting Stuff
We collected everyones' stuff for months leading up to our spring sale. I posted reminders on the blog and passed the word along. Most people seemed to have a bag or two that they had been meaning to donate that they happily handed over. It seemed that in no time our basement was overflowing with garage sale donations.

#Tip: Get the word out about your sale and keep posting reminders that they are taking donations

Book Sale

While we were waiting for the ground to thaw to have the big garage sale, a sweet sweet friend of ours wanted to do her part to say yes. She felt the Lord telling her that she could do more to help bring Odette home. Sure she could give us a donation, but knew that with a little more work she could wow us. This sweet friend went on to completely organize and host a book sale for us. She passed out fliers and spread the word far and wide. Books poured in from everywhere. I never knew that there were so many people with books they were so willing to part with. While I was have panic attacks about my piles in the basement of garage sale stuff, the dear friend of mine was filling a barn with books! Can you say humbling? She wouldn't let me do much of anything as she knew how overwhelmed I was already feeling. The sale was held on a stormy and even tornado warning filled day, but the sales and cash donations were an astonishing $500! Oh I forgot to mention that the books were priced at $1 each. Some people paid that, others gave much more, and still others handed over money and walked out empty handed. I went home that evening that cried out to God for the blessings. He called us to do this, why are so many others helping? I still think back to that book sale and consider the kind ladies that put it on our book angels.

#Tip: Don't think you can handle doing a garage sale - Try a book sale instead.  1 product, 1price.

Unexpected Blessing...

Two weeks before our garage sale was to happen we were contacted by another friend that had shared our story with their family. Her family shared it with their friends and friends friends and suddenly we were being asked if we would be home on Sunday? They had a moving truck full of stuff they would like to drive over to us FROM OUT OF STATE to donate to our sale. Our collection quadrupled in size in one hour. We were in awe as the full-to-the-brim truck was being carefully driven to our home. Slyly our friends MOST KIND parents slipped us an envelope (that unbeknownst to us was a very large cash donation)and drove off as quickly as they arrived. Needless to say we had some of everything at our sale. I can't really pin point what it was that brought in the most people or the most money. We did make over $500 more on the books leftover from the book sale. I couldn't believe some of the stuff that sold. I really think it was the wide variety of stuff that brought in the profits.

#Tip: Encourage your friends to tell their friends about your sale

#Tip: Try to get a variety of items

Advertising....We advertised on Craigslist (FREE), in our local paper (who gave us a discounted ad price because I asked), and put signs up around the surrounding neighborhood. We live tucked away in a subdivision and wouldn't have gotten much traffic if we didn't advertised. People haggled prices and we let them. We priced high knowing that we could come down. Our Friday sales were way beyond my goal for the entire weekend. In my mind I was hoping to be able to pay for Odette's flight home. We surpassed that by a lot!

#Tip: ADVERTISE, ADVERTISE, ADVERTISE

1. Put out the word
2. Collect lots of stuff
3. Work your butt off

I've seen lots of variations of garage sales. Some with no prices, some with baked goods sales, some with donation buckets, some with firm prices. I don't really think that is a right or wrong way. We loved the garage sale because it opened us up to a bigger circle of people. We weren't asking our family and friends to buy anything or give us any more money. We gladly took what stuff they didn't want and appreciated their help during the actual sale, but it was nice to feel like we weren't hounding them once again. So put out the word, collect lots of stuff, and work your butt off for a few days. It is well worth it!

My point of this post is mostly to encourage you. I don't have any real steadfast, make quick and easy money tips for you. Sorry to disappoint. What I want to do is reassure you that your fundraising is all part of His plan. It is. You know the saying If He brings you to it, He will bring you through it. He will. He will amaze you time and time again by who He chooses to use to play a role. While you might be sitting there feeling so unworthy of your blessings, know that those people who are supporting you are walking away filled with complete joy that they got to have a role in your adoption.

#Tip: Realize even fundraising can be a God thing

Thank you Sarah for sharing about your garage sale/book sale fundraisers and extending encouragement to those that are in the thick of fundraising.  Get to know Sarah and read more of her story at her blog: Nothing Left to Paint: Our Journey to Adopting from the Congo.

Also don't forget to LINK UP your fundraiser link below.  I love to support fundraisers when I can and I always share a link to this blog on my Monday facebook page with my circle of friends and encourage them to shop as well.

Interested in more fundraising tips and articles check out this link of all blog posts labeled Fundraising

FYI:  For those curious... I wrote to my Congolese friend Tresor about the hair drama and he wrote me back this about twists... "About the hair, in DRC it's girls and "bad boys"(thugs) who have those. That's probably why he didn't want them."

Fundraising Friday - T-shirt Fundraiser Tips

Tessy's Tips on T-shirt fundraising:

1. Find someone to help you with your design.  If you can't find anyone locally, there is a lot of options online--but I found it more profitable to do it myself.  Plus, I wanted a design that was ours and highlighted the DRC.  Personally, I like unique designs. 
2. Start contacting screen printing companies -- make sure you tell them it is for an adoption fundraiser - many will waive some sort of fees and give you a good deal.  We worked with a local printing place and they gave us an amazing deal. 
3. Advertise -- I put it on my blog, made a promo video, put it on facebook, advertised on adoption forums, etc...
4. Pre-order!  Pre-order!  Pre-order! (this helps you not get stuck with a bunch of shirts you can't sell)
5. Assemble a team -- I rounded up ten family/friends who would be my T-shirt sales teams.  Each one received a picture of what the printed shirt would look like, an order form, envelope for $$, and a deadline of when I needed it back.
6. Collect the $$ when they make they order - not later.
7. Offer an incentive to fuel motivation -- People like competition.  I told my team the highest sales person would receive a home-cooked dinner (if they were local) or a gift card (if not) and a free T-shirt for themselves, and of course bragging rights.  I checked in with my team weekly and had them post numbers of who was in the lead. 
8. Don't forget about shipping! -- I knew I would be shipping out a lot of orders so I priced my T-shirts at $20 each to cover that.  
9. Shipping -- Let the Post Office help you figure out the best shipping price.  I bought plastic bag type envelopes to mail them out - but this seemed only cost effective if I was sending out one at a time.  Most of the time the flat rate envelope was the best deal.  You can stick quite a few T-shirts in a flat rate envelope.  Our post office was amazingly helpful to get us the best deal.
10. If possible sell online.  I did not do this and wish I would have.  I might have sold more if I did.  Many people like the convenience of being able to purchase online and not having to mail you a check. 
11. Order a realistic amount of extra shirts, after people see other people wearing them, others will want one.  Also inquire with company what is would cost to print a second round if you have enough interest, work that into your first deal.
12. Make sure you offer a good range of sizes from kid sizes to XXL's - and price a bit more for the XXL's as they will cost more to buy. 
13. Keep the choices to a minimum.  Yes people like choices, long sleeved, fitted, not fitted, colors, etc..  I had enough on my plate and you probably do as well so keep it simple which will make ordering a breeze.  I went with the option that everyone could do, a regular T-shirt.  
14. Have people send in pictures of them wearing the shirts and post on your blog.  Make a photo book of all of the people and all the places they are from that prayed your son/daughter home.  It will be a great keepsake later.  I loved seeing all the places and different states/countries our shirt went.  

 15.  Have "Wear your Shirt & Pray" days -- People feel linked to your story that way - Proudly wearing their shirt and showing support on those days where important paperwork/appointments are happening.  Plus, it was a great encouragement to us when people would write or send a picture saying they were wearing their shirts.

16. Still feel overwhelmed??  There is websites that will help you.  I really love Simply Love Products.  Check them out!

I hope these tips will help you as your raise $$ for your adoption!  The T-shirt fundraiser was probably one of our best fundraisers and we raised almost $4,000 with that fundraiser alone.

I am still working on getting some guest writers for Fundraising Friday -- so stay tuned for more great fundraising ideas!!

Once again it is time to link up!!  I love sharing and browsing your fundraiser links. I am loving my new Adoption themed hoodie I purchased a few weeks ago.  The last few days have been chilly and it is nice and comfty!

Friday Fundraising Feature: The Basics

I am really hoping to expand my blog so it is more of a resource for adoptive/adopting families.  On Fridays I am hoping to start doing special features including a fundraising feature that will include some guest posts from other adoptive families.  Until I get that all organized, here is a few thoughts I wrote up to include in my Fundraising 101 section.

Once in awhile I hope to feature adoptive products I love as well... Check out my blog post from last week------> Heaven Scent Bonding Blankets

Also-- I want adoptive families to be able to share about their Adoption Fundraisers!!  So please link up below!! 

Fundraising Basics by Tessy (yours truly)

I am not sure if the word "fun" should be included in the word "fun"draising because to tell you the truth that is one oxymoron.  Being the wife of a youth pastor and involved in various ministries, anytime I hear the word fundraising I inwardly groan a bit.  No matter the cause, it has always been weird for me to ask people for money.  Plus it usually means a lot of work and planning and time I don't have.  It does make it a bit easier though if I'm doing it to help someone else.  I have this crazy big heart that loves to help others.  However, when it came down to me asking people to give toward our adoption it was just tough. And there are some pretty strong opinions on this topic in general. So to be quite honest I had to swallow some big nasty spoons of pride and choke down some humble pie.  I ended up learning a lot through fundraising.

 #1 That people like helping just like I like helping (amazing huh?)

 #2 That some of the biggest gifts were not monetary but people giving of their time and talents

 #3 We weren't designed to always do things on our own - That the Body of Christ is awesome and that we have some amazing friends, family, & church family - EVER!!

      For the body does not consist of one member but of many....But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.  1 Corinthians 12

  #4 That no matter what you plan - commit it to God - and He will surprise you with His ever abundant blessings.

Now by no means am I a fundraising expert but I have been around the fundraising block so to speak.  But if your adopting, fundraising is something you will probably be doing and if I can give you some ideas/tips/ etc... then I would love to help.  I also am hoping to start a Friday feature on my blog that features Fundraising ideas and utilize the great network of adoptive friends I have come to love.  

What fundraisers did you do?

• The traditional "Send out your Support Letter" fundraiser asking for support and prayer.  We waited to send our letter  out mid-adoption because we were hoping to get a matching grant from Lifesong.  We were able to match our awarded grant with these support letters.
• Just Love Coffee - We made $60.00 - I think I could of promoted this a bit better with some free samples and dessert night after church etc...  I mainly relied on online orders and should of tried to get more person-to-person sales - and then sent in for one big order.  They have the greatest coffee.  I will continue to order my coffee from here and support an adoptive family.  My daily cup of Joe now has a cause beyond just keeping me caffeinated. 
• The Garage Sale - (ohh the stories <--click if you really want to know-- that came with that one)  Whatever you do -- let your cute kids (or someone elses cute kids sell cookies) I made more money from people shopping in my garage after the sale then I did at my actual yard sale.
• Let friends fund-raise for you! (really the best option - jk!!)  I had an amazing friend who knew how crazy I was with my other 1500 fundraisers so she sold some lollipops for $1 a piece and raised around $200 for us.  Another friend had a yard sale and donated what she raised to our fund.  Yeah, I know, amazing - because I so was not doing another yard sale!!
• T-shirt Fundraiser  -- One of our best and most profitable fundraiser.  We raised around $4,000.  This one also fell under our church family adoption fund -- but I headed it up. 
• Spaghetti Dinner -- We advertised to our community and delivered lunches to businesses (all pre-orders) and had an open eat in time at the church for lunch and supper.
•  Put a donation button on my blog.  A friend suggested doing this.  I had to swallow more spoonfuls of pride when I did but I was amazed at the donations that came in through that little button.  The only thing I had to do was paste and copy some html code.  
• Bake Sale -- We had ours at Wal-Mart and the church helped host this one.  (Hope to post Bake Sale Tips soon!)

Now that is just the fundraisers that we personally did.  There is tons more ideas out there.  :-)  I hope to capture more of those in that Friday Feature. 

Basic Fundraising Tips: 

• Recruit Volunteers -- Do not - I repeat - DO NOT take on all the responsibility by yourself.  You will quickly become overwhelmed and throw fundraising out the window.  People really do want to help, I promise.  Utilize your friends talents and skills -- the people that know a lot of people -- the Martha Stewart that can make your bake sale become a drool fest -- the committed friend who will spend the long evening the night before sneezing dust and pricing items - the teenagers who will help watch your kids while you run around like a crazy woman - (ohh maybe that is just me)  - the amazing artist friend who will design your T-shirt --  You get the picture!
• Plan smart and strategically--  Yes, you have deadlines to meet but you also have a husband, a family, housework, mounds of adoption paperwork & forms, appointments etc...  Get out your calendar and figure out a fundraising plan that will not result in you stressed out and ready to die from exhaustion.  I believe planning a few fundraisers well will be much more successful then doing a lot of fundraisers on the fly.  Get my drift?!
• Keep detailed accounts of how much you raised.  (I wish I would of done a bit better at this- as I have more approximate results in some cases)  Also, if someone sends you a donation/gift keep the envelope/address - you will want it later when you finally get to writing out thanks yous.  (Ok, maybe some people do those as they go along -- but that just didn't happen in our case-- and I am not sweating it -- I'll send some out when I get my family pictures taken and then they will be extra sweet!!)
• Choose Wisely - Some fundraisers are worth the effort and some are not.  Ask what others are doing that work and spend your efforts on something tried and true.  This is not the time to do fundraising experiments that may flop when you need to reach that deadline next week.
• Get informed on how fundraising can affect your taxes/income.  Gifts from people are not taxable up to a certain amount but when you start selling a product etc.. there are some legal things you need to think about.  I actually wrote to the IRS about my garage sale.  (What?! The IRS scares me) There are many organizations where you can set up an adoption account to collect funds and then the person donating can get their donation tax exempt.  It is a good route to go.  I am no tax expert so please don't write to me with your tax questions. :-)  Just a reminder to be smart about it.  Check out these two articles: Bad Adoption Fundraising Ideas and Smart Adoption Fundraising Ideas

Friday Feature: Heaven Scent Bonding Blankets

I have this amazing blog friend Rebekah Pitz.  I instantly felt drawn to Rebekah and her blog due to her compassionate and transparent heart.  She is an adoptive mom to a beautiful little boy named Tyler and has two bio children Ellie and Trenton.  Trenton was born unexpectedly at 28 weeks gestation. Due to his early birth his brain began bleeding leading to a diagnosis of hydrocephalus. Within the first 8 weeks of his life, he had already endured 2 brain surgeries and nearly died from an almost deadly sepsis infection.  His parents were told that if he survived, his quality of life would likely be very poor. Rebekah & her family began to pray, in earnest to the God of miracles, that He would do a miraculous work in her son....that he would survive. Not only did Trenton survive, he began beating all the odds. He exceeded the doctors expectations in every area of his development.  Recently Trenton celebrated his second birthday.  He is a very happy and relatively healthy little boy who is meeting his developmental milestones.

Website: Heaven Scent Bonding Blankets

Recently Rebekah has started a business/ministry called Heaven Scent Bonding Blankets.  The blankets are hand made and used to promote bonding between parents and children when they have to be separated.  I would of loved to purchase these blankets for my niece who had twins who had a 2 month stay in the NICU.  

Here is a personal note from Rebekah from her website:

"During this dark time in our lives, it was extremely difficult for me, as a mother, to find ways to bond with my son. It was very forgeign to have to ask for help to hold him, to change his diaper, to feed him and to do all the things that are "normal" for a mother to do for her child. I knew that scent is one of the most powerfulbonding tools between a mother and child, but I also knew I could not be there in the NICU with him all the time. So, I created these bonding blankets so that my scent could always be with Trenton when I could not be. It was a healing tool for my mother's heart, as well as a comfort for my very sick son."

I am sharing about this product because these bonding blankets would be a great gift for an adoptive family who is separated from their child.  It was even suggested that we sleep with a blanket if possible and send it so the child could begin to familiarize with the child with the scent of their family.  Some adoptive families are able to send care packages to their children and others are not.  However, this would be a great blanket to purchase to travel with as well.  Many times only one family member is able to travel so it could mean a lot just to send a blanket with the mom/dad/sibling's scent on it along with the one who does.  Scent is one of the primary ways that parents bond with their children.  So weeks before the blanket can be snuggled with, sealed in a ziploc bag, and packed for travel until they get to experience their long awaited for "Gotcha Day!"

The blankets are made from very soft pre washed flannel and/or fleece and are approximately 25x25 inches (perfect for the airplane ride home).  Each one is unique and quilted with her own personal design.  Check out her various services here ------------> Browse our Services


Whether it is for a preemie or an adoption check out this unique line of separation bonding blankets.  I know as an adoptive mom I would of been deeply touched to receive this gift.  Please share the word about this amazing product and the amazing mom who continues to touch others through this beautiful ministry.  As she stitches she is also dedicated to praying for the families who will receive the blankets.