[Mrs.Brown]

Do I legally have to be non-profit organization to do fundraising for my own personal adoption? I found one company who told me that they would give me 40% off retail for their product if I could provide them a tax number. My husband and I would like to adopt a child from Russia but the expenses are tremendous! We just don't have that kind of money lying around.
Also, how would you start and put on a fundraiser? I have no clue, but would love to know how. Any advice?
Thanks in advance on behalf of myself, my future child, and all others who will benefit from any advice given.
Mrs. Brown

[sak9645]

they won't get any tax benefit if you are not a 501(c)3 charitable organization. Anyone who wishes to give you a very large sum of money (a substantial chunk of the adoption fees -- don't you wish) should consult with a tax advisor, because there could be some tax implications for them.

You will have to be honest with people, and indicate that you are not a non-profit organization. You will also need to declare the money as income on your taxes.

You could also start a home-based business as a way of earning additional income. If you choose to do so, you should contact your attorney or tax advisor about how to set one up -- sole proprietorship, subchapter-S corporation, corporation, etc. There are benefits and risks to each approach. A company that is set up to enrich you personally, even though it would simply help you to adopt a child, would almost certainly not qualify as a non-profit organization. You would have to pay taxes on the earnings.

Sharon

[mhale]

Hi. My DH and I are doing fundraising and have done very extensive research into it, including attening a seminar all about it. It is VERY legal. In fact we are doing it now. There are companies out there who help you do it. There are lots of items you can sell to raise money and about a ton of other ideas. Also anyone can give you up to $10,000.00 and it is tax free. It is a gift. Any amount over that though is taxable. Here are some great Adoption Fundraising sites to check out: www.amotherslovefundraising.com, www.fund-raising.com.
You just have to be willing to do a lot of work. Good luck to you.

[bellazmama]

Hi!
Couldn't get the "a Mother's Love" site to work.
Sarah

[makosphere]

These guys ARE a nonprofit and they have a book that has ton of info and step-by-step on a ton of Adoption Fundraising ideas! They are at

http://www.NuminousFoundation.org

We got the book about 6weeks ago and we've done about 10% of what they talk about in the book and we've raised $5K+ already! It really has blown us away how well we've done, we had NO clue how to get going and this was perfect.

We just did stuff on a small scale to try it out, and we did a spaghetti dinner (we made a TON of money there, we added getting folks to donate stuff for an auction at the dinner, and we may do 1/month if we can work it out with our local church), we did 2 yardsales, we tried the thing they have about raising $500 in under 2 weeks (that went REALLY well, we actually raised almost $1K that way alone). Plus I sold some of the good stuff we cleaned-out on eBay instead of at our yard sale, that worked really well too.

So anyway, I was not sure if it was going to be worth the cost of it, but for us it really is. Best luck! Suze

[tsturman]

If you fundraise for adoption, you need to count what you earn as income for your taxes.

A Child's Desire has a nice fundraising program, that is open to any adopting family. www.achildsdesire.org/fundraising.htm

[dogncatkids]

I would also suggest checking your state laws before fundraising - some states govern how and who can fundraise. Also raffles in some states are like lotteries and organizers may need to meet licensing requirements.