The program is a 501(c)3 certified adoption grant program. Since 1997 it has given over $3,900,000 in grants to aid in the adoption of over 1,300 adoptees, in the form of 1,100 separate grants.

The Gift of Adoption Fund was founded in 1996 by Lucy and Gene Wyka as a program meant to help less-fortunate prospective adoptive parents. The Wykas were motivated to found the program after three successful adoptions of their own, having seen the financial difficulties that other parents were having as they also tried to adopt.

Gift of Adoption's mission statement is as follows: "Gift of Adoption provides adoption assistance grants to complete the adoptions of children in vulnerable circumstances—giving them permanent families and a chance to thrive."

As of 2024, Gift of Adoption Fund has awarded more than $19.2 million in adoption assistance grants and reached over 5,962 children with the gift of family.

Gift of Adoption is the largest provider of adoption assistance grants awarded without regard to race, religion, age, marital status, gender, or sexual orientation. Grants of up to $15,000 are awarded to qualified applicants to remove financial barriers and make possible the adoption of children in vulnerable circumstances in the U.S. and around the world. Gift of Adoption provides grants to complete domestic and international adoptions and relative/kinship adoptions. There is no application deadline.

Grant Information

According to giftofadoption.org, "Any U.S. citizen who has an approved and current home study from a licensed and accredited adoption agency is eligible to apply for a grant from The Gift of Adoption Fund." If you are unable to obtain your home study due to state law, you can substitute with an official statement from your adoption agency that insures that you do in fact have a successful, approved home study on file.

Gift of Adoption's grants are usually intended to finish up an adoption process, giving a final financial boost to adoptive parents as they get close to completing the requirements for an adoption. Because of this, neither completed adoptions nor recently-begun adoptions are candidates for grants.

To be approved for a grant to help with an international adoption, the agency used must be COA accredited.

To apply for a grant from Gift of Adoption, applicants will need:

A completed grant application (downloadable from the Gift of Adoption website)
Copy of both the applicant's most recent tax return and paystubs from the reported sources of income in the household
Two letters of reference
An application fee of $50, to be paid by check at the time of application submission

Applications are reviewed monthly, and applicants will be notified of their application's review date through email. After receiving this email, additional information may be requested to assist in the approval process. If approved, applicants will be notified of their approval within two days.

The approval committee will decide to do one of three things with a grant application:

Approve the grant
Deny the grant
Pass the grant decision to a local chapter of Gift of Adoption

Contact Information

Mailing:

Gift of Adoption Fund

Attn: Grants Manager

P.O. Box 567

2001 Waukegan Road, 5th Floor

Techny, IL 60082

Phone: 877.905.2367

Email: info@giftofadoption.org

Resources

Gift of Adoption Fund. (n.d.). Retrieved May 5, 2015, from http://www.giftofadoption.org/

(Updated: Jan. 2017)