It happens every year. And, every year, I dread it...
Budget Season.
I don’t dread it because I’m unorganized or because I don’t understand bookkeeping or spreadsheets or any of that. I dread it because it’s the time of the year when we have to make choices as an organization.
Choices that I really don’t like making.
My heart? My heart wants to lead an organization with unlimited resources. I want to be able to imagine a class or connection group or community building event, and then be able to execute those things to help our community to thrive. I want to see a new book that might help a client and buy that book for them. I want to pay our trained, professional therapists what their experience and education warrants. I want to offer our clients everything they need, want and have capacity for at no cost to them, with unlimited snacks and drinks and included childcare at every event.
I want this for you all.
I want this for your kiddos and your families and you as individuals.
I want this for us.
I want to be able to approach funders about the needs adoptive families have and not have to spend my allotted word count explaining why adoption is not always the happy ending that we make it out to be, and why the issues adoptive families face matter. I want to be able to describe the programming and community connections and services that will work rather than convince funders that they are needed.
Maybe this is a glimpse of how your family has felt at times as you seek help for yourselves? Are you, too, yearning for others who “get it” and recognize the value in investing in you long-term? The struggle is real.
And, it just occurred to me that maybe it is a struggle that we share together.
A struggle that connects us.
The reality is, there is the balance that has to happen in the real world- a balance between what the adoption community needs and how we can pay for it. So, as I sit down to tackle our budget spreadsheet each Fall, I have to ask things like, what will people be willing to pay? What time can we offer events so that participants aren’t hungry for a meal? Will not having childcare keep people from participating? Will we all fall asleep if our class goes until 9:30 pm on a weeknight?
That is the part of budgeting that I dread. Those are the choices that I don’t like making.
Our work is missionally driven.
Adoption Support Alliance aims to help adoptive families through the unique challenges of building their forever families. That’s what we want to do.
It’s what we are already doing, but with an understanding that so much more needs be done. And we want to be a part of that so much more.
We have ideas upon ideas and lists upon lists of things we want to accomplish in this space and for this community. And we will work every day to be able to offer more and more things on this list. That is our commitment to you.
But, also, please know that when you are asked to pay for a connection group or a class or a counseling copay because you haven’t yet met your deductible, it’s not because we do not know that it may be a financial stretch for you or that we are taking advantage of your struggles.
It’s because we want to pay our employees and staff what they are worth.
When you are asked to become a monthly donor or to give a donation, it’s not because we are greedy or not using our resources well.
It’s because we want our organization to be sustainable.
We want to offer you programming, not just in 2025, but in the years and decades to come. And, in order to do that, we need help from people like you so this dream that started on the back of a napkin stays alive!
For the month of December, we are searching for 40 people to join our Community Builders program. Could you be one of them?
Or maybe a one-time gift is something you could commit to? We are excited to offer a matching grant thanks to other generous donors!
Every dollar we receive during this Season of Giving will be matched, up to $10,000!
Our goals are big, and on our own, we couldn’t reach them. But with a team of supporters, donors, and community partners like you, we can make them a reality. Every gift, whether one-time or monthly, brings us closer to sustaining this dream.
Join us in changing lives, building connections, and offering hope and healing to the families we serve.
In this together,
Erin