Corporate matching drive boosts adoption grants through Pure Gift of God

For any established family, adopting a child can be both a time of sincere joy and unity, as well as a time of angst and uncertainty as they face the financial obligations of adoption.

Thankfully, Pure Gift of God was created to help ease the financial burden, and an important step in doing so is now being extended to the community as some corporations have chosen to double any community investment.

Pure Gift of God’s corporate grant drive is now officially live and going until Tuesday, Dec. 2. Every dollar donated through the compassion of the community will be matched up to $60,000 by a trio of corporate sponsors partnering with Pure Gift of God.

“Those people who give toward providing funds for families desiring to adopt a child out of love will have their donation matched, doubling their gift and making twice the impact in helping children find a loving, caring family that will give them a forever home,” said Larry Yoder, Pure Gift of God executive director.

This drive has played a vital role in creating grants that help ease the financial burden of families seeking to adopt.

“Our hope is to help as many families as possible with the adoption process because there are many expenses when it comes to adopting a child,” Yoder said. “This is a really neat way for people with a heart for helping children and families to help invest in the future of a child.”

This year’s grant will provide two families with up to $25,000 each toward their adoption costs, with additional funds provided to other families in smaller increments.

According to Yoder, this is the fifth year the drive has taken place, and next year he will make a push to build the matching grant funds to an even greater amount, hoping to approach $100,000 in matching funds, but for now the drive is on to build the grant funds to the maximum of $60,000.

To be eligible for the grant, an adopting family must be nominated and in the process of adopting a child.

“A family has to be in the adoption process with an updated home study to be eligible,” Yoder said. “They can’t just be thinking about adopting.”

Each family must be nominated by another family member or friend, and a committee then explores each family’s situation and bases its decision on financial need.

Over the past dozen years, Pure Gift of God has been an organization that has focused on providing financial grants to adopting families, and it has recently branched out, creating new mentoring and therapy programs.

“I feel like there are still a lot of people out there who continue to view us as simply an adoption grant application organization,” Yoder said. “We’re not an adoption agency, but we’re able to direct people through the process, and we offer so much more.”

Yoder said this drive is a chance for everyone to take on a role of supporting those families who are faithfully taking the opportunity to bring hope and love into a child’s life.

He said taking that important step toward adoption can be overwhelming for families, and Pure Gift of God’s board and staff recognize providing both direction and financial aid toward doing so can help lessen the burden and make the process what it should be — a joyful moment when a family positively impacts a young life by welcoming them into their home.

Anyone wishing to make a matching grant fund donation or nominate a family may do so by visiting www.puregiftofgod.org.

Recipients of the grants will be announced in February.