any fundraising ideas??

ok.. so i know this can be a touchy subject, but just wnated to get any thoughts.
i've known since i was about 7 or 8 that i wouldn't be able to have bio kids. my mom ALWAYS put a postive spin on it and would tell me " you can still be a mommy if you want to. you'll just have to do it a little bit differently", and she would talk up the idea of adoption and helping a child who needs a fmaily. so i've had adoption in my head since i was young... and luckily DH is completely ok with it.
we both have very good, steady jobs ( hes a government engineer, i'm a speech therapist in a school). and we do have some money saved to pay for the adoption.
BUT we have a GREAT group of about 15 friends who are more like brothers and sisters to us- honestly. and a few of them have said they would be interested in helping us out with this whole process if they can... and who am i to turn down help?
just wanted to see if any of you hvae done this, or if you have any ideas that would be more "fun" and not "pushy"... thanks!

Re: any fundraising ideas??

We didnt do any fundraising but I have heard of people who have done 50/50 raffels at parties, garage sales, bake sales and the like. If you normally exchange birthday/holiday gifts with this group you could casually suggest donationsl to your adoption fund if you are comfortable with that sort of thing.
If you are going to travel airline miles and travel point donations would be very helpful.

There are services you will need that friends may be able to prvide. You need a million things notarized, you may need financial statements drawn up by a CPA. Im sure there are more but thats all I can think of right now.

When looking at the cost - dont forget about the adoption tax credit.

Best of luck to you.

Re: any fundraising ideas??

Did your friends mention about monitery helping out? That is what I am wondering.
I do not know which avenue you are going to adopt from. We adopted our children domestically by placing ads in newspapers. That being said our money was not used in one lump sum. But going thru our savings a little at a time.
When adopting the best I feel is networking and letting people know that you are actively seeking to adopt a child. Word does get around and may lower your costs if a child/newborn that someone may know is up for adoption. Joining adoption groups also helps. You may befriend a couple that may have several birthmoms and may pass that birthmom to you. You can also use the internet. I have met couples that have adopted their newborns that way.
Have friends and family take plenty of pictures of you with children, doing fun things together. Holidays, parties, etc. Lots of photos. This helps when birthmothers are looking thru profiles. They like to see what their childs life would be like when they come into your loving open arms.
Just remember there are children out there. I have two beautiful children that I adopted as newborns. I can not imagine my life any other way.
HTH