Community and business leaders in the Boston area are coming together to champion adoption as a cause worth investing in
Business leaders and philanthropists from throughout the Boston area are raising funds and leveraging their professional networks to make a major difference in the lives of vulnerable children.
Last year, a group of 11 people from throughout the Boston area came together to form Gift of Adoption – Massachusetts Chapter, which represents the 24th official chapter of Gift of Adoption. Gift of Adoption is a nationwide charitable organization that issues adoption assistance grants to children in-need of permanent families.
Nationally, Gift of Adoption has awarded $9.9 million in adoption assistance grants, completing the adoptions of 3,421 children, since its founding in 1996.
Gift of Adoption – Massachusetts Chapter officially launched in December 2019 after a successful kickoff fundraising event in November that raised more than $11,000. In May 2020, the chapter participated in #GivingTuesdayNow, a special fundraising event aimed at supporting charities impacted by COVID-19. The chapter raised more than $13,000, exceeding its initial goal.
As of June 2020, Gift of Adoption has awarded $77,000 in adoption assistance grants, helping complete the adoptions of 24 children into Massachusetts families. The chapter’s work is far from done, however. There are currently 12 applications from Massachusetts families awaiting a funding decision. This represents a need of $48,000 to help complete each of these adoptions. Applications increase whenever a new chapter is launched, and the chapter board expects to see this growth in Massachusetts continue.
Gift of Adoption – Massachusetts Chapter’s charter board includes Leticia DoPrado, Stacey Marino, Anna Abate, Zeena Enyetullah, Vikram Gupta, Cindy Berg, Tim Fish, Marta Loeb, Callie Gauzer, Chris Otto and Curtis Moore. Moore’s wife, Lisa, is also deeply involved with the chapter.
Getting off the ground
Stacey Marino, one of the chapter’s charter board members, says that the business acumen of the board members allowed Gift of Adoption – Massachusetts Chapter to hit the ground with a running start.
“Each of the board members came to the table recognizing that fundraising is such an integral part of getting the chapter up and running,” Marino says. “We really came together and tried to be realistic during the planning process about what we thought we could do in terms of hosting events and getting donors to the organization.”
The diverse skill sets of the Massachusetts Chapter Board allowed the chapter to divide and conquer fundraising and other organizational tasks.
“When the tasks were divided, everybody kind of stepped up and said, ‘I’m good at this,” says Lisa Moore. “We had a very well-rounded group. we all had certain strengths that we were able to bring.”
A cause worth investing in
Many of the board members came together through a shared passion for adoption. Marino was looking for ways to get involved in her community after moving back to Boston from New York. For her, joining Gift of Adoption’s newest chapter was a natural fit.
“I come from a family that has come together through adoption,” Marino says. “I have a brother and sister adopted from Paraguay… I have my own children that are adopted from Russia. I understand, through my own life experience, how impactful bringing a family together through adoption can be.”
Marino adds that the direct, simple nature of Gift of Adoption’s mission allows donors and chapter board members to see the impact of their support in real time. Gift of Adoption’s grants provide immediate, tangible results.
“Being able to channel money directly from donors to families, and being able to touch them at a time in the adoption process where they’re near the finish line, is very gratifying,” she says. “This last grant might be the difference between being able to complete the adoption or not.”
Gift of Adoption is also the largest non-discriminatory adoption assistance organization in the United States. It issues grants without regard to age, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or marital status and are paid directly to agencies and attorneys working on the child’s behalf.
This approach allows the organization to maximize its impact and better serve its target demographic: children at-risk of separation from siblings, entering foster care, aging-out of an orphanage or with critical medical conditions.
Lisa Moore says that the impact of Gift of Adoption’s work goes beyond the children that it directly serves.
“Having a secure family allows people to be more productive in society,” she says. “If we can allow more people to have that family base to support them, then moving forward, we’ll all be better off.”
Fundraising for the future
As the Massachusetts chapter moves forward into its second year, its board members are striving to identify creative ways they can continue raising grant funds while maintaining social distancing because of COVID-19.
“Because of what’s going on with COVID-19, it’s really forced us to prioritize,” Curtis Moore says. “We have looked at fundraising in the traditional way and then also looked at ways that we can bring our own interests into fundraising activities and make it more fun, really, for individuals.”
While events are off the table for the time being, Lisa Moore says that the most difficult part, establishing the chapter, is successfully complete. Now, the chapter is leveraging its connections to continue making a meaningful impact in the lives of children in-need.
“We have so many board members that have all of these different networks that come together to form this bigger network,” she says. “Now that it’s established, we’ve really got our feelers and roots in this part of Massachusetts.”