Surrogacy Grants and Financing Options
Surrogacy involves a number of people and a variety of services, and those costs do add up. Intended parents shouldn’t let the cost of surrogacy discourage their dreams of parenthood. There are a variety of surrogacy grants and financing options that can help make this process affordable.
Surrogacy Grants
Several organizations offer grants to help intended parents build their families. Different organizations have varying requirements for their grant recipients. Some of the surrogacy grants currently available are for prospective intended parents are:
- Baby Quest Foundation: “Baby Quest Foundation provides financial assistance through fertility grants to those who cannot afford the high costs of procedures such as IVF (in vitro fertilization), gestational surrogacy, egg and sperm donation, egg freezing, and embryo donation.”
- Journey to Parenthood: “Through our foundation, we will raise money to provide financial grants for those seeking fertility treatments, surrogacy or adoption to lessen the financial burden that is too often associated with infertility.”
- Gift of Parenthood: “Our collective desire to spread hope is deeply rooted in all of us on the board, and our grants help us answer the call by providing the financial means necessary for advanced fertility treatments such as IUI, IVF, egg and sperm donation, egg freezing, and surrogacy.”
- Hope for Fertility: “The Hope for Fertility Foundation offers grants to couples all across the United States who are struggling with infertility. We offer financial assistance towards infertility treatments, surrogacy or adoption.”
- Deborah Frank Memorial Grant: “The Deborah Frank Memorial Grant gives one couple a greater chance of having a child through surrogacy by covering all necessary surrogacy-related services, compared to other grants that offer up to $10,000 only for certain infertility treatments.”
- Men Having Babies: “Men Having Babies created The Gay Parenting Assistance Program (GPAP) as part of our mission to make building a family more affordable for gay prospective parents that need financial assistance for their surrogacy journey.”
If you receive a grant or scholarship from any of these programs, and begin working with SEAM, please let the Onboarding Specialist know, for a reduced rate.
Surrogacy Loans
Prospective intended parents most commonly rely on loans to fund their surrogate pregnancy. There are multiple options for financing surrogacy, including:
- Home Equity Loans: If you are a homeowner and have a strong credit history, this type of loan allows you to borrow funds using your home as collateral.
- 401(k) Plans: You can typically borrow up to 50% of the account balance in your retirement savings account, and pay it back over time.
- Fertility Finance Loans: There are a variety of lenders who can assist with financing your surrogate pregnancy, such as Sunfish, New Life Fertility Finance and CapexMD, Prosper Healthcare, or BetterMed.
- Agency Financing Programs: Many surrogacy agencies offer fee payment schedules and financing options. Consult with your agency for financing and loan options offered by them to clients.
Fundraising
Fundraising is another option for prospective intended parents. Online platforms make it easy to raise money without fees. Some families opt to host an event, such as a garage sale, car wash, or silent auction, to secure funds for their surrogate pregnancy. Selling products is another popular alternative. Creatives can make and sell on platforms such as Etsy, or you can become a direct sales consultant and use commissions from parties to raise funds.
Expense Reimbursement
If you have not already, check with your employer to see if they are, or are interested in, being involved in programs such as Carrot or Maven Clinic, who help reimburse intended parents for their expenses with IVF, Escrow, surrogate’s medical costs, sperm, egg, and embryo storage costs, and more, depending on the employers level of coverage.
Another option is to find a position in a company that does offer these benefits and more, if your current position does not. There are many lists on the Internet of companies that offer Family Forming benefits!
