Frequently Asked Questions.
Most Asked Questions
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We create videos of kids in foster care who are waiting to be adopted. Our videos are used to help find a forever family for every child.
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No, The Reel Hope Project is a nonprofit that leverages the power of story-telling to advocate for kids in foster care who are awaiting adoption. The Reel Hope Project does not approve, license, home study, or match families.
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We are currently active in eight states! Our current states are: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, North Dakota, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, and Nevada.
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Our goal is to serve 1,000 kids a year across the country! If you are a social worker, case manager, adoption recruiter, funder, and/or other individual with connections and influence within your state’s foster care adoption recruitment system, please email us at info@thereelhopeproject.org.
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Due to the nature of our work, opportunities are limited, but we do rally the support of volunteers a few times each year! To learn more, please email info@thereelhopeproject.org.
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Yes! We describe ourselves as a faith-fueled nonprofit: Jesus is the why behind everything we do. Our identity as a Christian organization means we believe in Jesus and we believe that God cares about kids who need families. We strive to serve as a bridge between Church and State, partnering broadly to ensure a forever family for every child. You will see faith-based language in our newsletter, website, and social media posts. However, we work with kids of all faiths (or no faith) and want to ensure that every child has a forever family, regardless of their faith background.
Prospective Parents
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No. We create bio videos for children who are seeking an adoptive family and gift the videos to the child and their social worker team to assist in their search for a forever family. We connect people to the right information to become licensed to provide foster care or adopt, but we do not personally provide licensure or placement services.
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Foster care adoption involves adopting a child who is currently in the foster care system whose parental rights have been terminated. These children may have been removed from their birth family due to various reasons and are now in need of permanent, loving homes.
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Begin by contacting your local county or state foster care agency. They can provide information on the process, including training and certification requirements. If you can’t find your local resource, our team can help! Send us an email at info@thereelhopeproject.org.
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Unlike infant or international adoption, there are very few costs associated with adopting from foster care. Most states have private agencies that can provide foster care licensing and case management services for free, with minimal fees associated with a background check and buying items for the required home safety checklist.
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No, not all children in foster care need an adoptive family. The goal of foster care is always reunification with birth parents. Ideally, birth parents are able to restabilize and reunite with their children. However, if birth parents are not able to make sufficient progress in a given amount of time, eventually their parental rights will be terminated. In this case, their children become wards of the state and legally eligible for adoption. Nationally, there are approximately 100,000 kids who are waiting to be adopted.
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Our team follows the instructions of each state partner, and will connect the inquirer to the appropriate next steps! Please be aware that the majority of states will request that those who inquire be licensed before sharing additional information about any waiting child.
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It depends on the child: some kids are only eligible for adoption within their current state, while others are eligible for adoption in multiple states. Most children’s eligibility is listed below their reel on the Waiting Kids pages on our site.
Donors
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We are entirely supported by the generosity of people like you! Our work is sustained by a network of individuals, businesses, foundations, and churches that believes in the power of a forever family for every child. To learn more about our partners, click here! As our mission continues to grow, we rely on increased support from new financial partners. To learn more please visit our GIVE page or email us at info@thereelhopeproject.org.
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Follow this link to set up a quick, easy, and secure electronic donation. Alternatively, you can mail a check to The Reel Hope Project at The Reel Hope Project, PO Box 3101, Minneapolis, MN 55403
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Wonderful! Your gift can have twice the impact. First, contact your employer to gain more information on qualifying gifts (our EIN # is 81-4909376) and follow their company-specific matching gift instructions. If you still have questions, please contact info@thereelhopeproject.org.
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Please email info@thereelhopeproject.org and our team will be glad to walk you through sponsorship opportunities and perks!
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81-4909376
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Our team sends out annual giving statements by the end of January. If we have your email address you will receive it digitally; others will receive a paper statement by mail. If you have questions, please contact info@thereelhopeproject.org.
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To update your payment information or to cancel your monthly donation, click here. If you would like to adjust the amount of your monthly donation, please contact info@thereelhopeproject.org
Social Workers
Check out this video to understand what it looks like to work with our team!
After a participation form has been signed by the referring social worker, at least one authorized adult from the child’s team must be present for their video shoot. Leading up to the shoot, our Coordination Manager works with the referring social worker on all details to personalize a special shoot day! The videos are entirely funded by private donations – there is no cost to the social worker, county, agency or state. You’ll hear from our team within two to three weeks of the shoot with a draft of the video for review!
Anywhere in our focus states! We will film anywhere that is most convenient for you and/or the youth for whom we are making a reel. If a child is located in a state other than their legal guardian, we can travel to meet them out of state.
We follow the sharing permissions set by the referring social worker on the participation form. This means we can share the reel as broadly as you allow, across a variety of both local and national partner platforms. Alternatively, we can omit all sharing and send you a private link, only to be shown at your discretion. We also offer to send up to three optional copies on flash drives to the social work team.
Yes! We want to make a video for every waiting child that wants one and is eligible.
Since we are not an adoption agency, we follow the specifications set by each state and connect the social workers of inquiring families to the social work teams of waiting kids. Social worker information is not disclosed to inquiring families. Unlicensed families are provided with information on how to begin their local licensing process.
Fill out this form and/or contact info@thereelhopeproject.org if you have any questions!