Information and Financial Disclosure


Our Mission Statement

We believe in the fundamental right of all children to have the security and love of a family.

We resolve to facilitate adoptions of special needs, older and sibling children by providing financial grants to special waiting children; to actively seek out healthy and happy families who can offer love and support to special needs children; to raise public awareness of the need for healthy homes for special needs, older and sibling children and to raise public awareness of the unique joys of parenting a special child.

We dedicate our work to improving the quality of life for all God's children, especially those who wait in institutions or orphanages, live in extreme poverty or under the duress of slavery, abuse or war; and we seek, create and support humanitarian programs which accomplish these goals and extend all efforts to champion and campaign for children's rights regardless of race, religion, or country of origin.

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Our Background

Brittany’s Hope Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)3 foundation dedicated to aiding abandoned children around the world. UNICEF estimates that more than 145 million children are without parents, living in orphanages and child-headed households. Abandoned children are vulnerable to predators of all kinds, voiceless and without rights. For abandoned children with special needs, chances are slim they’ll receive the protection and services they need to reach their potential.

We place child-specific grants on abandoned children who wait for their forever families.

Our foundation was originally created to build a bridge to unite special waiting children and families who wish to adopt a child but are burdened by the cost international adoption. Although we assist with advocating for our special children, Brittany’s Hope Foundation is not an adoption agency. We raise funds and work with adoption agencies to lower the cost of adopting special needs children.

We work closely with our Hague-accredited affiliate agencies, all of whom provide international adoption services. These agencies submit applications on behalf of waiting children who are especially difficult to place with families. They may simply be older than the desirable infant-to-toddler age, part of a sibling group, physically challenged, or classified as special needs as a result of a traumatic birth. They may also be healthy children born with the stigma of rape or a family history of mental illness that causes them to be labeled as a special needs child.

Once a child is labeled, regardless of the reasons why, it becomes much harder for agencies to find families who are interested in choosing a child with “special needs” over a healthy child. We have granted children from Eastern European countries, all regions of Asia, the Caribbean, South and Central America, and Africa. Our grants are child-specific, which means the funds are placed on a chosen child; in this way we are unique among granting organizations.

We help the children who are not adopted.

During the course of our work we learned that for every child who finds a forever family, many more never do. We widened our scope to include those children, and now our humanitarian projects serve to improve the lives of children without families. Throughout the world, we feed and educate those who live in impoverished orphanages. We improve existing or build new shelters in areas without the funds to meet one of the most basic human needs – a safe place to live. Our foundation provides money for in-country medical interventions, giving sick children the opportunity to access medical care.

Our mission to improve the lives of orphans continues to grow. We’re purchasing safe cribs with warm blankets and mentally stimulating toys for children in orphanages that cannot afford to replace broken cribs. When we learned that teenagers in orphanages are asked to leave to make room for younger children, we implemented a project to provide those teenagers with supplies needed during their transition to life outside of the orphanage. That project is about to blossom into a new program that will provide job-related skills training to set teenaged orphans on the path to a productive life.

Our focus is on international children.

Although we are based in the United States, we place financial grants only on international waiting special needs children. There are many grant and scholarship programs available to families wishing to adopt special needs children domestically. The cost of domestic adoption is substantially lower, sometimes free, and often subsidized. However, there are few opportunities to receive financial assistance when adopting internationally.

The inspiration behind the foundation.

Brittany’s Hope Foundation was created by Candace and David Abel in January 2000 for the purpose of advocating for orphaned special needs children who are longing for the love of a family. Our foundation was inspired by their first adopted child Brittany, whom they adopted when she was 12 years old. While Brittany was home for Christmas break during her senior year in college, her life was cut short by a car accident.

She was pursuing a career in social work and hoped to help waiting children find loving families. As the Abels reflected upon the person that Brittany was and the work she planned to do, they remembered a conversation she shared shortly before her death. She said that she “dreamed of a world where all children know the peace and love only a family can provide.” Although Brittany was unable to pursue her dreams, the Abels wished to honor her life by beginning the work she intended. As a result, Brittany’s Hope Foundation was born.

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Our Funding

Our grants and projects are supported with private and corporate donations, and we are deeply grateful for the financial assistance we receive. We’re proud of the fact that 100% of all donations directly benefit abandoned children.

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Our Granted Children

Our foundation was created to unite special waiting children with families who wish to adopt a child but are burdened by the cost of international adoption. We raise funds and work with our affiliated adoption agencies to lower the cost of adopting special needs children.

In 2008, Brittany’s Hope paid grants averaging $5,500 per child for a total of $359,000.00 on 71 children who are now home or on their way home to their forever families. Since 2000, we have pledged grants totalling over $3.98 million on 746 waiting international children. In the past eight years, families have welcomed 245 of our granted children into their homes and hearts, and currently there are 77 more who are matched with families and will come home soon.

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Our Humanitarian Projects

In 2008, the International Hague Convention entered into force in the United States. The Convention provides a framework for countries to work together to ensure that adoptions take place in the best interests of children and to prevent the abduction, sale, or trafficking of children in connection with intercountry adoption. The most significant guidelines require adoption service providers to be accredited, and to meet certain operational criteria. As the restrictions tightened, many adoption agencies went out of business, and some countries closed their doors to international adoption.

Brittany’s Hope continues to place grants on special needs international children. However, international adoption is changing dramatically. Fewer children will have the life-changing opportunity of a loving home; for many, adoption will never be a reality.

Our humanitarian programs react to the crisis by reaching the children who wait. In 2008, several of our humanitarian projects required immediate attention: the construction of an Orphan Care Village, part of our Outreach of Love: Ethiopia project; a request to fill 835 Sunflower Children Project duffel bags; the finalization of our medical intervention for Hieu Thach, a Vietnamese boy born with clubfeet, and our Child Sponsorship program.

The Orphan Care Village at Injibara

David Abel, Nathaniel Abel, and Brittany’s Hope board member Dr. Bradley Davidson traveled to Ethiopia in May 2007. During their journey, they visited the small town of Injibara. The town has no church or community center, and little access to modern medical care. Despite the cultural practice of gudifecha, in which families and neighbors open their homes to orphans, approximately sixty to ninety children are found abandoned in Injibara each year. Extreme poverty and widespread death from disease have crippled the community’s ability to care for its children.

Phase I at The Orphan Care Village at Injibara will include Children’s Rooms, a residence for the nuns who serve as caretakers, and a playground so the children can play safely. Sanitary facilities will include a clean water plant and laundry facilities. A guard house at the front gate and fencing around the perimeter will enable security for the campus. A section of land will be set aside for fruit-bearing trees and a garden area to grow food to help make the project self-sustainable. Inside the buildings, we will build bedrooms, classrooms, and offices. A separate building will contain a kitchen and food prep area and a common dining room. Flush toilets, sinks, and showers will be part of the clean water plant.

Construction is underway for Phase I. In 2008, Brittany’s Hope invested $132,084.44 in the project. Generous donors have pledged over $34,725.00 to cover the costs of a playground, children’s furniture, a latrine, and a guard house.

The Project Supervisor, Father Abebe Teklemariam and Brittany’s Hope Foundation will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Injibara in June 2009 to mark the opening of The Orphan Care Village.

Sunflower Children Project

When children in orphanages “age out” on their fourteenth birthday, they must leave to make room for the steady flow of younger orphans entering the orphanages. Our Sunflower Children Project provides aged-out orphans with supply-filled duffel bags to help them during their transition to the outside world. Items such as a warm blanket, shoes, toiletries, a first aid kit, and other provisions make a difference to children who must leave the only home they have ever known.

In 2008, we received a request to fill 835 duffel bags before September 1, 2009. Throughout the year, Brittany’s Hope grant recipient families made the Sunflower Children Project their favorite cause, and donated items to fill the duffle bags. Several community groups ran their own donation drives to gather items. Brittany’s Hope also receives monetary donations to purchase the items.

Each duffel bag contains approximately fifty different items. The supplies are organized and stockpiled in storage, and packed into the bags by volunteers shortly before shipping the bags overseas.

Medical Intervention

“I want to walk like a man.”
– Hieu Thach, 2008 Medical Intervention Recipient


In 2005, Brittany’s Hope met a young boy named Hieu Thach who was living in Vietnam, crippled by clubfeet that forced him to walk on the tops of his feet. Together with generous donors, the Hershey Medical Center, and Schrieber Pediatric Rehab Center, Brittany’s Hope provided Hieu with the surgeries he needed to repair his clubfeet. After a year and a half with a foster family in the US, Hieu recently returned to his family in Vietnam.

Child Sponsorship Program

With sixty-five children to support at the House of Love in Cam Ranh, Vietnam, the budget at Brittany’s Hope was stretched thin. In the midst of new construction and renovations to the orphanage, we were also purchasing food, clothing, and medicine for the children.

We appealed to the congregation of a local church, and the Child Sponsorship Program grew from that effort. So many people stepped forward to assist that we set up individual sponsorships for each child. As new children enter the orphanage, we assign a sponsor from our waiting list to each of them.

Sponsors contribute $35 to $50 per month, and those funds are dedicated to the care of their sponsored child. The money is used towards food, medical care, and educational supplies. In addition to their generous donations, sponsors even send gifts, treats, school and art supplies, and sports equipment to the children.

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Looking Ahead

Because of the current global economy and changes in international adoption laws, we are increasing our efforts on some of our existing outreach projects. We also have several exciting new humanitarian projects currently in development.

Brittany’s Cribs

The Brittany’s Cribs Project began in 2005 with one orphanage’s request for a few new cribs. The request touched the hearts of several churches, families, and school groups, who held fundraisers to purchase cribs for orphans in need.

Since 2005, we have spent $19,072 to provide 191 cribs with mattresses, warm blankets, and “busy boxes” to orphanages in Vietnam, Haiti, China, and Sierra Leone. With the recent changes in international adoption, Brittany’s Hope has received an overwhelming number of requests for new cribs. We have pledged to spend at least $20,000 on cribs in 2009.

Nutrition Program

Many orphanages find themselves in a critical situation: more children to feed, with fewer funds and rising food costs. Without money to buy formula, food, and medicines, desperate orphanage staff have turned to our Nutrition Program for assistance. In past years, we have spent $16,000 to provide food; in 2009, we have pledged to purchase $65,000 of supplies to feed hungry children caught in this crisis.

House of Love

Since meeting the nuns and children of the House of Love in Cam Ranh, Vietnam, Brittany’s Hope has funded a clean water project, purchased livestock and garden plants, and built kitchen and sanitary facilities for the orphanage. We set up sponsorships with generous donors who fund the children’s food and education. The orphanage now houses over 65 children and also helps support the children within the community. In 2009 we will begin a new phase, currently called “House of Love II”. We plan to renovate a nearby facility, which will cost $85,000 and will house at least 30 more children. We will also set up individual sponsorships for those children in the new facility.

Emily Cane Project

The Emily Cane Project is an innovative program which serves the vision-impaired of Vietnam and also employs college students in the process to teach within their communities. The ability to navigate independently using sensory awareness and a cane is an essential life skill for the vision-impaired. Orientation and Mobility Education teaches the visually impaired to navigate the world efficiently, effectively, and safely by focusing on sensory awareness, spatial concepts, searching and locating skills, independent movement and protective techniques which provide added protection in unfamiliar areas. Through the use of various techniques, the vision-impaired person can learn to navigate their everyday life settings such as their home, community, workplace, and school.

Brittany’s Hope is proud to have distributed canes and provided training to more than 2,500 vision-impaired people living in Vietnam. We are excited to see this program grow as more children and adults learn how to adapt to life with a cane, increasing their independence and changing their lives in such a simple and profound way. Our goal in 2009 is to spend $70,000 to equip vision-impaired and blind people with canes and the skills they need.

HOPE Project

An extension of our Sunflower Children Project, the HOPE Project (Helping Orphans by Providing Education) will give older children the opportunity to attend higher level schooling or learn a trade. We also hope to set up individual sponsorships for donors to select a child to support. 2009 Budget: $6,500.

“Journey to Vietnam”

In April 2007, volunteers and Elizabethtown College students travelled through Vietnam on a mission to improve the lives of children in orphanages. They painted, repaired, assembled furniture and playground equipment, and planted gardens. Students majoring in physical and occupational therapy provided training to caregivers in the orphanages. The trip was such a success that we’ve planned another in May 2009.

Feeding Center in Gambela, Ethiopia

In a section of Gambela, hungry children must cross a river full of crocodiles to get to the nearest food distribution center. Brittany’s Hope is building a feeding center on higher ground closer to local villages so people have safe access to regular meals. 2009 Construction Cost: $20,000.

Medical Interventions

By partnering with other humanitarian organizations that provide medical services in-country, Brittany’s Hope Foundation will fund surgeries for children in need. 2009 Budget: $15,000.

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Our Fundraising Events

In addition to requesting donations, Brittany’s Hope hosts fundraising events and campaigns.

Annual Giving Campaign

How will you change the world today? When you donate to our humanitarian projects, you change lives. Our 3rd Annual Giving Campaign begins in September 2009.

2009 Golf Tournment

Our annual golf tournament, sponsored by DAS Distributors, Inc. was held on August 27, 2009 at the Crossgates Golf Course in Millersville, PA. Over $48,000 was raised by supporters at this event.

5th Annual Walk of Love

On May 3, 2009 we changed the world in one hour! Supporters from all over the United States came to attend the walk and the fun activities for everyone involved. Hundreds of people joined us as we walked for an hour to raise over $41,000 to aid abandoned children.

Manufacturer’s Sample Sales

We hold Manufacturer’s Sample Sales in the Brittany’s Hope parking lot several times per year. Product samples donated by suppliers are sold at steeply discounted prices. Samples include office and school supplies, electronics, and tools.

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Our Board of Directors

Chairperson: Candace L. Abel; Vice President: Pamela Grosh; Treasurer: Alexander Sahd; Secretary: position open.
Members At Large: Susan Abel, Marcie Bahn, Scott Chamberlain, Ed Keyser, Peggy McFarland, Denisha Kline, Amanda Riley, Joy Russell, Frank Sluzis, Dave West.
Honorary Board Members: Rose Block, Event Organizer; Lori Burkholder, BS – Broadcast Journalist, WGAL-TV 8; Lisa Carlson, MD – Pediatrician; Alice Clouser – Retired Nurse; Becky Fox, DDS – Dentist; Mary Jean Risser – Retired Schoolteacher; Gina Strouse – Elizabethtown Child Care Executive Director; Scott Stoner, DC – Chiropractor

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Our Financial Information

Basic Information
  • Brittany’s Hope Foundation is a 501(c)(3) Public Charity.
  • Brittany’s Hope Foundation is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.
  • Contributions are deductible, as provided by law.

Fiscal Year:  December 31, 2008

Statement of Support and Revenue, Expenses, and Changes in Net Assets -- Cash Basis, As of December 31, 2008
UNRESTRICTED NET ASSETS
SUPPORT and REVENUE
    Contributions $734,571
    Donated Materials, Use of Facility and Services $441,804
    Fundraising $140,159
    Interest Income $48,664
    Net Assets Released from Restriction $64,688
        Total Unrestricted Support and Revenue $1,429,866
EXPENSES
    Grants $359,000
    Humanitarian Programs $215,402
    Fundraising $22,605
    Advertising $935
    Professional Fees $16,250
    Donated Materials, Use of Facility and Services $441,804
    Office Expenses $25,925
    Miscellaneous $10,050
        Total Expenses $1,091,971
        CHANGE IN UNRESTRICTED NET ASSETS $337,895
TEMPORARILY RESTRICTED NET ASSETS
    Contributions $72,776
    Net Assets Released from Restriction ($64,688)
        CHANGE IN TEMPORARILY UNRESTRICTED NET ASSETS $8,088


Statement of Activities, Liabilities and Net Assets -- Cash Basis, As of December 31, 2008
ASSETS
    Cash and Cash Equivalents $1,389,279
    Certificates of Deposit $552,624
        TOTAL ASSETS $1,941,903
LIABILITIES
NET ASSETS
    Unrestricted $1,070,434
    Unrestricted - Board Designated $849,500
    Temporarily Restricted $21,969
        TOTAL NET ASSETS $1,941,903
        TOTAL LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS $1,941,903

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