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Secure the Future of Adoption

In December 2020, National Council For Adoption announced the launch of the Families For All Development Fund, generously founded with a leadership gift equal to ten percent of our fundraising goal by Dr. Wayne Winston and Mrs. Linda Whitbeck Sharp.

For more than forty years, NCFA has been the nation’s leading authority on adoption. In that time, we have seen the adoption world change many times. From the crash in intercountry adoptions to the rise of the opioid crisis and the coronavirus pandemic we have seen the need for a robust adoption community - and have seen how strong leadership makes the difference in ensuring that children in need of loving families have the chance to find them.

Under Dr. and Mrs. Sharp's leadership, the Families For All Development Fund is a professionally-managed long-term-investment fund that helps NCFA to meet the following strategic goals:

  • Ensure long-term stability for key initiatives like NCFA’s research efforts, federal and international policy advocacy, capacity-building support to member agencies, and education for prospective and current adoptive parents.
  • Offer a financial backstop to ensure that important new programs are fully implemented in a timely fashion to meet emerging needs and opportunities.
  • Provide supporters with assurance of NCFA’s long-term financial sustainability and confidence in their own philanthropic investments.

In recognition of Dr. and Mrs. Sharp's vision in establishing the Fund, the capstone to their three-and-a-half decades of involvement with the adoption community, NCFA honored them with the Ruby Lee Piester Adoption Award, our highest award for a lifetime of service. The award was presented in April 2022, with Dr. Sharp named as NCFA's first Director Emeritus and Ambassador for Adoption. In turn, the Sharps have challenged NCFA's supporters to reach a goal of raising $1 million for the Fund by the time of our 45th anniversary in 2025.

Supporting the Families For All Development Fund

To help us meet the ambitious and exciting challenge that Dr. and Mrs. Sharp have set, those who make a gift or written pledge to the Fund by April 30, 2025 will be recognized in perpetuity at our headquarters office in Alexandria, Virginia as Charter Contributors to the Fund.

Donations to the Fund may be made by check mailed to National Council For Adoption, 431 N. Lee Street, Alexandria, VA 22314 (please note "FFA Dev. Fund" in the memo line of your check; by credit card or ACH transfer from your bank account at this link; by donation of appreciated stock or other securities; or by a planned gift to the Lou Stern Legacy Society.

To learn more, discuss giving options, or make your gift or pledge, please contact Megan Judt, NCFA's Director of Development, at mjudt@adoptioncouncil.org or 703.299.6633.