At ConceiveAbilities, we work tirelessly to help hopeful people build families which includes identifying those women with the inclination and qualifications to help others by serving as surrogates and egg donors. We strive to be a force for good in the broader field of fertility and partner with others who share these aims.
To that end, just in time for Mothers Day 2021, we are so very proud to share our partnership with the Chicago Coalition for Family Building. President and founder, Dr. Eve Feinberg of Northwestern Fertility and Reproductive Medicine and Vice President Dr. Jennifer Hirshfeld-Cytron of Fertility Centers of Illinois recently sat down with us to share their mission to help make dreams of family-building come true.
The Coalition has brought together over 10 Chicago fertility clinics, leading Reproductive Endocrinologists, and many surrogate professionals and agencies including ConceiveAbilities to help support one mission: to provide financial assistance to individuals or couples who are struggling to afford fertility treatment or adoption. To date, the Coalition has given 92 grants with 46 live births to date.
In 2021, the Coalition anticipates giving out 21 grants, which will be its biggest year so far, which includes the Deborah Frank Memorial Grant. Deborah Frank, unfortunately, lost her life to uterine cancer. Her family set up a fund to help others who want to become parents in her honor and provides up to $50,000 for an individual or family embarking on a surrogacy journey. This grant helps couples with costs including medical fees to create a healthy embryo through in-vitro fertilization, agency fees to find the surrogate, a stipend for the surrogate herself, and fees for psychological assessments, legal work, insurance, and escrow fees.
If you are using a gestational carrier to build your family and live in Illinois or the surrounding states, hear from Dr. Feinberg more about the Deborah Frank Memorial Grant.
If you are a member of the Chicagoland Jewish community, you may be eligible for the grants funded by the Jewish United Fund.
In addition to the surrogacy grant, Dr. Feinberg also told us about family building grants that are also available to help defray costs of infertility treatments.
The Chicago Coalition for Family Building is accepting applications for all grants now through June 1, 2021. Learn more about the grants available and how to apply here.
And, perhaps as the most important gift in helping others who need assistance to build their family do so, if you are a woman that is interested in being a surrogate, please consider applying today.
We are thankful for the women who choose to be gestational carriers every day. In tribute to the women who give the gift of family on this Mother’s Day 2021, ConceiveAbilities has made a generous donation to the Deborah Frank Memorial Grant.