In a surprise bonus episdoe Mal & Kate talk with Jamie Finn . She is the author of the bestselling book , FostertheFamily , and Filled : 60DevotionsfortheFosterParent’sHeart . She is the founder and President of Foster the Family and Founder of the Filled Gathering . Her popular social media accounts offer a glimpse into the real life of a foster parent and provide encouragement to tens of thousands of foster and adoptive parents . Connect with your hosts! @malyourpal @katedawnduck Connect w...
Jul 07, 2025•38 min
This week Mal and Kate wrap up season 6. They spend time encouraging you the listener and share why they think pursuing "what breaks your heart" is so important. Connect with your hosts! @malyourpal @katedawnduck Connect with Funding Love! Website Instagram Facebook Support the show
Jun 30, 2025•20 min
On this weeks episode Mal and Kate have a conversation with Jen Wilhorn about parenting. They discuss topics that are great for any stage of parenting but especially if you are parenting through the teen years. Connect with your hosts! @malyourpal @katedawnduck Connect with Funding Love! Website Instagram Facebook Support the show...
Jun 23, 2025•47 min
On this weeks episode Mal and Kate talk with two of their dearest friends, husband and wife duo, Jody and Rachel Spain. The Spains share how they became involved with Funding Love and the importance of intentional generosity. We are so grateful for their generous hearts and for sharing so candidly about how they live and teach their boys to live with generously. Connect with Rachel and Jody on Instagram: @rachelspain81 @jodyspain Connect with your hosts! @malyourpal @katedawnduck Connect with Fu...
Jun 16, 2025•34 min
On this weeks episode Mal and Kate chat with friend and fellow adoptive mom, Jessica Ritchie. Jessica shares her journey to adoption and her heart for foster care. Jessica has big dreams for the foster community and she gives us some practical ways to support this community right where you are. We absolutely loved getting to know Jessica even better and we are so grateful for her heart to serve with us. Connect with Jessica on Instagram at @jlritchie23 Connect with your hosts! @malyourpal @kated...
Jun 09, 2025•48 min
On this weeks episode Mal and Kate share details about...Mal and Kate. In this lighthearted episode you'll get to know Mal and Kate a little bit better. We promise you'll laugh out loud in this episode of the Funding Love Podcast. Connect with your hosts! @malyourpal @katedawnduck Connect with Funding Love! Website Instagram Facebook Support the show...
Jun 02, 2025•30 min
On this weeks episode Mal and Kate read testimonies from Funding Love alumni. They share with us what happens in the hearts and minds of those that experience a Funding Love vacation. You'll want to grab a tissue and get ready to have your heart filled with the emotion of joy when they share story after story of life change. Connect with your hosts! @malyourpal @katedawnduck Connect with Funding Love! Website Instagram Facebook Support the show...
May 26, 2025•29 min
On this weeks episode Mal and Kate remind everyone of the adoption process and explain how Funding Love fits into it. It's a great reminder of why it's so important to support and be a part of the process no matter if you are directly connected to the adoption community or you know someone connected and it tugs at your heart strings. Connect with your hosts! @malyourpal @katedawnduck Connect with Funding Love! Website Instagram Facebook Support the show Support the show...
May 19, 2025•29 min
On April 25, we hosted our 3rd annual fundraising gala for the adoption community, A Night of Dreams! This elevated circus evening included everything from VIP offerings, silent and live auctions, awe-inspiring circus acts, and heartfelt, adoption-minded programming. This week, listen in as Mal and Kate recap the whole evening and announce just how much money was raised during their Night of Dreams! Be sure to also keep an ear out for next year's theme...we can't wait to see you there! Connect w...
May 12, 2025•25 min•Season 6Ep. 1
Mal + Kate are wrapping up Season 5 of the Funding Love Adoption Podcast with a recap of the 2025 Adoptive Family Vacation! Joining them are Funding Love Vacation Director, Sarah Basham, and Funding Love Director of Finance (who also traveled as a Magic Maker this trip), Jen McWilliams! Tune in as they share all about our 2025 AFV, the impact it made, and how our donors made this trip one of our most magical vacations yet! Connect with your hosts! @malyourpal @katedawnduck Connect with Funding L...
Mar 10, 2025•55 min•Season 5Ep. 9
This week, Mal + Kate welcome guest Janelle Basham to talk all about supporting the birth mom community. Janelle is the Executive Director of BraveLove, a nonprofit transforming the narrative of adoption by honoring birth mothers and fostering understanding through education, support, and storytelling. As a birth mom herself, Janelle brings passion and lived insight to her mission of empowering others and building bridges within the adoption community. With a background in private adoption and f...
Mar 03, 2025•35 min•Season 5Ep. 8
Your Season 5 BONUS EPISODE is here! This week, Mal + Kate talk with guest Shannon Scott, as she shares her story, heart for adoption, and involvement with Funding Love. Shannon Scott is a passionate Bible teacher with nearly 30 years of experience in ministry and leadership. She has a deep love for the local church and is particularly passionate about ministry to women, believing in the transformative power of God’s Word. After many years serving on church staff, Shannon now works with QAVA, a ...
Feb 24, 2025•43 min•Season 5Ep. 7
Funding Love LOVES birth moms. We believe they are worthy and deserving of post-adoption support. This week, Mal + Kate talk about how you can support your child’s birth moms, regardless of how open your adoption is. Connect with your hosts! @malyourpal @katedawnduck Connect with Funding Love! Website Instagram Facebook Support the show...
Feb 17, 2025•26 min•Season 5Ep. 6
In this episode of the Funding Love Adoption Podcast, Mal and Kate discuss what it looks like to bond with your newly adopted baby. They share their own experiences while giving a few tips they picked up along the way. Connect with your hosts! @malyourpal @katedawnduck Connect with Funding Love! Website Instagram Facebook Support the show...
Feb 10, 2025•20 min•Season 5Ep. 5
So you’ve been matched and have done your best to prepare your home for brand new baby. Now, the moment is here and expectant mom is delivering the baby! What does that look like? What is the right thing to do, say, expect? This week, Mal and Kate chat as Kate shares all about her hospital experiences as an adoptive mom and what to expect in the hospital when you’re adopting a new baby. Connect with your hosts! @malyourpal @katedawnduck Connect with Funding Love! Website Instagram Facebook Suppo...
Feb 03, 2025•26 min•Season 5Ep. 4
We’re right in the middle of Season 5 of the Funding Love Adoption Podcast, and this episode, Mal + Kate chat about what it looks like to prepare your home, heart, + family to bring home the baby you’ve been matched with. Connect with your hosts! @malyourpal @katedawnduck Connect with Funding Love! Website Instagram Facebook Support the show...
Jan 27, 2025•20 min•Season 5Ep. 3
This week in the Funding Love Adoption Podcast, Mal + Kate talk about what to expect when it comes to THE call; the call that all hopeful adoptive parents dream of hearing - “You’ve been matched!” Listen along as they share their encouragement, advice, and personal stories of getting THE call! Support the show
Jan 20, 2025•17 min•Season 5Ep. 2
Welcome to Season 5 of the Funding Love Podcast! In this first episode, Mal + Kate chat all about the new year for Funding Love and what to expect in this new season of podcast episodes. Listen along as they share their "words" for the year, share Funding Love's 2025 calendar of events, and give little hints from upcoming episodes. Connect with your hosts! @malyourpal @katedawnduck Connect with Funding Love! Website Instagram Facebook Support the show...
Jan 13, 2025•26 min•Season 5Ep. 1
The Book Club Crew is back for the FINAL episode of the Funding Love Book Club. This time, they are discussing Adoption Unfiltered: Revelations from Adoptees, Birth Parents, Adoptive Parents, and Allies. Adoption Unfiltered authors Sara Easterly (adoptee), Kelsey Vander Vliet Ranyard (birth parent), and Lori Holden (adoptive parent) interview dozens of adoptees, birth parents, adoptive parents, social workers, therapists, and other allies—all sharing candidly about the challenges in adoption. Wh...
Dec 23, 2024•55 min
The Funding Love Book Club Crew are back to discuss book three of 2024, To Have and Not To Hold by Lorri Antosz Benson. To Have and Not to Hold is the poignant account of Lorri's momentous decision to give her daughter for adoption, the resulting heartache, and later, the unexpected joy of reconnecting with her daughter and her daughter's adoptive mother. With agonizing yet heartwarming honesty, Lorri offers a profound look at a deep connection of two mothers that is born with the cry of a newbo...
Oct 17, 2024•1 hr 5 min
It’s week six, the FINAL episode in Season 4 of the Funding Love Adoption Podcast! This whole season, Mal + Kate have been talking about the PRE-finalization phase of adoption, and they are ending the season with an honest talk about open adoption. What IS open adoption? Why should you pursue it? How can you be honest with yourself and live out and open adoption well? Mal + Kate chat about all of this and MORE! Be sure to like, subscribe, and share. Connect with your hosts! @malyourpal @katedawn...
Oct 14, 2024•25 min•Season 4Ep. 6
It’s week 5 of Season 4 and today’s episode is all about fundraising for your adoption. Everyone knows adoption can be really expensive, but don’t let money be the reason you choose not to adopt. Tune in as Mal + Kate share their stories and brainstorm ways to fundraise for adoption. Connect with your hosts! @malyourpal @katedawnduck Connect with Funding Love! Website Instagram Facebook Support the show...
Oct 07, 2024•17 min•Season 4Ep. 5
It’s time for another BONUS EPISODE of the Funding Love Adoption Podcast! This week, Mal + Kate talk with returning guest, Funding Love Birth Mom Vacation Alumna, and author of The Sixteenth Year: An Open Adoption Memoir, Leah Outten. Leah reflects on her experience as an expectant mom looking through profile books to choose a family for her baby. She also give practical advice to those that are considering adoption and are looking for tips on how to create a profile book that is unique to your ...
Oct 03, 2024•29 min
So you made it through the home study, and now it's time to get matched with an expectant mama and baby. But HOW do you do that? This week, Mal + Kate talk all about adoption profile book; what are they, and how do you create one that is eye-catching, but honest? Tune in to hear all their tips and advice. Connect with your hosts! @malyourpal @katedawnduck Connect with Funding Love! Website Instagram Facebook Support the show Support the show...
Sep 30, 2024•24 min•Season 4Ep. 4
On this episode of the Funding Love Adoption Podcast, Mal + Kate discuss those awful, dreaded, hairy, scary HOME STUDIES! Tune in to get questions answered and fear alleviated, as the ladies share the truth that home studies really aren't that bad. Connect with your hosts! @malyourpal @katedawnduck Connect with Funding Love! Website Instagram Facebook Support the show...
Sep 23, 2024•26 min•Season 4Ep. 3
It's Week 2 of Season 4, as Mal + Kate continue in the mission of helping you to navigate the beginning stages of adoption. This week, they share all of the different types of adoption that exist, while sharing about adoption ethics and red flags to look for, not only in agencies + consultants, but in yourself, as well. Connect with your hosts! @malyourpal @katedawnduck Connect with Funding Love! Website Instagram Facebook Support the show Support the show...
Sep 16, 2024•25 min•Season 4Ep. 2
The 2024 Birth Mom Vacation has come to an end, and for this week's BONUS Episode Mal + Kate invite Funding Love's Vacation Director, Sarah Basham, along with all three 2024 Birth Mom Vacation Magic Makers, Audra, Jess, and Sara, to debrief the trip and share their experiences with these incredible women. Connect with Funding Love! Website Instagram Facebook Support the show Support the show...
Sep 12, 2024•28 min
Welcome back to the Funding Love Adoption Podcast with Mal + Kate! Season 4 is the launch of a fresh start with a fresh look! Throughout Season 4, you can expect a focus on the PRE-adoption journey. Mal + Kate will be covering topics like home studies, profile books, and choosing open adoption. This week, they are talking about their own adoption journeys and WHY they chose to build their families through adoption. They also chat about some practical questions to ask yourself, as you considering...
Sep 09, 2024•20 min•Season 4Ep. 1
A wise man named Walt Disney once said, "Times and conditions change so rapidly that we must keep our aim constantly focused on the future." THAT is what we want to do at Funding Love: focus on the future and be willing to shift and change when growth is knocking. On this weeks episode, Mal + Kate announce a break from recoding after over two years of consistent Monday releases. Tune in as they share what's coming next for Funding Love and the Funding Love Podcast. Connect with your hosts! @maly...
Jul 01, 2024•13 min•Season 3Ep. 118
The Book Club Crew is back together for PART 2 of "You Should Be Grateful": Stories of Race, Identity, and Transracial Adoption by Angela Tucker. “Your parents are so amazing for adopting you! You should be grateful that you were adopted.” Angela Tucker is a Black woman, adopted from foster care by white parents. She has heard this microaggression her entire life, usually from well-intentioned strangers who view her adoptive parents as noble saviors. She is grateful for many aspects of her life,...
Jun 24, 2024•48 min•Season 3Ep. 117
