If Casa Vigeo’s mission is to evangelize, why provide housing?

Casa Vigeo exists to evangelize Catholic families, providing tools for these families to deepen their faith, better their finances, and build community. While a family is enrolled, they will have access to program housing. Our model is similar to being a student in a University, where the student has access to housing, but only while the student is actively taking classes at the University. The University exists to educate the student, but chooses to provide housing because it sees housing as a value-added asset to the student. Our program families would not have the resources to complete the program if they were expected to continue paying high rents.

I’m a potential donor. Why should I make a donation to Casa Vigeo over another organization?

Thank you for considering supporting Casa Vigeo and its participating families! We understand there are myriad worthwhile faith-based organizations to which you could give. Our organization is very different (ground-breaking, you could say) in how it approaches support for Catholic families. We will pilot our program before expanding it, to be certain the funding you provide is put to the best use possible. We will regularly update our donors on the progress our program families are making. We believe our model is reproducible on a statewide and national level. We hope other dioceses will learn about Casa Vigeo’s successes and bring a similar program to its respective locales. This makes your and others’ donations even more valuable.

Isn’t Casa Vigeo’s program far too costly to be sustainable?

When we consider the landscape of supportive nonprofit programs here in San Francisco, Casa Vigeo’s cost is significantly lower per capita. The members of our Board of Directors volunteer their time, and our staffing will be minimal to keep administrative overhead as low as possible. Yes, the bulk of our funding will be used to offset the cost of our program housing, which is expensive. The impact we anticipate in supporting local property owners and providing a substantial budget surplus for our program families, simply put, is worth every penny. We trust God will provide donors to keep our organization going.

Why require Your program families to work on so many goals?

A great deal of effort must be made in order to remain in good standing in our program. The benefits are equally significant, as are the financial contributions made by our donors. By the time a family “graduates”, it will be significantly strengthened by a deeper commitment to the faith, being as close to debt-free as possible, and having formed life-long friendships. The impact of these successes will be felt for generations and naturally, success takes dedication and hard work. That being said, we do not want our program to be burdensome and our Program Coordinator will accompany each family through the whole process, helping to adjust goals as needed.

Should Casa Vigeo steward its finances better and negotiate Below market rate rents?

We understand that the residential rental market in San Francisco is one of the most expensive in the country. We also recognize that the costs of purchasing and adequately maintaining a property are also extremely high. Additionally, rental income is a vital income stream for many sole proprietors, particularly those living on fixed incomes. As such, property owners should be compensated fairly. We prefer to rent properties owned by families/small businesses vs corporations and will negotiate as fair a rental price as possible.

My family wants to join the program. What if we don’t want to/can’t stay in San Francisco long-term?

Great! We’d love to consider your application, which you can initiate here. Not every family will want or be able to live in SF for many years while they work through the program. Participation in our program is at-will, and if you need to unenroll for whatever reason, you can at any time. We believe even a year or two in our program will have a significant and lasting impact.

We’d like to join the program and are currently renting. If accepted, will we have to move?

Assuming you’re happy with where you’re currently living, we would love to discuss with your Landlord the possibility of Casa Vigeo becoming the leaseholder. We cannot guarantee he/she will agree to the terms of our rental agreement. If needed, we will do all that we can to secure another property that is suitable for your family, but recognize this process may take many months.