Casas por Cristo

What Casas por Cristo does

Casas por Cristo is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1993 and headquartered in El Paso, Texas, that organizes short-term mission trips in which volunteer groups build single-family homes for impoverished families in Latin America. The organization operates five field locations across four countries: Ciudad Juárez and Ciudad Acuña in México, San Raymundo in Guatemala, Santiago in the Dominican Republic, and Marcala in Honduras. Since founding, it has delivered over 7,000 homes, typically to families earning approximately $60 per week or less, with a standardized one-week build cycle using volunteer labor that requires no prior construction experience.

The core product is the Group Mission Trip (groups of 15-25 paying a project fee of $11,100-$12,425 depending on location and year), supplemented by Team Casas individual trips ($1,080-$1,340 per person on scheduled departures), free scouting trips for prospective church leaders, and ancillary paid add-ons including meal plans, van reservations, lodging upgrades, and family gift items such as beds, mini-split AC units, and eco-filters. Revenue is generated through these trip fees plus donations and missionary support, with staff missionaries raising the majority of their own salaries through personal fundraising. The organization is ECFA-accredited and operates a structured internship-to-residency-to-staff talent pipeline, with development coordinators actively recruiting new church partners at conferences and through referrals.

The go-to-market motion is community-led and event-driven: Development Coordinators conduct direct outreach to U.S. and Canadian churches, the organization attends the International Conference on Missions and similar events, free scouting trips reduce buyer friction for group leaders, and a Legacy Program offers $1,000 credit to volunteers who recruit new teams. A network of more than 150 local pastors across the five field locations identifies recipient families and sustains ongoing ministry relationships. Leadership is stable, with David Robertson as President & CEO (joined 2005) and Jason Laffan as Senior Vice President of Operations (since 1999).

Name

Casas por Cristo

Legal name

Casas por Cristo

Website

https://casasporcristo.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Casas por Cristo is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1993 that organizes week-long volunteer mission trips from U.S. and Canadian churches to build homes for impoverished families across five locations in México, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, and Honduras.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Mission Trip Services

NAICS

New Single-Family Housing Construction (except For-Sale Builders) (236115)

SIC

Services-To Dwellings & Other Buildings (7340)

akta.pro primary industry

Affordable Housing & Community Development (Housing, Community Land Trusts) (BPAGALAC)

Keywords

• Short-term mission trips
• Volunteer home building
• Nonprofit housing ministry
• Faith-based mission services
• Latin America construction

Headquarters

HQ city

El Paso

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Group Mission Trip Project Fees: Volunteer groups pay project fees that cover home building materials. Costs range from $11,100-$12,425 depending on location and year. These fees are the primary revenue stream that funds the home construction.
2. Individual Team Casas Trip Fees: Individual volunteers pay all-inclusive trip fees ranging from $1,080-$1,340 per person depending on location, covering meals, transportation, lodging, and insurance.
3. Donations and Missionary Support: The organization operates as a nonprofit where staff missionaries fundraise the majority of their salaries through donations from friends, family, churches, and supporters. Donations also support the general ministry operations.
4. Ancillary Services: Additional revenue from optional add-ons including meal plans ($34-35/person/day), van reservations ($205-225/van/day), premium lodging upgrades, family gifts, and local labor hire.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Casas por Cristo organizes short-term mission trips for volunteer groups and individuals to build concrete-foundation homes for impoverished families in five locations across Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic. The organization handles all logistics including lodging, meals, transportation, and on-ground construction guidance, partnering with over 150 local pastors who identify recipient families and facilitate ongoing ministry. Operating as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit since 1993, the organization has provided over 7,000 homes through church-organized group trips and individual Team Casas trips.

Product overview

Casas por Cristo offers short-term mission trip experiences for building homes for families in need across Latin America. The core product consists of three trip types: Group Trips (for teams of 15+ people), Team Casas Individual Trips (for solo travelers matched with others), and Scouting Trips (free evaluation trips for trip leaders). Supporting offerings include a Mission Trip Cost Calculator for budget planning, Family Gift Options (add-on items for recipient families), a Legacy Program (recruitment incentives), Planned Giving options (endowment and bequest programs), and structured Internship and Residency Programs for those seeking longer-term involvement. The organization operates across five locations: Juárez and Acuña (México), San Raymundo (Guatemala), Santiago (Dominican Republic), and Marcala (Honduras).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Team Casas: Individual trip program that allows individuals without a group to join and build homes alongside other individual volunteers.
• Las Brisas

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 7,000 families provided with homes since 1993
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Local Pastors and Churches (150+)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOver 150 local pastors across Mexico, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, and Honduras form the backbone of the ministry. They identify families in need, submit home applications, visit families before and after construction, and serve as the primary gospel-sharing connection point. Monthly pastor meetings foster community among ministry partners.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Habitat for Humanity: Global nonprofit building affordable housing through volunteer labor; most direct comparable given shared homebuilding mission and volunteer-driven model across multiple countries.
• Adventures in Missions: Short-term mission trip organization offering faith-based service experiences for groups and individuals, including construction-focused trips in Latin America — closely matching Casas's product and customer base.
• e3 Partners (Missions.Me): Short-term mission trip facilitator partnering with US churches for evangelism and service trips, frequently including construction; comparable channel and customer overlap.
• Praying Pelican Missions: Faith-based organization coordinating short-term mission trips including homebuilding and church-partner models; directly comparable in trip format, church-channel GTM, and pricing structure.
• YWAM (Youth With A Mission): Global Christian mission organization with short-term outreach teams, discipleship training schools, and field locations across Latin America; comparable in evangelical mission-trip DNA and volunteer base.
• Mission Discovery: Short-term mission trip facilitator for church youth groups including construction-based trips in Latin America; directly comparable customer (church youth leaders) and trip format.
• GIVE International: Faith-based organization facilitating volunteer mission trips with construction and community-development components in developing countries; similar volunteer-driven homebuilding model.

Broad incumbents

• Compassion International: Faith-based child sponsorship organization operating extensively in Latin America; overlaps in evangelical donor base and Latin America service footprint, though not homebuilding-focused.
• World Vision: Major Christian humanitarian organization with sponsorship, community development, and disaster response across Latin America; comparable faith-based nonprofit donor overlap but broader mandate.
• Samaritan's Purse: Large evangelical nonprofit with disaster relief, construction (Operation Christmas Child), and international projects; overlaps in evangelical donor base and Latin America presence but operates at much larger scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CasasporCristo
• YouTubeyoutube.com/casasporcristo
• Facebookfacebook.com/casasporcristo
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/casas-por-cristo
• Instagraminstagram.com/casasporcristo

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Casas por Cristo