If you want to get something done at your church, you might think you have to do it yourself. But as St. Francis Episcopal Church in Eureka is learning, sometimes you can save time, money, and stress by paying someone in the secular world to get it done for you.
St. Francis leased space in their facility to a child care facility since 2018. Unfortunately, that business closed during the COVID pandemic. The congregation at St. Francis had hoped to restart the center themselves. But after almost three years, they decided it was time to pray about what to do with that space.
"The space was just sitting there and we knew we needed to use it well," said the Rev. Laurie Anzilotti, Vicar of St. Francis Church. "And it was clear we were not going to be able to open the child care center ourselves."
So Laurie and the congregation decided to put together a committee for leasing. That committee decided to hire a leasing agent as their broker. They found an agent who is a faithful Catholic, so helping the church aligned with his personal call. The agent worked on commission and agreed to let St. Francis pay in installments from the rent they would receive once the space was leased.
The broker was able to find a new tenant within five months. St. Francis found an attorney (who worked pro bono) to negotiate and draw up a lease that was beneficial to both parties. Bright Big Beginnings Daycare moved in and opened in May 2023.
Laurie says there are still challenges involved with leasing space in your facility, but dealing with those challenges has not been as difficult as she imagined. And she says even though using the broker is costing money, it's worth it if you can work with the right person.
"It's still an overall win. We found someone we never would have found," said Laurie. "This is a much better way to use the space, regardless of the income."
If you would like to learn more about how St. Francis used a broker to lease their space, contact the Rev. Laurie Anzilotti.
If you have an idea you would like to share, contact our diocesan communications director.