“As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”
1 Peter 4:10
BECAUSE, GOD.
At the core is a love already given — not something to be earned, but something to be lived from. From that love comes the conviction that every person possesses inherent dignity, that our lives are meant to be lived in relationship with one another, and that what we have been given — our time, resources, knowledge, influence and opportunity — carries with it a responsibility to serve.
We believe a meaningful life cannot be manufactured for someone. It must be chosen.
People flourish when they have genuine relationships, meaningful opportunities, a wider view of what life can be, and enough freedom to decide for themselves what they will do with it.
Volition is taking what we have been given and doing what we can with it, in the time that we have here. It is choosing to build not only for those who are here today, but to steward what can be handed to those who come after us.
That is volition.
And for us, it begins with Christ.
This House is for everyone.
House Volition is a coalition of people and institutions who choose to live in service of something larger than themselves.
Service can mean capital, knowledge, experience, relationships, facilities, land, technology, professional expertise, institutional capacity, time, or the ability to solve one difficult problem well. Different people carry different things. The strength of the House comes from bringing those capacities into meaningful relationship around work worth doing.
A church may bring generations of trust within a community. A foundation may bring patient capital and deep knowledge of a field. A university may bring research and teaching. A family office may bring judgment, access and the ability to move decisively. A professional firm may contribute expertise that raises the standard of everything that follows. An individual may simply know something, own something, or be able to introduce someone the work needs.
People arrive by different roads, carrying different convictions, faiths, experiences, means, traditions and reasons for serving. The House is made stronger by what each brings with them.
What holds us together is volition: the choice to place something of value in service of work larger than any one of us.
THE FOUNDATIONS OF A MORE HUMAN CIVILIZATION
There is a world where people know one another well enough to notice who is missing, where entering a new season of life means finding new people and responsibilities rather than losing the ones that gave life shape before it.
It is a place where cities contain more than housing, employment and entertainment. They contain communities with memory. There are tables people return to, rooms where introductions become friendships, work worth contributing to, people several steps ahead who are willing to teach, and people several steps behind who are worth turning back for.
Knowledge moves through this place as something living. Experience accumulated over decades does not disappear when a career ends or a generation passes. People learn from those who have done the work, test what they receive against reality, improve it, and carry the useful parts forward. Capability grows alongside judgment. Education remains connected to life.
Land is worked and cared for. People understand what it takes to sustain households, communities and the places they inherit. Work produces tangible things. Hospitality has a table. Stewardship has consequences that can be seen, lived and handed forward.
Across cultures, nations, institutions and traditions, people meet without first needing to be alike. There is enough shared life to know one another as people, and enough confidence in their own identities to encounter someone else without needing to erase theirs.
At the largest scale, this place is connected across cities, countries and generations. Knowledge travels. Relationships cross borders. Institutions remember what individuals cannot. Capital remains available to solve patient problems and improve quality of life. Good work survives the people who began it and becomes a stronger starting point for those who come next.
At the smallest scale, it is simply an individual having somewhere to go, someone knowing their name, an invitation arriving at the right time, a relationship deepening through repeated contact, useful knowledge passing from one person to another, someone being trusted with responsibility they are ready to carry, a meal shared, work completed together, land left better than it was found, and people with different lives remaining in relationship long enough and safe enough to understand one another more fully.
This world is incredibly hard-earned; the accumulated inheritance of countless generations of struggle, sacrifice and service.
The communities and institutions we build today are the foundations of that tomorrow. House Volition exists to build these foundations.
THE ARCHITECTURE
House Volition begins by choosing a city with intention. We look at our systems and expertise and determine which locations and communities have the strongest alignment and the most fertile ground for the work.
Then we study the people, history, institutions, existing networks and character of the area, spending time and building relationships with the young adults who live there and with the community and leadership already invested in their lives. Listening comes before design. All work begins with being present.
From there, we work with young adults and community pillars to discern what structures, resources and connections are already available. The answer will not be identical from city to city. The purpose is to understand what people already have, what they value, what is missing and where a new institution can serve without flattening the character of the community around it. It is our ability to communicate across divides that multiplies resources and minimizes costs.
An operating plan emerges from more than two decades of experience carried forward from The Optimus Consultant Group, from what other communities have already learned, and from the knowledge of people who understand the place better than we do. Strategy, leadership, hiring, training, communications, events, systems, technology, measurement and implementation become tools in service of what the community itself reveals.
Around that work, House Volition builds the coalition: young adults, churches and faith communities, philanthropy, civic and public leadership, businesses, institutions, professionals and individual citizens from very different places recognizing a clear cause worth serving together. The coalition is built through giving, introductions, communication, shared knowledge and the patient work of bringing people into useful relationship with one another.
Together, we capitalize the initiative and build it. We source the people, skills, tools, training and institutional knowledge required for the work to function at a high standard, then develop the local leadership and operating capacity required for it to stand on its own. In some places, House Volition remains involved through capitalization and endowment so that independence is supported by durable financial footing.
Sovereignty is part of the architecture. The institutions developed carry their own leadership, governance, relationships, knowledge and resources so the community itself can carry the institution forward. House Volition remains in relationship, continues learning from what the institution becomes, and carries those lessons into the work that follows.
Common initiative elements include communication and leadership development, entrepreneurship, art and music, mental-health resources, events and safe spaces, volunteering, service and deeper participation in community life.
The purpose remains clear: build something useful, equip people to carry it, and leave the community with more capacity than it had when the work began.
Results.
Experiences.
House Volition creates non-denominational, non-preaching, non-prescriptive young adult experiences alongside major global events, culture and destinations. But the event itself is only the beginning.
Before and during our time in a community, we meet with local churches, philanthropists, organizers and Christ-centered organizations to understand what young adults there actually need, what is already working, and where we may be useful. We bring those people together through dinners, galas, masterminds and private gatherings, creating relationships and sharing the tools, systems and experience we have developed.
The goal is not to arrive with a predetermined model. It is to listen, facilitate and help local leaders build something lasting — whether that becomes an ongoing young adult community, a retreat, a community center or something entirely unique to that place.
We create the experience to open the door. What comes next should belong to the community.
Philanthropy.
Ultimately we are building for a much longer horizon — forging places dedicated to gathering, learning, hospitality, diplomacy, stewardship, sustenance and service across communities and cultures for generations to come.
Everything we do is to the same end- to steward what has been entrusted to us — our work, experience, relationships, resources and opportunity — into passionate communities, enduring institutions, meaningful work and real opportunity for others; multiplying what we have been given in service to Christ, one another and the generations that follow.
Our Volition Foundation creates and supports institutions architected to serve people for generations.
Our work includes building cross-denominational communities and safe third spaces for young adults globally, locally operated organic farms built around work, sustenance and stability, diplomacy houses created for hospitality and relationship across political and ideological divides, and a formal youth academy focused on accurately restoring the prominence of art, history, diplomacy and culture from throughout the world.
At the center of this work is The Hope Archive, our commitment to documenting and preserving the people, organizations and initiatives we encounter along the way including our work, our clients’ work and the Foundation’s creations. The mission of the archive is to retain an accurate, living record for future generations to remember what was built, who we serve, and why it matters.
FOUNDERS.
NICOLE VASSAR
Growing up in San Diego, Nicole was surrounded by the warmth and chaos of a large Filipino family. Her grandmother taught her the power of faith, kindness, and hard work, introducing her to Jesus, who remains the foundation of everything she does.
Nicole’s career has spanned hospitality, marketing, human resources, consulting, systems, and leadership, with much of her work centered on developing people and shaping culture. Combined with a B.S. in Sociology from UC San Diego, those experiences gave her a deep understanding of how relationships and community can transform our trajectories. She co-founded House Volition to bring that understanding to life, beginning with HV’s first community initiative, SD20s.
Her journey has taught her that when we are deeply loved, we are empowered to discover who we are called to be. With House Volition, her mission is to extend that foundation beyond young adults, strengthening Christ-centered organizations, investing in youth around the world, and inspiring people to dream bigger about their lives, their impact, and who they can become.
C.H. McCray
In 2026, C.H. made the decision to bring his active tenure with The OCG to a close and redirect the experience, systems, relationships, and capabilities developed through that chapter toward a more deliberate purpose.
At the center of that decision was his commitment to Christ. Rather than separating his faith from his professional life, C.H. chose to place his work, judgment, experience, and future initiatives in service of it. For him, the transition was not a rejection of what had been built through The OCG, but a decision about what those abilities would be used for next.
That work now continues through House Volition, where C.H. serves as a Board Member and Principal Advisor. House Volition carries forward many of the strategic, organizational, sales, marketing, leadership, and systems capabilities developed over years of work through The OCG, with a particular dedication to serving churches, nonprofits, and other Christ-centered organizations and initiatives.
C.H.’s role is focused on helping leaders strengthen the strategy, systems, decision-making, communication, organizational capacity, and human infrastructure behind the work they are called to do.
