origin Story of financial catalyst
Financial Catalyst was born from a simple but weighty question:
Could there be a more strategic way to meet the economic needs of our city? What if an organization could work alongside our neighbors after they receive relief and rehabilitation efforts?
Across Dallas, much of the work addressing our neighbors needs fell into two vital categories, relief and rehabilitation. Relief met urgent needs like food, shelter, and safety. Rehabilitation walked with people through addiction recovery, trauma healing, and reentry after incarceration. Both were essential expressions of compassion and remain critical today.
Yet leaders at Watermark Church began to sense a gap.
What if there was a way to not only help people survive a crisis or recover from harm, but also empower them with the tools to build a future? What if an organization could collaborate with relief and rehab partners while also offering pathways that removed barriers instead of merely managing them?
That question marked the beginning of Watermark Community Development Corporation’s first initiative, Financial Catalyst. Financial Catalyst teaches biblical stewardship principles through relational discipleship, financial education, and empowerment.
From Barriers to Opportunity
As leaders listened to neighbors and partner organizations across the city, one barrier surfaced repeatedly: transportation.
What leaders learned was that 65% of neighbors served lacked access to a vehicle. In a metroplex like Dallas–Fort Worth, that single barrier carried enormous weight. Without a car, many neighbors relied on public transportation systems that failed to reach job centers, medical appointments, or childcare options. Commutes of up to two hours each way were common—stealing precious time from lives already stretched thin. Transportation wasn’t just inconvenient; it was a major obstacle. Solving it could unlock access to employment, stability, and dignity.
Rather than simply providing vehicles, the team worked backward to build a strong foundation:
Savings habits had to be formed
Financial education had to come first
Support systems had to surround the process
Long-term stewardship had to be taught
Financial barriers our neighbors faced had to be addressed with a tangible way forward
Matched Savings: A Two-Fold Vision
Financial Catalyst formally launched with two intertwined components:
Financial education and discipleship
Matched savings toward a tangible asset
As the initiative grew, it became clear that deeper expertise was needed to support neighbors navigating increasingly complex financial decisions. In 2022, Seanay Singleton and Hannah Pickle joined the team to lead and strengthen Financial Catalyst’s growing impact in South and North Dallas.
While vehicles were changing lives, another realization emerged: transportation was only one piece of the puzzle. Housing quickly surfaced as a crisis, particularly for neighbors reentering society after incarceration, many of whom faced rejection after rejection due to their background.
One neighbor, Dezi, applied to more than 30 housing options and was turned away from all of them. She shares:
“At the end of Financial Catalyst, because of what I had saved and what Watermark CDC had matched, I was able to purchase my home. In addiction for so long, I lost everything so many times. I never had a home that I called my own; it was refreshing to know there was a program and people out there who really care.”
Within the first year, Financial Catalyst expanded to include additional assets such as housing, education and small business startups.
What began with vehicles had become a holistic framework for economic mobility.
Education as a Catalyst
Financial Catalyst partnered with the Chalmers Center and implemented Faith & Finances, a curriculum designed to equip people with practical financial tools grounded in dignity, agency, and biblical stewardship. Under Singleton’s direction, Financial Catalyst expanded the curriculum to add additional educational resources, such as the implementation of seminars for continued education.
This pairing was delivered alongside trusted partners, relief organizations, reentry programs, and ministries already walking closely with neighbors rebuilding their lives.
The belief was simple but profound:
When people are empowered with knowledge, and the tools to move forward, economic transformation is possible.
Financial education wasn’t theoretical. It was practical and immediate. As neighbors learned to budget, save, repair credit, and steward resources wisely, retention increased and confidence grew. Education became the spark that turned possibility into action.
Still, as the team dug deeper into the needs of our neighbors, they realized neighbors needed more than funding—they needed guidance. The program was restructured to include asset-specific training, coaching, and bank partnerships so neighbors felt equipped to take ownership of their next steps.
As these structures were put in place, more neighbors completed the program, made purchases, and remained engaged leading to the strong retention and the waiting list Financial Catalyst sees today.
Over the past five years, Financial Catalyst has walked alongside hundreds of neighbors through financial education, helping make possible 155 asset purchases totaling $1,208,468 in matched funds.
Banking on Redemption
From the beginning, Financial Catalyst intentionally invited banks into the story.
Banks have often been associated with systemic challenges like redlining and unequal access to capital. But Financial Catalyst held a different conviction: banks could be part of a redemption story for the city of Dallas.
Two early partners stepped into that vision:
Huntington Bank (formerly Veritex Community Bank)
TBK Bank (formerly Triumph Bank)
These partners held matched savings funds, advised on asset strategy, offered expertise around the Community Reinvestment Act, and helped shape the program as it expanded. Their willingness to build alongside the organization allowed Financial Catalyst to grow responsibly and sustainably.
Volunteers: The Engine of the Ministry
If Financial Catalyst has a secret ingredient, it isn’t funding or curriculum—it’s people.
Volunteers facilitate classes, mentor during savings phases, teach asset-specific education, and walk with neighbors through moments of discouragement and celebration. It takes roughly 25 volunteers over 15 months to serve a single class of 20 stewards.
Volunteer Kevin Grainer, a loan consultant who teaches credit-building, describes it this way:
“The participants’ deep commitment and desire to learn keep me coming back. Watching the lightbulb moments—when real-life skills click—is incredibly rewarding. The knowledge gained here impacts not just individuals, but their families and future generations.”
Participants consistently name community as the most meaningful part of Financial Catalyst—being seen, known, and supported. Transformation happens financially, spiritually, and relationally.
The Fruit That Multiplies
The story doesn’t end with asset purchases or financial education.
The most powerful fruit of Financial Catalyst is indigenous leadership. Graduates return as mentors, volunteers, and facilitators—neighbors becoming leaders in their own communities. Alfredo. Dezi. Ernesto. Davina (pictured above).
One participant who came back to volunteer, Fred Molinar, reflected on both his experience in Financial Catalyst and his desire to continue serving with the program. When asked why he chose to serve and what he has gained, he shared:
“As a participant I learned, and I believe Financial Catalyst is Christ centered. Like all things that are Christ centered, the true gift is when you are able to serve others. It was a no brainer. I have learned what true liberty is when the Lord is honored with everything in our lives. Especially when it comes to money. Money can be deceptive like the heart. The most valuable lesson I learned was that everything I receive is not my money, it is money I am called to be a steward of, for the Lord! What begins in a classroom flows into households, neighborhoods, and future generations”.
The Heart of the Financial Catalyst
Financial Catalyst exists because Watermark Community Development Corporation chose dignity, development, and discipleship.
It is a story of collaboration between churches, banks, nonprofits, volunteers, and neighbors. It is a story of empowerment rooted in faith. And it is a story still being written, one steward, one family, and one neighborhood at a time.