A letter from The executive Director
Dear Watermark CDC supporters,
We are excited to celebrate 5 years of Watermark Community Development Corporation!
Over our first 5 years, we have consistently seen God’s direction, provision, and faithfulness. This is a significant milestone in our history as an organization. We look forward to celebrating with you over the next few months.
The journey of starting a new organization, while trailblazing a different model, with all the initial team member roles, volunteer responsibilities, and more, has not been easy. Yet, we see the beauty of God’s faithfulness in this joyful, tough, exciting, and impactful adventure.
In our first year, we desired to prayerfully seek God’s direction and guidance with establishing our vision, mission, and model. Our vision is “Transform Economic Welfare” based on Jeremiah 29:7 – “seek the welfare of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare.” We desire to be a praying people who seek the needs of our neighbors.
Our mission is to further the name of Jesus by deploying His people and resources to meet the most strategic and transformational economic needs in our community. There is great work being done in our city of Dallas in the areas of relief – food, water, shelter, safety – and rehabilitation – trauma recovery and addiction. We saw a significant gap in the area of development, so we positioned our model and efforts to empower neighbors with innovative economic solutions that lead to a transformed life.
We raised the initial funds to prove this vision, mission, and model with the goal of launching three distinct initiatives in years one through three to meet neighbor’s needs. We did not want to be redundant or duplicate the efforts of others. We don’t see ourselves as the whole wheel—just one spoke in the movement of love and restoration happening across our city. Countless organizations are doing incredible work, and we’re honored to be one of many coming alongside our neighbors in meaningful ways. Together, we’re stronger. We are simply one of many contributors loving our neighbors.
In years one through three, we launched our first three economic solutions. We started with financial education cohorts and a robust matched savings program known as Financial Catalyst. This is where neighbors learn finances, build habits to save, and purchase a life changing asset after a 2:1 match by our organization. Next, through the Job Connection Program, we provided a job readiness cohort with the goal to equip and train neighbors as they step into the workforce. Then, neighbors receive support with job placement, career coaching, and ongoing career care. Finally, The Business Cohort began to faithfully equip business owners & accelerate the growth and success of their businesses. We are committed to long-term relationships and economic development through the influence of their businesses. We will share more of the origin stories and impact of each initiative in the months to come.
At the heart of each solution is a desire to provide economic sustainability with 1 Thessalonians 2:8 discipleship. We not only want to share the Gospel but our lives together, too. We all have gifts, skills, and abilities to use for God’s purposes in the world. Our goal is to empower each other to discover those purposes for His glory.
In years four and five, we have focused on both improving each initiative day by day and establishing the core competency of our organizational infrastructure. To steward the organization for the marathon of impact, not simply a sprint or flash of activity, we built out efforts and processes around finances, data, human resources, and more. Now, we are prepared and positioned to grow and scale the impact of the organization as God leads us to serve our neighbors who are on waiting lists to be empowered.
These past five years have been a journey of growth, impact, and community building that have shaped who we are and amplified our mission to further the name of Jesus. We are deeply grateful for your partnership in prayer, volunteer service, and finance to love our city through innovative economic solutions.
“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” Ephesians 3:20
Exciting days are ahead!
Carson Smith
Watermark CDC Executive Director