MAKING GOOD HAPPEN FOR OUR MEMBERS AND COMMUNITY

When I became President and CEO of Valley First Credit Union in May 2019, I promised to continue to pursue our number one goal—serving our membership and communities. As I reflect on the past three and a half years, I believe we have made great strides toward our goal.

The thing about our goal, though, is that we will never reach it. We are constantly striving to improve our service to our members and community. Like the North Star shining brightly in the sky guiding explorers at night, our goal is always there, guiding us. In this past year we put a name on this goal: Making Good Happen.

Making Good Happen means serving our members and helping them achieve their goals for financial independence.

Making Good Happen means supporting the communities we call home by supporting small businesses and providing access to financial services to people who have lacked equal access.

Making Good Happen means volunteering our time and talents to conduct financial literacy classes, participating in community cleanup efforts, and donating to community-minded organizations in the Central Valley.

Serving Members

Valley First now serves more than 80,000 members in 12 counties in the Central Valley, from Sacramento County in the north to Kern County in the south.

In 2022, we gave members more than $431,000 in cash back through various financial products—an 18% increase over 2021. We also paid more than $1.4 million in dividends to members. Perhaps it is not surprising our member service achieved a Member Satisfaction Score of 88%.

Serving the Underserved

As a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), Valley First is charged with generating economic growth and opportunity in economically disadvantaged communities with programs that inject new sources of capital into neighborhoods that lack access to financing.

Under CDFI status, Valley First received a $5 million mission-based deposit from Oak Valley Community Bank and two Treasury Department grants totaling more than $600,000 for our Small Dollar Loans and Quick Loans to help members avoid going to check cashers/payday lenders.

We also received Low Income Designation status in 2022, which expands access to capital for small businesses and others who have been underserved in low-income communities. Based on data from the Census Bureau, 67% of our members are designated as low income.

Supporting the Valley’s Small Businesses

In 2022, we opened a Small Business Development Center office powered by Valley Sierra SBDC inside the Turlock Branch to connect local entrepreneurs with resources and expanded our small business banking program with new products/services to help fill a much-needed credit gap in our community.

Within this annual report you will find more tangible examples of how we are Making Good Happen in the lives of our members and the communities we serve.

Thank you to all our members, employees, and volunteer leaders for your dedication to Valley First. Here’s to continued organizational and personal financial health in 2023!

Kathryn J. Davis, CCE PRESIDENT & CEO VALLEY FIRST CREDIT UNION