Rachel Leonard

Valley First Credit Union provides quality financial services to the growing and diverse communities of Calaveras, Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Tulare, and Tuolumne Counties of California. We are a not-for-profit financial cooperative that is owned by our members in the many communities we serve. Unlike banks who are in business for their stockholders, we are in business for our members. The money earned by banks is paid out to a few stockholders. We give the money back to our members in the form of higher dividend rates on savings and lower interest rates on loans. Additionally, the money deposited by credit union members is in turn loaned out to other members, incorporating the "People Helping People"​ philosophy. Our heritage began in 1949 when seven county employees formed the Stanislaus County Employees Federal Credit Union. Seven years later, eight Gallo Winery employees formed Gallo Employees Federal Credit Union. This was followed by the Gallo Glass Federal Credit Union organization in 1959. In an effort to increase assets and loan availability, the two Gallo credit unions merged in 1968 and eventually took on a new name in 1987, Vintage Federal Credit Union. Over the years, Stanislaus County Federal Credit Union and Vintage Federal Credit Union continued to add additional employee groups. In June of 1998, the Board of Directors of Stanislaus Federal Credit Union, along with Vintage Federal Credit Union, agreed to join together to become a new, bigger, and better credit union uniquely positioned to serve it's combined membership. On September 7, 1999 the two credit unions came together and under a State Charter, opened it's first branch at 1419 J Street in downtown Modesto, CA, as Valley First Credit Union.