Message from our CEO: Fall Givebacks and Success

Dear Fellow Members,

As we welcome the fall season, First Harvest Credit Union remains steadfast in our commitment to serving more than 51,000 members and the Southern New Jersey communities we proudly call home. We know that our members face challenges in this ever-changing economic landscape, and we continuously seek opportunities to reinvest in our region while providing affordable,  innovative, and accessible financial solutions which  help our members harvest their full potential.

Thanks to the generosity and support of our members, our New Jersey Credit Unions Food Cooperative, now in its third year, continues to make a meaningful impact across the state. Partnering with fellow credit unions across New Jersey, this initiative collected more than 5,550 pounds of essential food items to support food pantries and organizations statewide. Our First Harvest members and employees alone contributed a record-setting 1,100 pounds of nonperishable food, which was distributed to six local food pantries throughout our service area to help support our South Jersey neighbors.

In September, we hosted our third annual Community Shredder Event at our Deptford campus, helping more than 330 community members safely dispose of seven tons of personal documents. This event kept over 14,000 pounds of paper out of local landfills while helping protect sensitive information from identity theft and fraud. This month, we are proud to host our annual Pink Ribbon Program in support of breast cancer research, early detection, and patient support services through the MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper.

In addition to community investments, our team recently introduced Credit Sense, a new financial education resource, which can be easily accessed within the First Harvest mobile app, designed to help members monitor their credit, track changes to their score, and identify opportunities to boost credit worthiness over time.

Through September of this year, First Harvest has provided more than $150 million in new loans to members and welcomed over 2,000 new members to our credit union family as well. Guided by the “people helping people” philosophy, we remain dedicated to serving our members and communities every day. As we approach the significant milestone of $500 million in assets, we remain focused on expanding affordable borrowing options, accessible savings solutions, and the well-being of the more than 51,000 members who place their trust in us. Through September, we have returned this success to our membership by paying them more than $4 million in dividends.

Beyond offering competitive rates, we are committed to being one of New Jersey's most affordable and inclusive financial institutions. From low fees to checking accounts with no minimum balance requirements, we strive to provide value at every stage of our members' financial journeys.

As always, thank you for placing your trust in First Harvest. It’s an honor to serve you, and we are grateful to have you as a valued member of our credit union family.

Sincerely,

Mike Dinneen
Member
President & CEO
ceo@firstharvestcu.com